Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, August 21, 2015

I'm glad I went into the kitchen just now

I'd just gotten home, had taken the trash out (of course I didn't have time this morning), and had started the dishwasher. Remember those things I'd set to soak last night? They were in the right-hand sink, the one with the garbage disposal, because that's the only one I can truly seal. Which, of course, it was sealed, and then the dishwasher sent water that way and it was coming through the overflow thing on the top of the sink. I managed to unseal the sink (it takes a pair of pliers to get the plastic stopper out) and let it drain. I could have easily overflowed the sink and had water everywhere.

It's been that kind of day. I went to Rite-Aid on Richmond Road here in Lexington right after work today, running in to get two things--a night brace for my left hand, and a sharps container for home, since the last time I'd stopped by for one, they'd only had one in the store, and I use that at work. Now, in every pharmacy I've been to, including that one, the sharps containers are kept behind the pharmacy counter, so I got in line after selecting a brace (sadly, it does not match the other one, and it was the only one of its type, but I'll live), and then the lady in front of me asked about some over the counter medicine and the woman behind the counter came out to help her with that. There were two other people working, one running the drive through, and one answering the phone and presumably filling prescriptions, and at no point did either of them come to help me except finally, after about ten minutes, when the lady went off to look for something else and a guy grabbed the girl from the counter for help before she could return, finally, the older man who'd been filling prescriptions offered to help. I asked for a sharps container. He came out, went around the corner to a shelf I couldn't see, and pulled one off the shelf, then threw it onto the counter and went back to answering phones, not ringing me up at all. I took my stuff to the front of the store and waited again, behind about three people. The woman at the counter was nice, and it certainly wasn't her fault that her co-worker was totally rude, but when she asked if I wanted to use my wellness card, I told her no, that I wasn't sure I'd be coming back at all, and told her why. She apologised, of course, and I said, it's not your fault, I'm just really unhappy with the service at the pharmacy counter, and I left. I got to my car and was shaking so hard I started to cry. Now, as YKWIA has already pointed out, I did the passive Southern good girl thing. He would have made a scene, but he would have gotten results. I should have demanded service, and if not given, should have talked to the manager (or at the very least asked to talk to the manager after it was all over). But I didn't--I waited as patiently as possible and got trampled into the dirt. Isn't that how the line from Camelot goes--the meek inherit the dirt? Anyway, I won't draw a line in the sand and absolutely say I would never darken their door again, but I must say, I'm disinclined to go back. I'm glad the pharmacy I go to for my meds (but which doesn't have braces and doesn't always have sharps containers) is much friendlier. I suppose I'm spoiled by their service. I certainly would not consider switching my meds over to Rite Aid given the lack of service I experienced. No sense in giving them a fairly lucrative account, seeing as I take more medications than I can count on my fingers. I'll stick with my small, independent pharmacy, with great service and who, even on a bad day, go out of their way to help me. That pharmacy, by the way, is Corner Pharmacy on Alexandria Drive. They may be across town from me and they aren't open 24/7, but they're also not corporate drones.

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