Hi,
Introduction:
I've worked in retail pharmacy for the last 5 years. Recently I've left mt job a few weeks ago, naturally people ask why? About a week prior I left I put in a greivance about my experiance of the workplace I have been working for a year. I feel like this sub-reddit would be an appropriate place to share what I wrote. It would be nice to know what you think and what you might have done in my situation.
I've changed all names and places to keep things private.
Context:
This pharmacy didn't have a manager as she had left about 3 months before. The store was being run by the Area Manager. A month after my emplyment she had left and was replace by 'Martha'. Now instead of getting a new AM what happened is that we were added to Marthas region. Which meant her attention was frequently divided. I raised my concirns with her in late August about the direction the pharmacy was going. In April I rung an AM about the critical situation the pharmacy was in. In June we got a new Area Manager 'Frank' where we had an hour long conversation about the state of the pharmacy and how it got this this. In short, none of them did anything and I was ignored, so I left.
Greivance:
With full confidence I can say that working for Company X has been the absolute worst experience of my career. Never in my life would I expect a business to be run in such a massive dog shit manner.
The fact that out of my year working here, not a single shift has been fully covered is infuriating. When a person goes on holiday their hours need to be covered, it is not optional it is the norm. Do you need me to hold your hand as I tell you how to run a pharmacy because it seems like some of you have never even dispensed inside one. And you expect me being paid £9.67/ hour to jump through all the stupid hoops in the form of EPS sign ups, blood pressure checks, Sop reading, this stupid Elf shit, book flu jab and sort out the never ending problem that is, The Covid Clinic. Whose ever idea it was to implement this without giving us additional support needs to be paid less than £9.67/hour. And what does management do? This Monday Pharmacist A had to reluctantly tell a group of people waiting for a covid jab that they can't have one and to come back later. This group included a disabled child and an autistic child, this has been going on for 4 months. Not 4 weeks or 4 days. 4 months, do you really think we enjoy telling venerable children that they can't have their covid vaccine. We'll start asking for EPS nominations when you do your job and sort this covid clinic shit out, get the ordering system right so we are not constantly running out of basic shit, we could really do with an NHS mail and have holidays covered. Don't tell me no because both my and Becky's (dispenser) previous employment could it so clearly the common denominator here is Company X
You knew Cara (technician and team-leader)and Daniel (technician) were doing overtime to keep up when Eva left and Cara was relentlessly demanding to bring in a merchandiser to make sure the store was in order and that the promotions were set up. But that didn't matter and the way we found out that we were to administrate covid vaccines is just one of many examples that make Company X an embarrassing place to work for. The way we found out is on one Monday a wave of customers and phone calls came in questioning, asking wanting a covid vaccine because they read in the paper that Company X will be doing covid vaccines. All of us instore had no idea and didn't know what to say, we were bewildered and confused what to make of the situation. I distinctly remember one disgruntled waving his finger at my saying ,”You advertised for it, how don't you know?”. Yes, Company X, how in the bleeding hell don't I know. So if I hear any criticism about communication from my end, remember that you're leading by example here. I say this because Frank (Area Manager) on the second time meeting him criticised me for the lack of communication because he was trying to label a prescription of a person label of the wrong PMR. But because Frank couldn't figure this out asked Gabriel for help who said I had served him. Then blamed me for the problem he created. What a great way to build rapour between you and your AM the second time you met.
This company exploits the generosity of it's kindest workers. It is disgusting to see my fellow comrades who have spend 20 and 30 years of their life dedicated towards this one company being treated with as much grace as a used condom. To ask a fellow comrade to do 60 hours who also wears a knee brace instead of have surgery speaks volumes of the attitude management has towards its workers. Daniel is literal representation of Boxer from Animal Farm and I even think that this company would rather see her dead when she retires instead of paying her pension. We had a brilliant driver called Harriet who was great because she always came back to check if any more needed to go out and when she could clearly see when we were struggling was patient enough to wait. She was reliable and always put in the extra effort. She even worked a week as a dispensing trainee just to help out, however, it was only a week just she realised what a responsibility and work load to expected of her for a few more pence and hour, or just carry on driving the van around. But because it took so long to get prescriptions out she took a load of abuse and got fed up and left. All her extra effort gone to waste and she became another casualty of the branch.
The way Jay (new pharmacist manager) was brought into the pharmacy with insufficient help really lets me know that we are all equal, equally worthless. As I and as Gabriel, weren't given an introduction to the pharmacy it was sort of; the medication is stored over there and the counter is here. Bon appetit! Jay too received the same experience which is a detrimentally piss poor move by Well. This was because Jay was replacing Kai (pharmacist), a seasoned veteran pharmacist, and Jay, a guy who graduated a few months ago. If you expect to replace a veteran with a recruit and expect the same results you're in an idiot. Help should have been organised to relieve Jay if the standards of the pharmacy slipped.
And holy shit the standards crash down to the pits of Hell. April 2022 lives in infamy in the branch as the worst month for us to have experienced. I would walk to work wishing when I got there it would it would just be a massive creator as through the night it was hit by a meteor. We broke every SOP, gave the wrong medication out and a daily basis and 4 weeks behind on prescriptions. The fact that nobody died is a miracle. It was bad enough that it was effecting The Surgery as they told me that they would get frequent and unpleasant phone calls about how long it taking to get their medication. One time when I went in to drop our requests I tried to explain to them the gravity of the situation as they were clearly pissed off that the lack of service from out end was affecting their job. I was moments away from having a break down in the middle of this surgery. Their faces were screwed up when I came in and completely shocked when I left. It got to the situation that Cara, who by this point was working in The Surgery, rung Laura 'Himmler' Langdon (Area Manager) and I too explaining that we need help now. I specifically remember saying that we are 4 week behind and that morale is low. Her response was, para-phrased, I don't want to deal with you right now, go ask Frank. I took a weeks holiday at the end of April and when I came back I could have just turned around and walked back home. The back of the pharmacy was lined with 12 totes which hadn't been put away. Infuriated, because I knew I was going to be the unlucky son-of-bitch to put it all away, I scanned the store for Jay only to realised to see Kai and know that Jay had become another casualty of the branch.
Martha' I've got this person coming'Mason was alright however it was clear that she may have had one too many pharmacies to control as her attention always seemed to be elsewhere after about November. What was good about her is that she understood the weight of what you were saying and it was obvious that she earned her position bottom up. The big however is that it took 6 months for her to get a new person in. Unfortunately, by this time Cara became another casualty of the branch.
In all it's a real shame, because when I first started back in July 2021 the pharmacy a alright place to work and the issues were manageable. If the second job vacancy was filled a year ago I think that this would have been a pleasant place to work. But that second placement not being filled was Defcon 5, Tory leaving and not being replaced was Defcon 4, the covid clinic was Defcon 3, Cara leaving was Defcon 2 and Jay coming along with Me and Daniel each taking a week off in April was Defcon 1. Now you've got this shit show of a pharmacy and wonder why? Neglect, neglect, neglect.
Company X still pays me less that my previous employment even after the wage bump this year. Feels really good knowing I was earning £3.50/hour to gain these qualifications just to see that McDonalds is paying £9.75 entry, no experienced required. Whoever is in charge might want to watch The Apprentice a few times, maybe then you might understand the phrase 'you've got to spend money to make money'.
Eric 'Trotsky' Ericson,23
has become another casualty of the branch.