CVS Reportedly Refuses To Give Inhaler To Woman During Asthma Attack Over One Dollar Discrepancy

[kpete]

CVS Reportedly Refuses To Give Inhaler To Woman During Asthma Attack Over One Dollar Discrepancy
Published 1, October 16, 2010

CVS, the nationwide pharmacy, is looking into an allegation that has shocked the public in New Jersey. In Garwood, New Jersey, a woman began to have an asthma attack in front of a CVS and she and her boyfriend ran into the CVS to purchase an inhaler. He had only a $20 bill but the inhaler was $21, so the store reportedly refused to give it to her even after she fell to the floor.

The boyfriend states that he offered, in addition to the $20, his wallet cell phone and ids (which showed he lived around the corner) to cover the added dollar. He says that still refused. Fortunately he was able to call a paramedic who rushed over with an inhaler.

....................

What is clear is that, for roughly one dollar, CVS have cost itself millions in really bad publicity.
more:
http://jonathanturley.org/2010/10/16/cvs-reportedly-refuses-to-give-inhaler-to-woman-during-asthma-attack-over-one-dollar-discrepancy/
..........................

Updated: Friday, 15 Oct 2010, 4:13 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Oct 2010, 6:51 PM EDT

KATHERINE CREAG

MYFOXNY.COM - Just after seven o'clock Thursday morning, Katherine O'Connor and her boyfriend were walking home from a McDonald's in Garwood, New Jersey, when she suffered an asthma attack.

"It has been happening every day for the past four or five days," she said.

Her inhaler was at home. The couple was near there, but a CVS on North Avenue, near Cedar Street, was closer. They went in and found the pharmacist on duty.

"I had exactly a twenty-dollar bill. It came to twenty-one and change," Jack Brown said. "I offered him my cell phone, my wallet. I said i live right around the corner. I come in here all the time."

He was told the inhaler with tax would cost just over $21. He was short a dollar and change.

"I said 'Can you just give her the pump. She's on the floor wheezing," Jack said. "I didn't know if an ambulance would get there on time. He said there was nothing he could do for me."

"He said there's nothing I can do. I was just blown away," Katherine said.

more:
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/woman-couldnt-buy-inhaler-during-asthma-attack-20101014

[Angry Dragon]

1. Such a compassionate world we live in

[WVRICK13]

137. Just A Thought

If I were the clerk I would have paid it from my own pocket. Now, if you were having attacks daily for four or five days why in the fuck did you leave your inhaler at home. Just asking.

[JJ]

151. I guess you have never walked out the door without your wallet,

or some other essential item.

Are you the clerk from the story?

[WVRICK13]

155. A Wallet Isn't A Life Saving

device (unless you count the dollar and change) the person had need for frequently during the past week. I am allergic to bee stings and I don't go anywhere during bee season without my kit. After reading this story I am more sure than ever to remember that kit, since it is obvious we live during a time when people don't care about one another. If I were the clerk from the store it would not have been a problem because I would have paid the difference and then raised hell with management. I wasn't suggesting the customer deserved what happened to them though it did sound a bit cold, sorry if it was taken that way. If I ever forgot my bee sting kit and was stung I would hope a dollar wouldn't mean the difference between life and death.

[Overseas]

2. K&R ! CVS sounds very cruel.

Imagine how tough their policies must be to have an employee so intimidated that he/she couldn't help a desperate person even after being offered guarantees with the guy's phone and wallet and most of the money for the inhaler.

[joe black]

23. To say nothing of bystanders in the store if there where any.

[beforeyoureyes]

25. This isn't CVS, this is a single worker - most of us would have given up the crummy job

To help save someone's life, even if the store policies were against this practice.

Would you have handed over the inhaler? Would you have put the damn dollar in the till?

[gaspee]

32. I would have chipped in the

Dollar and change.

[Regret My New Name]

67. That's what I don't get... You'd think someone would have just put up the two dollars..

[Bette Noir]

94. +1

And probably would have had someone calling 911 while the pharmacist found the right inhaler, just in case. An asthma attack is nothing to mess around with.

[liberation]

76. Yes, it is CVS... because that person was probably following corporate policy down to a T

I know plenty of pharmacists, they all concurred that is probably what happened. The pharmacists was probably abiding by corporate, thus yes... this reflects poorly on CVS as it should.

[JudyM]

86. Same thing happened to me at CVS about a week ago.

I posted farther down the page, had a 'heartless pharmacist' emergency experience too:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9330335#9333063

[phylny]

83. Yes!

My daughter is a manager at a CVS. She was appalled, and said this would NEVER happen in her store.

[awoke_in_2003]

115. "Would you have put the damn dollar in the till?"

Wouldn't you? Well, probably not, judging by your libertarian tone.

[Drunken Irishman]

128. Or better yet, pulled the change out of your own pocket.

[tblue37]

89. He could have offered the dollar out of his own pocket! nt

[Liberty Belle]

97. So why didn't the employee reach in his own pocket to pay the dollar?

Any compassionate human being would have done so. CVS' policy is monstrous and the employee is also heartless.

[Posteritatis]

103. A lot of employers will fire staff who do something like that. (nt)

[elehhhhna]

3. CVS is busy selling meth ingredients, in bulk, to bother with a stupid inhaler

[Enrique]

4. CVS was doing the Christian thing

remember the house fire in Tennessee?

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/fischer/101009

What would Jesus do? That's easy. He'd tell Mr. Cranick, "Man up, accept full and total responsibility, and don't blame anybody but yourself for what happened. That's the Christian thing to do. And next time, Gene, pay the 75 bucks, all right?"



Bryan Fischer, formerly the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, is the host of the daily 'Focal Point' radio talk program on AFR Talk, a division of the American Family Association. 'Focal Point' airs live from 1-3 pm Central Time, and is also simulcast on the AFA Channel, which can be seen on the Sky Angel network.

[perdita9]

47. GOP Pro-life Values

Let a woman die of an asthma attack for the lack of a dollar.

Yeah, these people walk with Jesus all right.

[musicblind]

54. Holy Shit. As a Christian, I can't BELIEVE that man actually claimed Jesus would say that.

Somewhere in "heaven" Jesus is face-palming.

[Bette Noir]

95. Boy, that's sure not the Jesus I remember from Sunday school.

I don't like Fischer's Jesus at all. He sounds like a real dick.

[tavalon]

112. Whatever you do to the least of us, you do to me

I'm not a Christian anymore, but that I remember. I always liked the Jesus guy. His father was a total asshole.

[mysuzuki2]

141. People like him have created a Jesus in their own image.

[KingFlorez]

5. Second time this week that CVS has been in the news

They had to pay a 75 million dollar fine, because some of their stores were improperly selling medicines that can be used in the production of methamphetamine.

Whoever was involved in denying this woman that inhaler should be fired.

[davidinalameda]

24. that person should be charged with something

if she had died, I would say negligent homicide at the least

but maybe criminal neglect or something

this person should be doing a perp walk soon

[awoke_in_2003]

116. "should be fired"

i was thinking along the lines of incarceration

[Xipe Totec]

6. Futurama comes to mind

Fry: As vice chairman of Planet Express, I'd like to say a few words. There comes a time for every man who becomes rich and deserts his friends, when he goes back how it was. For me, that time is now. So I ask you, as a friend, won't you stop this deal?

That Guy: Fry, I'm an 80's guy. Friendship to me means that for two bucks I'd beat you with a pool cue till you got detached retinas.

- Futurama "Futurestock"

[Swede]

7. I think I'm going to have to stop reading the comments sections in stories.

There are way too many vile fucks out there blaming this woman.

[Incitatus]

100. Well, you are reading this story on a FOX news site. nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Should have told the pharmacist they needed the inhaler to make meth.

[TheDebbieDee]

17. Lol !

[notadmblnd]

9. People don;t get paid to think anymore.

What the hell kind of statement is "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do?" Hell, I work at a gas station and I keep a couple of dollars of change in my pocket for when people are a little short.

Not long ago a little old man came in a bought a sandwich and coffee and was a dollar and a quarter short. My thinking was that this may be his only meal for the day, so I took the 1.25 out of my pocket and gave it to him. A week later he came in and paid me back. The Dollar-twenty-five did not break me or cause me any hardship what so ever and now the business has a loyal customer. Last week on Tuesday a guy over pumped his gas by 6.54 and didn't have the money to pay. He gave me his name and address and came back in on Thursday and paid his money. More goodwill towards our company. I could go on and on with examples of creative problem solving of small hardships that have created goodwill with our customers. Of course, there are no articles written up in the paper for it, but that's not what its about for me. I just can't see people suffering for such a small amount.

[Gormy Cuss]

74. In some large corporations, they're paid NOT to think in fact.

In order to standardize the "customer experience" some large companies train employees never to deviate from the rules and failure to adhere to procedures will result in disciplinary action. While this may protect the company from liability in some cases, in others it just makes the corporation look bad.

Smarter companies allow some leeway at the supervisory level. Really smart companies allow some leeway for experienced employees in entry level jobs too.

[RedCloud]

10. Way to treat a regular customer! Hooray for capitalism and free enterprise!

[Fla Dem]

11. What infuriates me further is, wasn't there anyone, a clerk, customer anyone willing to

chip in $2. What is this world coming to. I would have w/o even thinking about it thrown $2 at the person behind the register.

[KansasVoter]

14. Same here. Shit, it is only $2

[blondeatlast]

15. That's the kicker for me. Geez. I've paid for a woman's small grocery order because she'd left

her wallet in the car and had a fussy baby.

All of $7.

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. my thought also

[liberation]

78. Believe it or not, for some pharmacies is against their corporate rules to "chip in."

Most of those workers were probably afraid to be written up, starting with the pharmacists who are always under enormous pressure and under constant danger of either being written up by corporate or having their licenses revoked.

This is what happens when you have health care delivered as a for-profit system. We can all cry to high heavens when the expected happens, but incidents like these reflect who we are fundamentally as a society. I expect that people will go through the whole show of hysterics and that nothing will actually be done to change the fundamentally f*cked system. Thus, as I said... reflecting who we're as a people. We decided this was the system we wanted long ago... :-( It sucks.

Furthermore, what was up with the bystanders... no one had a single buck to spare? WTF... This story is a clusterfuck on so many levels that is for sure.

[treestar]

84. Exactly. There's no excuse for this.

What coldness.

[KansasVoter]

12. Hell, I would have paid the $1 on my own if I worked there.

[Hepburn]

21. That is my thought exactly...

...why the hell didn't some store employee pony up the $1.90 that was short?

GMAFB!

[ReverendDeuce]

13. I'd have snatched it and walked out the front door... charges be damned!

But then the police would probably show up and shoot me with a taser...

[Cyrano]

16. I'm beginning to believe that humans are an evolutionary mistake and

will end up going the way of the dinosaurs.

At times, we seemed to have the potential to make a quantum leap into a mature, intelligent, civilized species. But it looks like the barbarians are winning out and will eventually destroy us all.

Sigh.

[Yavapai]

52. Maybe the Neanderthals died out because Homo sapiens were more aggressive?

Their brains were larger and maybe they were a gentler kinder race. They couldn't compete with
a greedy, conniving predators like modern man???

[awoke_in_2003]

117. Their brains might have been larger...

in the right regions- ours seem to be larger in the area that allows for conniving.

[Maine-ah]

18. my father died from asthma.

fuckers.

[tblue37]

90. Two times since I have taught at KU (38 years now), 22-year-old students

have died from sudden asthma attacks. My 31-year-old son has severe asthma. I worry about him all the time. He doesn't realize or acknowledge how deadly an acute attack can be!

[tavalon]

111. Yeah, my mom did too

This isn't a small thing.

[eilen]

19. This is so depressing and sad.nt

[HipChick]

20. She needs a new boyfriend...

that fool didn't even have a damn DOLLAR? Never mind CVS, it's time for a new boyfriend....

[tammywammy]

37. He had $20 n/t

[Dappleganger]

44. Ridiculous.

Read the article one more time for better comprehension.

[HipChick]

55. wow...do I really have to add a sacarsm smiley due to sense of humor fail?

How about if he had a $50? It would then be a non-story..I rarely carry cash on me..but at least some kinda of backup payment.

[Heywood J]

71. You probably should. I have damned good reading comprehension

and I didn't see the humor in it.

[WinkyDink]

75. No. You need a joke-telling lesson.

[liberation]

79. Obviously, "sarcasm" does not mean what you think it does.

[Posteritatis]

102. Gotta love the standard "it was a joke" backpedal. (nt)

[awoke_in_2003]

121. I don't think so in this case...

I was about to jump her shit, then I saw her username. Hipchick is solid.

[awoke_in_2003]

118. as someone else said...

you probably should. Their are some incredibly insensitive asses around here lately, so when I saw your post I was about to jump your shit. Luckily, I read your user name first.

[Dappleganger]

142. Guess what--your joke failed.

And I wasn't the only one who called it that way.

Don't give up your day job. Please.

[reggie the dog]

144. i am poor

i will gladly accept a 50 a 20 or even 2 dollars if you have them, otherwise dont make us poor folks feel guilty because we spend our pocket money on food

[blondeatlast]

50. Reading comprehension fail. nt

[Regret My New Name]

68. I know, what a jerk...

:P

[laughingliberal]

22. Wow. Amazing failure of judgement. eom

[Celebration]

26. I blame the clerk

Not CVS.

[Fla Dem]

38. You need to explain further. A clerk has no authority to waive the full cost of

an item. If he/she did, they could have lost their job. It did say they were speaking to the pharmacist. In that case I agree with you. I don't know how a pharmacist could deny anyone in a medical emergency. Having said that, if it was only a clerk at the register they could have done 1 of 2 things: ante up the extra $2 or called for a manager to make an exception. Not clear in the article if a manager was ever involved. If the manager was involved, then fire the manager. I would not blame the clerk. If you have some other insight, please share. I agree, one incident like this does not necessarily indict the whole corporation, but I wouldn't "blame the clerk" unless it was really the pharmacist.

[Celebration]

41. clerk could have called the manager

an inhaler would have been at the pharmacy, right? There would have been a pharmacist within speaking distance.

[treestar]

I would just do it. Chances are against losing the job over it.

If you did, you've have a great lawsuit and media story.

[awoke_in_2003]

123. and do you really want to work for a company...

that would let somebody suffer or die over a couple dollars? Not me- I have to look in the mirror every day while i am shaving.

[awoke_in_2003]

122. It comes down to company policy...

where I work (flight training) if a customer needs something you help them out. You worry about the cost of that action later. And usually if there is any cost it is negligible compared to the repeat business you get due to customer loyalty.

[Brickbat]

27. This story illustrates not only the rationing of health care by corporations, but also the complete

and utter undermining of employees that corporations have done. By making employees liable for everything but success, corporations have made their workers afraid to do even the right thing when it's having an asthma attack right in front of them, because they are afraid of losing their jobs for making the company somehow "liable."

[renate]

28. I don't know whether it's fair to blame CVS for an employee's mistake

It sounds like this was a low-level employee who thought they'd get in trouble if they let someone take $1 off an item. I'm sure a pharmacist or the manager would have given her the inhaler.

[Mudoria]

30. I agree

The CVS I get my meds would never do this. Some of the friendliest and most helpful people I've ever dealt with. Seems like a single employee with a steel rod up his ass.

[Chan790]

77. Oky, going to state this as clearly as possible.

I don't know about nationally, but locally here in MD I know people who work for CVS/Caremark. It's not the possibility that the clerk would have been fired, here at least the clerk would have had the certainty that they'd have been fired and prosecuted for giving her the inhaler or shorting the store the $1.

It's not a employee with a rod in the anus, it's a district manager (or higher) with a pole-enema.

[liberation]

81. Bingo...

... seriously, what's with this country and the penchant of some people to blame it all on the people following orders while totally finding all sorts of benefit of the doubt for those (corporate) giving said orders?

Probably, most of those workers were afraid to be written up by corporate. Most people have no problem with empathy, however you'd be surprised how "conservative" people become with their empathy when exercising it may interfere with the continuation of their employment.

It is sad to witness how misplaced some people have their priorities regarding their "concern" though...

[csziggy]

126. They have problems with decent and caring customer service in Florida, too

The last time I did business with CVS was the day my back went out. It was so bad, I had to be put in a wheelchair to get in and out of the doctor's office. He did not have the meds I needed in his office (heavy duty narcotics), but he called in the prescription before we left the office. We arrived at the CVS, hubby went into the store to get the prescription. It took over an hour before it was filled. The store was not busy, and hubby kept going up to the pharmacy desk to check on things, but the pharmacist said he had to fill previous orders before he could do mine. I heard the doctor tell the store over the phone that this prescription was an emergency, and hubby told the pharmacist. But the pharmacist just wasn't about to do a damn thing about it.

That was ten years ago and as I said that was the last time I did or ever will do business with CVS - ever.

[Island Blue]

138. Ditto.

My CVS pharmacists are extremely friendly and helpful. If I've forgotten to refill one of my prescriptions and they need to get a doctor's okay to refill, they always give me a couple of extra pills to get me through until they get the doc's okay. Direct quote: "We wouldn't want you to go the weekend without your blood pressure medicine."

[liberation]

80. The employee was probably following CVS's policy, so yes CVS is to blame.

The pharmacist is in the premises, he or she would have witnessed the incident.

[Mariana]

93. I agree. The folks at my CVS treat me like royalty

and wouldn't hesitate for a second to spot someone a few bucks in this kind of situation. I've seen them do it even when someone wasn't sctually dying on the floor.

[jeff47]

113. You should probably re-read the article

"They went in and found the pharmacist on duty."

So no, a pharmacist didn't give her the inhaler.

[Jumping John]

29. But Rethugs are sure this co. will trickle down opportunities to their workers!!!

[WolverineDG]

31. So, we all get to bash CVS as a whole for the actions of one dumb-fuck employee?

Or do we stop & think about it first, maybe find out if the store terminated the dumb-fuck or if CVS corporate has instituted a new "don't be a dumb fuck" policy to cover such situations?

Oh, sorry, I see the party has started already.....

dg

[gaspee]

33. If you really saw

You'd see that about half the comments blame the one employee, but I guess it's true that we all see what we want to see.

[K8-EEE]

34. I really really hate CVS anyhow

I swear every time a cool old place closes up here (in L.A.) a fucking CVS opens. They have taken over every drug store so, no competition. Literally I once saw an ambulance go to the wrong CVS and tear out of the parking lot because apparently the emergency turned out being at the CVS ACROSS THE STREET! OK?? In Studio City there are CVS stores FACING ONE ANOTHER. wtf? They are like the Walmart of drug stores, plus they never have enough people working there, the makeup is always completely fucked up, AND they are taking over the Encino Barnes and Noble. AND WHY DO THEY ALWAYS HAVE 20 CASH REGISTERS WITH ONE PERSON WORKING THERE ?? Anyhow....I HATE CVS!

[Downtown Hound]

42. They took over the local chain of drug stores around here too

And I hate CVS when compared to what used to be Long's drugs. They are crap.

[Bette Noir]

99. You're in the San Fernando Valley?

There's a great independent drugstore at the corner of Roscoe and DeSoto. They even have a soda fountain.

[pattmarty]

35. This is what this country has become. Let someone die over a fucking..........

..............dollar and let somebody's house burn down because they didn't pay a "fee" (fees are a polite way to say TAX). We were at one time the greatest country in the world, and we have slipped from being number one in most things to this. We are collectively witnessing the (fast) decline of a once great country.

[TheMadMonk]

108. Excuse me. The house was allowed to burn down because he WOULDN'T pay...

...the fee. And because a voting majority of his neighbours REPEATEDLY refused to fund a fire service collectively.

That said. The CVS situation is a hell of a lot different, "making good" doesn't "rewrite history" in the same way as buying insurance after the event.

However, I can still understand (WITHOUT AGREEING WITH) the clerk's reluctance. Clerks HAVE been fired for helping a customer at the store's "expense" and clerks have been fired for dipping into their own pockets to cover a customer's shortfall, there only has to be a slight ambiguity about which direction the money is moving to give an employer excuse.

People raise red herrrings with glowing testimonials about their own CVS store, others chime in with sob stories of the competition being driven out of business. While interesting they have no relevance here. What matters are the clerk, the individual store manager's policies and any companywide policies that may be in effect.

Perhaps the clerk is an Aspie and where you and I find ways to make exceptions, he only finds cognitive dissonance. OR perhaps the manager is a bully. The sort: who gets results by totally dominating their subordinates; who can fire at will because no one willingly fights to stay under them; who abusively hammers employees with a "results not excuses" mantra; who are a major asset to the owners of a large chain until moments like these when they prove to be a huge embarrassment and even then often survive, because its better all round (to those that "matter" anyway) to fire the clerk for lack of initative and let the blame follow him out the door.

Or maybe there was in fact a nonsensical chiselled in stone rule based on some equally nonsensical past ruling that makes a vendor who "chips in" proportionately responsible for any adverse outcomes. This is certainly not impossible.

Certainly such idiotic rules are not uncommon. I work peripherally on the railways, and have only the lowest level of track safety certification. I may in an emergency use any materials at hand to improvise a warning signal, however I am in fact forbidden to use flags or any other device actually provided for the purpose.

Another example is painkillers and even wound plasters, if you offer and they prove to be allergic, you're screwed if someone decides to make an issue of the matter. Even fulfilling a specific request can burn you if there proves to be a difference between the Tylenol (tm) product they asked for and the Panadol (tm) brand product you supply.

Workplaces often deal with such potentially knotty issues by imposing absolute blanket bans on anything which might conceivably render them liable by association. This is why your heartless bastard of a boss won't give you an asprin but instead offers a choice of toughing out the headache or forgoing a day's pay. And this is why you say nothing when a coworker moans about their headache, hay fever, or paper cuts and why you think twice even when they ask outright for a Tylenol or a bandaid.


Definitely wrong on humanitarian grounds, but when you have a morgtage and hungry mouths to think of, things can become a very murky shades of grey, now add in a hefty dose of panic as someone gasps out their last breaths in front of you. It becomes very easy to mentally short out and fixate on something simple that you can't get wrong. Something like the script you were given in register jockey training: "No reciept, take it up with the manufacturer.", "No cash. No sale. No exceptions." and "I'm sorry, the manager will tell you exactly the same thing I am telling you."


Trainers hate me, because I have a very bad habit of chasing the reasoning behind rules and regulations, which often means exploring exceptions to the rules. It's also cost me a fair few jobs I suspect, because when asked to give my response to some contrived scenario, I simply say I will do what common sense and circumstances at the time dictate. It probably doesn't help that I point out, that neither reeling off a canned response to what proved to be a standard industry specific interview question, nor sitting back and thinking it through can give any realistic answer.

[pattmarty]

149. You gave a very long response. My POINT was this should never.....

.........have happened AND the house in Tn should have NEVER been allowed to burn. This is what a once great society has been lowered to, shit like these two examples.

[TheMadMonk]

158. So who actually pays for that fires service. At least half the county...

...given the choice refused. So city in THE NEXT STATE provides service anyway. Those that are paying, realise that those who aren't are being serviced anyway, so more and more of them stop paying to. City soon gets jack of it, and withdraws the service entirely, refusing to respond even when lives are in danger.

As the bloke first said (before he "corrected" himself and claimed he forgot) he didn't pay, because he figured they'd respond anyway. He was wrong and he paid big time.


This shit happens because of the illusion of absolute personal freedom on which your nation is founded and is now foundering. The freedom to play libertarian games with essential services like fire and medicine. The freedom to blame others (and force them to pay) for honest mistakes, while absolving oneself of any contributory negligence. The freedom to punish simple charity.

AND FOR SOME STRANGE FUCKING REASON: The freedom to demand others forgoe virtually all freedoms, as the price of admitance to that ever more exclusive club known as "The Employed".

[Rabrrrrrr]

152. Best post in the thread (except my meth post - lol)

You're totally right - the issue of liability and suing and insurance company's needs to extort as much fucking money as possible is a huge issue.

The first thing I thought of when you were mentioning tylenol is the number of schools who have an absolute 100% no-medication-in-school rule just because in our sue happy culture if a kid offers another kid a painpill, and second kid is allergic to it, the insurance companies and the lawyers will go after the school. "It happened on school grounds!"

Or in this CVS case, a potential "You, store clerk guy, chipped in two dollars on her medication that come to find out she was allergic to, so now you, the CVS store, the pharmacist, and the entire chain are being sued because she had a $100,000 life insurance policy with AllState, and you can be damned sure that Allstate ain't paying that bill."

You're also right about the house - the idiot told the community that if his house is on fire, he'll take care of it himself and that they should let it burn.

[madrchsod]

36. cvs sucks..overpriced compared to walgreens

[Fla Dem]

39. Found just the opposite..walgreens is just around the corner from me

but I go to CVS a mile away for better selection and price.

[AtomicKitten]

40. CVS is alleged to be the lowest, but in my experience Costco is even lower. nt

[dionysus]

110. walgreens is in trouble here for building stores with out of state labor.

[Dappleganger]

43. As an asthma sufferer this is appalling!

I will never, ever set foot in their stores again!!!!

[Capitalocracy]

60. As a fellow asthma sufferer

I'm with you

[Pooka Fey]

45. Bullshit there's nothing that pharmacist could do. Give her the damn inhaler.

WTF is wrong with people these days? Yeah, CVS is going to go belly up for being without that 1 dollar for the 5 minutes it takes dude to run home and come back with the dollar, which he would have done. Where is people's common sense?

[perdita9]

46. This is what Pure Capitalism looks like

Get ready for more of it if the Republicans take back control of the house.

[musicblind]

56. Every Pro pure-capitalist should have to look that woman in the eye

and tell her that her life is less valuable than a dollar bill.

[obxhead]

66. Get ready for more of it from politicians from both parties

unless we eliminate corporate person hood and corporate campaign contributions.

[lame54]

48. They need to stop hiring people from the Tennessee fire dept.

[Green_Lantern]

49. removed by member

n/a

[Vinnie From Indy]

51. If it were my loved one on the floor, the clerk and I would have had a very quick private chat

about his immediate future on this planet if he did not give up the inhaler in the next ten seconds.

[the redcoat]

57. Looks like CVS has started taking the South Fulton, TN approach. nt

[DesertFlower]

58. Jesus H. Christ. he should have taken the dollar

out of his pocket and paid it for the woman.

[Capitalocracy]

59. See, I wouldn't have even asked for the $20.

Maybe it's because I know what an asthma attack is like. Maybe it's because I'm not an asshole.

Either way, I guess CVS is doing better than me. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

[IrishEyes]

61. I can't imagine not helping a person in trouble

If I had been in that store, I would have given him the dollar and change. I would have lent him the whole $21 if he didn't have the money on him. His girlfriend couldn't breath. That was the highest priority. What is wrong with some people?

[TBF]

62. I avoid CVS like the plague - they were charging

me $35 for birth control (we all know how they often even refuse to fill those prescriptions), but the Target down the street is only $10.

[Lorien]

65. They wanted to charge me $69.00 for Ultram (generic). Costco charged me $8.00 nt

[JudyM]

150. Epipen $96 at CVS, 1/3 less at Rite Aid. eom

[Egnever]

63. "It has been happening every day for the past four or five days," she said.

What CVS did was inexcusable....However this chick is not the brightest bulb. If that were me and it was hapening daily I would make damn sure I had my inhaler on me.

[geek_sabre]

140. this. nt

[Lorien]

64. This, in a nutshell, is what's wrong with America today. Could there be any question as to

what party the CVS worker most identifies with? The whole incident is the result of 30 years worth of "me first" 'greed is good" "profit over life and sanity" Reaganism. We MUST shame the people who cling to this backwards ideology and promote, proudly, social welfare, good citizenship, kindness, compassion, and all other Liberal attributes.

[matt819]

69. I find this hard to believe

As another poster observes, this is the work of one employee and may not - probably does not - represent that attitude of the CVS corporation. If it's true.

Believe me, I'm not a fan of large corporations, and I have encountered my fair share of unhelpful CVS employees. But let's give credit where credit is due. The CVS in my town is pretty impressive. In the pharmacy, most of the support staff is pleasant, helpful, considerate, friendly, etc. When there are problems, they work to resolve them. (Some haven't been as helpful, but as a corporation they have instilled pretty positive attitudes in their employees. Granted, I have no idea whether they like their jobs or are well paid and have good benefits. And those things are important. But whether that's the case or not, they do their jobs pretty well.) On the pharmacy side, I have found them universally helpful and knowledgeable, making appropriate recommendations re OTC medications, generics, etc. Plus, they're open 24x7.

There are some companies that we love to hate - Walmart comes to mind immediately. Some we merely dislike, sometimes long term, sometimes because of a stupid policy. And that sure is fun. But I think it's only fair to speak favorably when it's warranted and not fall into the trap of tarring a large corporation over the actions of one stupid employee.

[PassingFair]

143. This would never happen at the CVS I go to....

The pharmacy people have always been
extremely helpful and gone out of their
way to provide my family and I with needed
prescriptions, even when the Dr's screw up.

I believe that it could happen in other CVS's,
with other employees, but NOT at the CVS I go to.

[Terra Alta]

70. If this happened at the Wal-mart I work at

and the guy came through my line.. I would have just let him have the inhaler for $20.. my drawer would have come up a few dollars short but at least I would have been helping to save someone's life. What if the paramedic hadn't gotten there in time and the woman had died? CVS would have one hell of a lawsuit on their hands and rightfully so. I can just imagine what that poor woman was going through as she was on the floor struggling to breathe. How can any human look at someone gasping for breath and refuse to give them the help they need?? It's despicable.

[peacetalksforall]

72. My first reaction is that there has to be a list of all these mega corporations who are turning un-

un-American. It's in the air. It's on the ground. It's in newsprint and cable/broadbans.

My first thought is that we've got to point to it, publicize it, broadcast it, add to it and keep it live.

At the same time, there has to be some good stories posted as there is on this forum.

There is a trend of extreme selfishness going on in this country. It definately seems to be growing.

Then another thought came to me - some companies computers don't allow an employee to process a sale if it isn't precise - some allow it with a manager's approval - a click or two and a keyed entry. This pharmacist might have been incapable of changing anything.

So, as others have shared, he could have extended the man the difference and recorded it with the company and each to their own policy.

But, any company should have some out - ESPECIALLY AT A PHARMACY!

We need to see how CVS handles it.

Saying it won't happen again and making sure it doesn't is their way to handle this.

And let's hope there are people who are not so crooked that they would abuse it.

There are plenty of people walking around with only their ID. There are still many people experiencing problems.

[WinkyDink]

73. That pharmacist had better get his resume together. STAT.

[catrose]

82. If it were against corporate policy,

I, as the pharmacist, would have dropped $2 on the floor (surreptitiously, I hope), and said, "Oh, look, someone dropped some money. Use that." I sure would have hit 911 to call the ambulance. Of course, that would give her more financial problems than lacking $1 for an inhaler. When I collapsed at work, people started talking about calling an ambulance, and I yelled, "Call a cab! My benefits are exhausted!"

Yes, that's a true story. The cabbie was nice. He carried me into my house. Obviously I survived.

My friend J started having an asthmatic episode a few years ago. Her inhaler being empty, she staggered to a neighbor's apt with it in her hand, but she was already in a coma by the time the ambulance arrived. A week later, J's only living relative, her 17-year-old sister, had to make the decision to pull the plug and donate her organs. J was 26.

[JudyM]

85. OMG. This is just like what a CVS pharmacist did to me last week!

I was stung by a bee and started having a body-wide reaction -- tongue swelling, bright red flush all over, temperature changed, etc. I was in an unfamiliar part of town and a stranger offered to lead me to a CVS (no one around knew where of a nearby hospital). Lucky for me I was able to get my bro, who is an eye doc, on the phone. He told me based on my symptoms I should get to an emergency room right away -- but by that time I'd arrived at the CVS and ran in to get an 'epipen' that you inject in your leg to halt the allergic reaction.

The second the pharmacy counter clerk saw me she was alarmed and said wow you're having a severe reaction, aren't you? I said yes, could she get me an epipen asap, that my doctor's on my cellphone ready to give a prescription. The pharmacist, who was about 30 feet away just down the counter, barely looked at the clerk when she told her... and then kept doing whatever paperwork she was doing... I waited through at least 5 more minutes of this, then, with my reaction getting worse, asked the clerk to please ask the pharmacist if she could get me the epipen, that my doctor was waiting on the phone to talk to her. The clerk brought my cell to the pharmacist, who still seemed to be taking her time... nearly 10 minutes later and she hadn't moved from that spot and by now I'd started to develop itchy bumps (hives, I later learned) all over my torso and my other symptoms were getting worse so I was getting scared, never experienced anything like this... I started acting more agitated, of course, and said please! Can you get that epipen! The pharmacist finally handed it to a guy to give to me -- this was between 15 -20 minutes after I'd arrived. So I handed the clerk my credit card but she told me I'd have to get in the line to pay. Meanwhile, I'd gotten the address of the nearest clinic and my bro was telling me to get there fast, regardless of the epipen. So I said this is really a bit of an emergency situation could you just take my card so I can get to the clinic. She shrugged. So I left... after the situation started resolving itself I went home.

The pharmacist, who never once even said one word to me as my symptoms got worse and worse as I waited for her at her counter, called my brother the next day to tell him I hadn't paid. I relayed all this to the CVS regional manager who was appropriately apologetic, but what I wanted to emphasize to him was that if this pharmacist treated me with such disregard in an emergency, maybe CVS needs a policy for how its pharmacists deal with walk-in emergencies. He said the pharmacists should know how to deal with this type of thing. Now I see the same thing happened to another customer. Shameful. I hope they get the message now since this is making national news.

[WinkyDink]

87. They are al the same: standing; looking; gabbing in groups; ignoring customers.

CVS, Walgreen's (my store), Rite-Aid.
Store pharmacists are experts at wearing blinders.

[Bette Noir]

101. Damn. I'm glad you're okay.

[JudyM]

145. Thanks. Apparently you can die of an anaphylactic reaction within 3 minutes.

Learned this after the fact. I'm sure pharmacists are aware of the risk, and she mentioned to my bro the next day that she could see that that's what I was going through. Just incredible.

[Dorian Gray]

105. Oh gosh, Judy

so happy you didn't suffer worse than you did. She truly put you in a dangerous situation. I'm glad that the people at corporate were appropriately chagrined about the situation.

[JudyM]

146. Yeah, but they need a company-wide policy, apparently, for emergency situations.

The regional manager was insisting that this was a unique situation and the pharmacist should've known better, even as a matter of common sense.

[zabet]

114. I witnessed a similar incident

several months ago at the CVS in our town. A man I know that HAS to have a certain med to prevent life threatening seizures was denied his prescription over 3 bucks.....the CVS pharmacy would not even sell him a partial refill to get him by until he got his SSDI check. I chipped in the money and changed pharmacies....and so did he.

[ThomCat]

133. That is a place that NEVER wants your business ever again.

I'd write to the corporate office and tell them this story, and tell them that you are never doing business with them again because of this pharmacist. Give that person's name too. I'm sure the corporate office would love to know. x(

[JudyM]

147. Now that I see that mine was part of a pattern of gross disregard, I will write corporate.

Sad to think this is their way of doing business.

[Captain_Blue]

160. take a stand

no more money at CVS. Go somewhere else or dial 911 and wait. Corporate Greed is the father of corp-es.

[tblue37]

88. Self-delete.

Sorry--I responded on another thread (about the asthma inhaler flap at CVS) and somehow my reply ended up on this one!

[Renew Deal]

91. Some of the people that work at these places are a the peak of their career

And it's not going to get any better for them. Lack of common sense and humanity seems to be the in thing these days.

[underpants]

92. I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!!!

[Horse with no Name]

96. Sometimes I really hate living in a small rural town

But, if someone in my family were to get sick in the middle of the night, the local pharmacist will meet you at the pharmacy and give you what you need. Since the register isn't open, he will tell you to come by on the next business day and pay.
I have dealt extensively with various pharmacies because of illness and I will say that I will NOT grace CVS with my presence.
They have made several mistakes on my prescriptions and the last one was a bit too egregious.
However, for those that are saying that it is probably because it is a company policy, they are absolutely wrong.
The last med error that CVS made--I called them and asked if they were ABSOLUTELY SURE that was the medication I was supposed to have (I am a female and it was strictly a male-only drug!) and they were very rude and said that if they gave it to me, it was correct. I was persistent and insisted he talk to me.
I then gave them the name of the drug. The pharmacist IMMEDIATELY changed his rude tone and said yes, it was a mistake. Please bring it back. When I got there, my money was promptly refunded, I received a gift card of around $50 (been awhile, I don't remember exactly) AND the correct prescription was given to me gratus.
While I do appreciate that they did make it right, I was pissed because I had to REALLY press the issue with the pharmacist, I was treated rudely AND this wasn't the first mistake they had made with my prescription.
CVS deserves ALL the bad publicity they reap from this whirlwind.

[Rhiannon12866]

98. I think it depends on the pharmacist.

Years ago, when I got my prescriptions at CVS, my pharmacist somehow made my one prescription that wasn't covered go through for me. She was always very nice. I had a similar experience at Rite-Aid when they didn't have enough pills to fill my prescription and the pharmacist there just gave me enough to tide me over. This idiot needs to be disbarred or whatever they do to unethical pharmacists. As a fellow asthmatic, I can certainly sympathize with someone who can't breathe. It's terrifying... :scared:

[Dorian Gray]

104. Wow.

Bad publicity for sure. I hope that they gets LOTS of bad publicity for this.

[lostnfound]

106. The consequence of an excess of centralized decision-making

Employees are told to follow policies, don't think for themselves. We are trained to wait for others to tell us what to do. Corporations like it that way, at least corporations that massify, like CVS.

[Zax2me]

107. Sometimes, a little common sense

Goes a long way.
This employee just didn't use any. He needs to be corrected by supervisors and recognize his mistake - so it won't happen again.

[tavalon]

109. Millions in bad publicity and there is no way I would want to be that pharmacist

He is in grave danger of losing his license.

[glowing]

119. I would have pd the whole amt if I was the nearby. What is wrong with this country

Die for a dollar?

[NYC Liberal]

120. Wow. Unbelievable. I've spotted people a dollar for freaking snacks

at places I've worked, if I was in a good mood.

Screw the fact that this was between an employee and a customer, how about this was between two human beings? If someone having an asthma attack on the street asked for a *dollar* to get the inhaler, who would't give it to them?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

132. Hell, I've spotted a buck or two when a freakin' coupon was being disputed...

just to get the line moving. I haven't read enough of this story to know if other customers were present, but there's no way I would have stood by silently as this happened.

[UrbScotty]

124. Walgreen's, here I come!

[Maru Kitteh]

131. A Walgreens pharmacist got in her car and drove my mom's prescription to her

because I was out of town once and just took me at my word that I would come pay for it when I got back. (I'm her caretaker and mom can't drive)

They pretty much won me for life right there.

[Rabrrrrrr]

153. I'm not a big walgreens fan, but I am a stockholder and champion of their pharmacies -

they really will go out of their way for their customers, and put a lot of care and effort into their customer service, from keeping notes on specific customer's needs, attitudes, and wants; to always checking ALL their prescriptions to make sure the doctors haven't missed a bad mix; to opening a store to make sure someone can get a prescription they need right now; to bending over backwards to help people get their medicine.

They treat their regular employees like shit (I used to work there), but they treat their Pharmacists and Pharm techs amazingly well.

[Mimosa]

125. Asthma attack can KILL a person!

That's how NOLA ex-Mayor Marc Morial died.

[RainDog]

127. This is for profit health care - even at this level

Republicans have debased the people of this nation.

How DISGUSTING that this nation is so full of Beckkkerheads and Limpballs and corporate shills like John Stossel who argue against the common good - who make it okay to allow someone to die for a fucking dollar bill.

That's the legacy of the Republican Party. That's the attitude their rhetoric has instilled in the American people.

That's the reality of Republican rule. That's the outcome of a media that whores itself to right wingers - and a political class that does the same - you know who you are, whether you have a D or an R after your name.

Compare this nation to ANY OTHER WESTERN DEMOCRACY and you can clearly see that our system of govt is broken because people believe right wing lies rather than the truth that HEALTH CARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT.

Honestly - this is a perfect example of right wing America.

[kevinbgoode]

129. This is why I have mostly abandoned large drug stores

In my little city there is a family pharmacy still operating on the downtown square (with even a little lunch counter still!) I am always provided courteous service - I know once I was in shock about my co-pay for a prescription (it was over $100 - an anti-biotic)but the pharmacist immediately came over and carefully explained the medication and why it was so costly. Still. . .I was glad I had the money in the bank.

I have never hesitated - at the supermarket - or a drug store, to chip in a couple of dollars if someone is short - it can happen to anyone. Heck, I chipped in a few bucks at WalMart (don't hit me) when two young guys had a tire patched and they were scrounging in the car trying to find enough change to pay the bill. It's just the neighborly thing to do - you never know when you might need that kind of help yourself.

[Maru Kitteh]

130. I can say with confidence that never would have happened in my town.

I live in the middle of a bunch of republican dolts - but I'm absolutely positive people would have been throwing dollar bills from all directions to cover the difference. I've seen far more generosity from clerks, managers and strangers for far less dire needs than this.

[Politicalboi]

134. I wish the Pharmacist would sue CVS

For such polices. Let's say the woman died right there in front of him. Lets say this Pharmacist has a big family to support. To lose his job would be devastating. But of course to see a woman die in front of you because CVS wouldn't let you resolve the problem without losing your job to some would also be devastating. No one should have to decide over losing their job over helping anyone in dire need. Companies shouldn't be able to make up such rules, especially when they handle medications and get paid by the Government through Medicare. Both the Pharmacist and the woman should sue over such stupid policies.

[SemperEadem]

135. I guess CVS doesn't believe in a Good Samaritan policy

it's not like folks go into CVS every day, falling out in the floor for free medicine--and the premise of the company and the pharmacist that this is the basis for allowing a human being who is in medical distress to suffer needlessly is shameful.

I'm fortunate that there is a Rite Aid that I use for my prescriptions. Wonder what their policy is for people who find themselves in medical distress for the want of $1.

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

136. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Teabagger America!

Kind of surprised the "let it burn" crowd hasn't come out in support of CVS. If she didn't want to die she would have remembered to bring an extra couple of dollars, so it's her fault, or some such ignorant shit.

[Mimosa]

154. Yes, that is teabagger America! n/t

[greiner3]

139. Sorry;

No bad refs for CVS. However, Kmart and Kroger's pharmacy depts suck, IMHO.

[The Uncola]

148. Welcome to the Corporate States of America.

Why would anyone be surprised that this sort of crap happens? We are serfs, fighting for the crumbs that fall from the tables of the rich. The pharmacist probably knew that his ass would get fired if he failed to follow "proper procedure." Have any of you people that seem so outraged by this ever worked under the corporate thumb of the asshole management of chain retailers? Places like CVS, Walgreens, Home Depot, Target, et al FIRE people everyday for doing what's right, simply to instill fear in other employees.

Wake up people, this IS the new reality: Corporations over people EVERY TIME.

[geek_sabre]

156. Something just doesn't smell right with this story

Let's forget for now that they left McD's with exactly a $20 bill.

If it were an emergency, why wait for a prescription inhaler instead of grabbing an OTC inhaler off the shelf and using it, then paying later. (which my pharmacist father suggests to me in an emergency). It has side effects, and doesn't work as long as a prescription inhaler, but it cost at least half as much and would allow her to get home. The way the incident is describes leads me to believe that this was a mild attack. That they were allowed to refuse 911 suggests that it wasn't an emergency.

I have had asthma my entire life, and I can assure you, I have never 'laid' on the floor wheezing. When I have had serious attacks, I was gasping for breath. If your attack is serious enough to knock you to the floor, you're beyond help of an inhaler, and calling 911 isn't optional. She was able to get up off the floor and walk out. She should have carried her rescue inhaler with her; it is her illness and her responsibility. I'm sorry but this sounds like a set up. If they lived right around the corner, she (or he) could have walked it, since they walked into CVS, and walked out of CVS, called a friend, and waited for said friend to arrive (not to mention however long it was to find the pharmacist, look up her file, and wait for the prescription).

Why did they not contact the manager? Its not reasonable to expect a clerk who probably makes minimum wage to pay out of pocket, and they don't have the power to make price changes.

If I were a fellow customer, I would have offered the cash, or sought out the manager or a police officer, but I do think there's another side to this story that needs to come out.

[Odin2005]

157. FUCKERS!!! This is what happens when your society is reduced to thinking in monetary terms.

Morality goes out the window.

[Captain_Blue]

159. No Longer Acceptable

We can no longer accept this kind of incompetence or greed. Companies with these policies need to become historical references in the anals of disassociation. Never again, never another penny at CVS. It is the only way and there is no forgiveness as far as I am concerned.

[saras]

161. Publicity?

It's not clear to me that this would or will cause them any negative publicity whatsoever, except in the irrelevant liberal blogosphere. The company employee behaved exactly as the owners and managers of the corporations who own the media would have wanted him to behave.

So why would the corporate media either percieve this as negative, or write about it?