just minishorts.

Some months back I wrote an angsty complaint on this blog about the problem with pharmacies not having pharmacists on duty when we need the most. You might want to read this for context.

Yesterday, Kristy, a pharmacist who works with Guardian left a comment to the August 2005 complaint. I would like to thank her for speaking up and noticing my grievances (along with other people who share my sentiments). Here is her response, reproduced, for the benefit of other readers who feel that Guardian pharmacies (and other companies) whose employees' customer service standards leave much to be desired.

Kristy says:

I am a pharmacist from Guardian. I understand your sentiments exactly. But let me clarify a few things.

1) Guardian tries to keep their bigger outlets (ie KLCC, MV, 1UTM) stocked with pharmacists from morning til night. As for smaller outlets (like the one I’m manning), there isn’t enough budget to hire more than one pharmacist at one time.

2)People who do not have children, or are not married, like me, often work afternoon shifts because I know that’s when people get off work and come in for medication. I also work every weekend and take my off day on a weekday. Other pharmacists, however, may have a family, a husband, children, whom they want to go home to. This is why they choose to work normal shifts (from 9-6), mainly because their spouses work normal shifts as well. Are they to be blamed for wanting to spend time with their families?

3)The myth that working from 9-6pm is a company policy for Guardian pharmacists is just that - a myth. We are encouraged to work afternoon shifts but we respect those who cannot, because they have their own reasons.

4) Independent pharmacies (whereby the owner is the pharmacist; or employs pharmacists) normally have a pharmacist from morning til night because these pharmacists are only required to work 4 days a week. The number of hours they work is 48. The owner hires someone else to take over for the remaining three days. This is not the case in Guardian, where we are supposed to work 5 and 1/2 days a week and therefore our 48 hours of work are scattered into shifts throughout.

5) Please do not generalize. There will always be good staff and bad staff, but human nature will ensure that bad service is always highlighted but not good service. The pharmacist in Sunway Guardian is a very, very nice Singaporean lady and she will surely be appalled to hear how her supervisor has been acting. Contrary to popular belief, handling staff and training them isn’t all that easy.

6) I try to tell most of my customers my weekly working hours, as well as giving them my name cards to ensure that I will be there when they come. But it is disconcerting to find out that many of them still complain they cannot find me. Like me, many Guardian pharmacists take less than an hour’s break, and come back to be scolded for eating lunch. And no, our lunch time isn’t your lunch time. Most of us go out around 3 or 4pm, and not the standard 12-2pm.
7) Do give Guardian another few tries. You might just change your mind. We do try our best to meet our commitments and principles. Thank you!

Writing names and addresses when buying medicine is part of the law. We have enforcement officers coming in to check on a regular basis. Independent pharmacies take the time to make up names and addresses but we don’t. Likewise, we do not sell prescription only medicine without prescriptions because it is against the law. We risk losing our dispensing licence, more so because Guardian is a big company and the authorities tend to check upon us more. They even pose as customers and beg you to sell prescription only medicine to them, and if you do - there goes your career. Which is why people tend to compare us to independent pharmacies because they sell most medication without prescriptions.

9) It is not wrong to ask whether you want Tussils 6’s or 24’s, because if we give your the 24’s automatically you might think we’re after your money. Some customers would prefer to try it out first and see whether it works for them. We recommend the medicine, you decide which packaging you prefer.

Cheers!