Are you guys scared of Pharmacy Robberies?

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Twinsmom

Twinsmom

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I just checked local newspaper about the Pharmacy Robberies.</B>
There are so many of them! Are you guys scared of it?
:eek:
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Don't worry guys. I have everything under control.

*Grab shotgun under the counter*
 
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Sparda29 said:
No, anyone who threatens me or other pharmacy staff is getting 2 in the chest and 1 in the head. Gotta love the Mozambique drill.
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WTF is wrong with you.

But no, I'm completely not worried about a robbery. I'm more worried about dying in a car crash while getting to and from work
 
Yes, I am very worried about being robbed.

I work in a bad neighborhood. Within a mile radius from my pharmacy, several pharmacies have been robbed--some of them multiple times--in the past year. No one has been hurt or killed yet, but it's just a matter of time. Fortunately, my store would be a more difficult target to rob, but I still worry about it.

I used to wear a gun under my shirt while at work. It's against company policy, but I did it anyway. Eventually, though, my tech reported me to my boss, and my boss politely but sternly warned me not to bring the gun anymore.

I am genuinely afraid for my life. I've thought about continuing to bring the gun to work despite the warning from my boss, but because my pharmacy is somewhat low-risk and difficult to rob, I haven't done so.
 
Just let them robbed you and take whatever they want... who cares, it's not your job to defend the safe... Not to mention it's not your money too... I'd offer them a drink too while they are at it >_>;
 
I was more afraid of robberies when I worked at Baskin-Robbins as a teenager, or later when I worked at a pizza place.
 
Momus said:
Just let them robbed you and take whatever they want... who cares, it's not your job to defend the safe... Not to mention it's not your money too... I'd offer them a drink too while they are at it >_>;
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You do realize alot of people who are completely cooperative get murdered anyway. This is why pharmacists should be armed!
 
The second wasn't a robbery. In the first one, it was escalated by the an employee being all gun slinger crime fighter instead of just giving up the drugs. If anything, that story is a reason why pharmacy employee shouldn't be carrying guns around. So, you get 1/2 a point
 
torchbearer said:
Yes, I am very worried about being robbed.

I work in a bad neighborhood. Within a mile radius from my pharmacy, several pharmacies have been robbed--some of them multiple times--in the past year. No one has been hurt or killed yet, but it's just a matter of time. Fortunately, my store would be a more difficult target to rob, but I still worry about it.

I used to wear a gun under my shirt while at work. It's against company policy, but I did it anyway. Eventually, though, my tech reported me to my boss, and my boss politely but sternly warned me not to bring the gun anymore.

I am genuinely afraid for my life. I've thought about continuing to bring the gun to work despite the warning from my boss, but because my pharmacy is somewhat low-risk and difficult to rob, I haven't done so.
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Why aren't you allowed to bring a gun? Do you all have a security guard then?
 
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npage148 said:
The second wasn't a robbery. In the first one, it was escalated by the an employee being all gun slinger crime fighter instead of just giving up the drugs. If anything, that story is a reason why pharmacy employee shouldn't be carrying guns around. So, you get 1/2 a point
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Agree.

Cloud 9 said:
Why aren't you allowed to bring a gun? Do you all have a security guard then?
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I have always heard to just cooperate and give them whatever they ask for. That was company policy at every retail place I have ever worked. The company would much rather lose money than an employee.

I personally would not carry a gun because I think I would be much more likely to hurt myself/someone else than to shot the robber before he shots me. I doubt I would ever be safer with the gun than without.
 
Cloud 9 said:
Why aren't you allowed to bring a gun? Do you all have a security guard then?
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I'd rather take my chances on the robbery than have a fellow employee work with me ALL day with a gun on them.

What happens when the two of us dive into a heated misunderstanding of some sort....and they literally loose it?

What would have been a sucker punch from them becomes a hardcore bullet. Let me not even mention when they think they've got a very "annoying" boss.

Think about it: 8-12hrs of potential popping vs less than 5 mins.

I choose 5 mins!
 
Electrode said:
I'd rather take my chances on the robbery than have a fellow employee work with me ALL day with a gun on them.

What happens when the two of us dive into a heated misunderstanding of some sort....and they literally loose it?

What would have been a sucker punch from them becomes a hardcore bullet. Let me not even mention when they think they've got a very "annoying" boss.

Think about it: 8-12hrs of potential popping vs less than 5 mins.

I choose 5 mins!
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On the other hand, imagine how easy it must be to manage your techs when you are loaded! I bet that cuts bown the back talking quite a bit.

Not to mention how muck easier it must be to resolve customer complaints! "Oh really? Well, lets ask Mr. Smith & Mr. Wesson what they think about your copay being to high..."
 
owlegrad said:
On the other hand, imagine how easy it must be to manage your techs when you are loaded! I bet that cuts bown the back talking quite a bit.

Not to mention how muck easier it must be to resolve customer complaints! "Oh really? Well, lets ask Mr. Smith & Mr. Wesson what they think about your copay being to high..."
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:laugh::rofl::lol:
 
Thanks, guys. It sounds not that scary now. :)
How about the crimes against female Pharmacist? Any report on that?
 
Does anyone remember the pharmacy robbery a few years ago where the robber, who had taken the employees and IIRC a customer or two hostage, demanded some Xanax and took it - and then fell asleep?

:p

At that point, he was subdued and tied up by the hostages, who then called police.
 
Yeah- I admit it. I used to be scared when I worked in retail in the ghetto. Some guy was shot and killed by the cops in our parking lot. Gangbangers would come into our store and I know they were strapped. They would steal **** and there was nothing anyone could do about it except call the cops. Sometimes, they would hang out in the parking lot til one of our addicts would go sell them his/her percocet. I saw crackheads, pill poppers, thugs, women who would seriously "cut a bitch", and ex-cons. One guy OD'd in our bathroom.

Even though I went to an inner city high school where there were riots and people getting beat with baseball bats and chains, I still had to get used to seeing the things I saw in retail. I don't know...I probably would try my best to not work in a place like that ever again. But, in this economy, I guess I would take what I can get.
 
rxlea said:
Yeah- I admit it. I used to be scared when I worked in retail in the ghetto. Some guy was shot and killed by the cops in our parking lot. Gangbangers would come into our store and I know they were strapped. They would steal **** and there was nothing anyone could do about it except call the cops. Sometimes, they would hang out in the parking lot til one of our addicts would go sell them his/her percocet. I saw crackheads, pill poppers, thugs, women who would seriously "cut a bitch", and ex-cons. One guy OD'd in our bathroom.

Even though I went to an inner city high school where there were riots and people getting beat with baseball bats and chains, I still had to get used to seeing the things I saw in retail. I don't know...I probably would try my best to not work in a place like that ever again. But, in this economy, I guess I would take what I can get.
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F*** and you're not allowed to keep a gun? That crap is messed up. Arm the criminals and leave the good people to the will of the wolves...
 
Cloud 9 said:
F*** and you're not allowed to keep a gun? That crap is messed up. Arm the criminals and leave the good people to the will of the wolves...
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Well, here in AZ, the gun laws are pretty lax. So, if I had gone strapped to work, I don't think people would have really batted an eye (except maybe the district manager or higher ups). People here can carry their gun pretty much wherever and most of the time you see "no firearms allowed", it's a company policy. I think they recently passed a law where you can actually carry concealed weapons into a bar/club which is utterly stupid, IMO.
 
Electrode said:
I'd rather take my chances on the robbery than have a fellow employee work with me ALL day with a gun on them.

What happens when the two of us dive into a heated misunderstanding of some sort....and they literally loose it?

What would have been a sucker punch from them becomes a hardcore bullet. Let me not even mention when they think they've got a very "annoying" boss.
Click to expand...

In most states, you have to go through some regulated motions to get a concealed carry license. In Texas, it's pretty extensive. In Virginia, you can walk into a shop without one in the morning and walk out with one in the afternoon.

You're pretty much generalizing that anyone with a concealed carry license is just a powder keg waiting to blow, and that seems naive. Someone once told me that the quickest way to commit a felony is to carry a gun. If you carry it on you in the wrong place (school zone, building with proper signs forbidding it, etc), if you accidentally expose it, etc.

The friends I know who carry concealed aren't nuts. For the reasons above, they're very aware of the rules that go along with what they're doing and follow them. They've had to be instructed and tested on them.

For the record, knives are legal to carry and can be just as lethal in the place of a sucker punch. So can a paper clip. ;)

If Jerome Ersland (the Oklahoma pharmacist who murdered a kid) had dropped the kid and done nothing else, he'd be a hero.
 
Cloud 9 said:
F*** and you're not allowed to keep a gun? That crap is messed up. Arm the criminals and leave the good people to the will of the wolves...
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There's a movement called Campus Carry pushing for students to be allowed to concealed carry (if properly licensed, of course) while at college. As Virginia Tech and numerous other shootings have proven, the bad guys don't care about the rules and they're going to bring guns no matter what the law says. I would rather have the option of defending myself than having no recourse but to wait for a bad guy to be taken down in that scenario.
 
pharm B said:
There's a movement called Campus Carry pushing for students to be allowed to concealed carry (if properly licensed, of course) while at college. As Virginia Tech and numerous other shootings have proven, the bad guys don't care about the rules and they're going to bring guns no matter what the law says. I would rather have the option of defending myself than having no recourse but to wait for a bad guy to be taken down in that scenario.
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Agreed...as long as there are extensive mental health tests and proper handling and safety tests done before one can own a firearm, it seems a fair idea. Seung-Hui Cho shouldn't have been able to buy a gun but he did anyway. The bad people will always find ways around the law. Having someone else armed on the scene may have saved lives though.

Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people, Nidal Malik Hasan was only able to kill 13 before another officer took him down (with a gun). I guess the numbers speak for themselves.
 
I think one of my favorite things my pharmacist mentioned was the paperwork to fill out for a robbery if some of the controlled meds. were taken. Part of the form asked how many people died and what measures can be taken to prevent such a thing next time. Dunno if that is a NC thing or federal thing though.

Smith & Wesson was the preferable choice of action there as well.
 
MountainPharmD said:
I think everyone should carry a gun. An armed society is a polite society. Why should the bad guys be the only ones who carry gun?
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I absolutely agree. If everyone carried a gun, people would be afraid to attempt robbery. Criminals will obtain guns no matter what, so average upright citizens may as well go through the process to arm themselves too.
 
npage148 said:
Give me 1 report in which a pharmacy worker was shot or killed by a robber. I couldn't find any.
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Here's an unsolved case from 1955. I lived in that city for 9 years and never heard this story; I stumbled onto it online a while back. This includes quite an interesting story about other robberies in the region.


http://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/lucille-bacher/

I don't know what the neighborhood was like then, but it's in a really bad area now.
 
I've been robbed before and here's a few things to keep in mind if you ever experience this in the pharmacy:

1. Comply with request. Worst thing you can do is to make someone messed up on drugs mad where they might hurt you or one of the employees working with you.
2. Stay calm and get as much info as you can about the person. How tall are they, and special markings on them. Try to think of distinguishing factors while this is happening so you can tell police later.
3. Call the cops ASAP.
 
wonderful thread. i'm starting the night shift in a ghetto area in a few weeks. i was seriously considering a bulletproof vest or just closing the place down and keeping only the drive thru open but i doubt my boss would let me do that.
 
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I was robbed over Oxycontin 40mg about a year ago. I have a concealed carry permit but I can't carry it into my pharmacy unfortunately. If someone wants something I'm gonna give it to them. It's not coming out of my pocket and it's not worth my life. I would just like the security of knowing that I have my gun just in case I'm in a situation where I feel like me or someone else isn't going to get out of it without being hurt or killed.
 
MountainPharmD said:
I think everyone should carry a gun. An armed society is a polite society. Why should the bad guys be the only ones who carry gun?
Click to expand...

The US made guns beyond easy to get a hold of (due to a way too liberal interpretation of the second amendment) then a loon goes and shoots up a place with a legally obtained gun (Arizona yestday, Virginia tech, etc.) and the gun nuts solution is to make guns easier to get. It's crazy logic. I would support a complete ban and confiscation of all handguns (their only purpose is to kill people). An armed society is not a polite society, it's a dangerous one full of armed loose cannons.
 
npage148 said:
The US made guns beyond easy to get a hold of (due to a way too liberal interpretation of the second amendment) then a loon goes and shoots up a place with a legally obtained gun (Arizona yestday, Virginia tech, etc.) and the gun nuts solution is to make guns easier to get. It's crazy logic. I would support a complete ban and confiscation of all handguns (their only purpose is to kill people). An armed society is not a polite society, it's a dangerous one full of armed loose cannons.
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That :thumbup:
 
npage148 said:
The US made guns beyond easy to get a hold of (due to a way too liberal interpretation of the second amendment) then a loon goes and shoots up a place with a legally obtained gun (Arizona yestday, Virginia tech, etc.) and the gun nuts solution is to make guns easier to get. It's crazy logic. I would support a complete ban and confiscation of all handguns (their only purpose is to kill people). An armed society is not a polite society, it's a dangerous one full of armed loose cannons.
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Wow you are right! Not one person was murdered in this world until Samual Colt invented the revolver. Gosh if there were no guns it would be fluffy clouds, pink rainbows and puppies for everyone! There would be no more crime! Yea!!! Lets ban everything!!!!
 
How many of you who are advocating carry a gun to "protect" yourself have ever actually been robbed at gunpoint or shot at? I have. I still think the best course of action is still to comply with the robber's demands and be non-threatening so they will get what they want and get the hell away from you.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
How many of you who are advocating carry a gun to "protect" yourself have ever actually been robbed at gunpoint or shot at? I have. I still think the best course of action is still to comply with the robber's demands and be non-threatening so they will get what they want and get the hell away from you.
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You should always comply with a robber's demands. It is not worth losing your life over property or money. However, once the situation turns from a propety issue to a life or death issue I would rather have a gun to defend myself verse letting the bad guy kill me.

I have a conceled carry permit and I carry. I carry for the same reason I wear a seat belt in a car or have life and health insurance. It is for that one in a milllion chance that I might need it.
 
GamecockPharmD said:
I was robbed over Oxycontin 40mg about a year ago. I have a concealed carry permit but I can't carry it into my pharmacy unfortunately. If someone wants something I'm gonna give it to them. It's not coming out of my pocket and it's not worth my life. I would just like the security of knowing that I have my gun just in case I'm in a situation where I feel like me or someone else isn't going to get out of it without being hurt or killed.
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Unfortunately, a lot of retail companies have it in their employee handbook that you can't carry concealed. It would be one thing if you had to check it in when you walked in, and check it out at the end of the night, but we've had SEVERAL employees followed out to their cars by unstable patients. One of our cashiers is petite, and she's been followed out 4-5 times in the last year. I made a patient mad when I told them their insurance didn't cover their Geodon, so he tailed me to my car.

I'm not some nut who wants to brandish a weapon. I like the security of knowing that I can protect myself if I have to.

npage148 said:
The US made guns beyond easy to get a hold of (due to a way too liberal interpretation of the second amendment) then a loon goes and shoots up a place with a legally obtained gun (Arizona yestday, Virginia tech, etc.) and the gun nuts solution is to make guns easier to get. It's crazy logic. I would support a complete ban and confiscation of all handguns (their only purpose is to kill people). An armed society is not a polite society, it's a dangerous one full of armed loose cannons.
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I don't think guns should be easier to obtain. Personally, I agreed with a number of the gun controls put in place (Brady Bill, etc) since you don't need an AK-47 to protect yourself or hunt a deer.

I simply believe that, as mentioned in a post above, the bad guys don't care about the rules and they'll obtain guns regardless of what the law says. By banning all handguns, all you're doing is ensuring that we are all helpless (by law) if we're ever thrust into a situation with a bad guy.
 
MountainPharmD said:
You should always comply with a robber's demands. It is not worth losing your life over property or money. However, once the situation turns from a propety issue to a life or death issue I would rather have a gun to defend myself verse letting the bad guy kill me.

I have a conceled carry permit and I carry. I carry for the same reason I wear a seat belt in a car or have life and health insurance. It is for that one in a milllion chance that I might need it.
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As soon as you pull out a gun, your own chances of getting shot at go up dramatically. Even if I'm standing there with a gun at my side, what are the odds that I can pull it out and shoot them before they shoot me? Personally, I wouldn't want to play those odds. I think people should have the right to choose whether or not to carry, but I just don't see how it helps you in this situation.
 
npage148 said:
The US made guns beyond easy to get a hold of (due to a way too liberal interpretation of the second amendment) then a loon goes and shoots up a place with a legally obtained gun (Arizona yestday, Virginia tech, etc.) and the gun nuts solution is to make guns easier to get. It's crazy logic. I would support a complete ban and confiscation of all handguns (their only purpose is to kill people). An armed society is not a polite society, it's a dangerous one full of armed loose cannons.
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Yeah, then the only people who have handguns would be criminals and the police.

Instead of concealed carry, I think people should carry weapons but have them openly displayed.
 
R2pharmD2 said:
As soon as you pull out a gun, your own chances of getting shot at go up dramatically. Even if I'm standing there with a gun at my side, what are the odds that I can pull it out and shoot them before they shoot me? Personally, I wouldn't want to play those odds. I think people should have the right to choose whether or not to carry, but I just don't see how it helps you in this situation.
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This pretty much mirrors my own thoughts on the subject.

Outlaws will always have guns, I have no problem with law abiding citizenry also being legally armed. But personally, I wouldn't carry a gun. So much more likely to hurt myself or a loved one than a criminal. It just seems so unlikely that I would ever be better off carrying a gun than not carrying a gun. I am not some John Wayne style character who would win in a fast draw. :laugh: No, much more likely I get myself shot in the process.
 
After being robbed I thought a concealed carry would be a good choice to have, but after further thought, it would probably make the situation worse and we're not allowed concealed carry in our pharmacy anyway. I think all pharmacies should have the buttons like bank tellers do that alert the police in event of a robbery.
 
My former neighbor owned a pawn shop, and one day, a man came in brandishing a gun and said, "This is a robbery!" The owner grabbed the gun with one hand and threw it on the floor while withdrawing his own weapon from under the counter and said, "That one's fake. This one's real" and the robber turned tail and ran out the door. He was caught later that day.

:thumbup:

I also once dated a record store owner (and filled in a couple times when he and the other owner had commitments; they paid me in cash) and the store wasn't in the best neighborhood. About a year after we broke up, my mother, who worked for the police department, called to tell me that my ex-boyfriend's store had been robbed at gunpoint. We certainly didn't part as friends (and were both equally responsible for the demise of the relationship) but I asked if he was okay, and my mother said nobody was injured and all the robber got was money, which was what I wanted to hear. The store was forced out of business not long afterwards when CD Exchange moved in and undercut them. Sound familiar?

p.s. I'm really glad my parents never met him, because they would have major league disapproved of him.
 
pharm B said:
I simply believe that, as mentioned in a post above, the bad guys don't care about the rules and they'll obtain guns regardless of what the law says. By banning all handguns, all you're doing is ensuring that we are all helpless (by law) if we're ever thrust into a situation with a bad guy.
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:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
R2pharmD2 said:
Everyone knows that 73% of all statistics are made up anyway.
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There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

(I'm really surprised how many people have never heard this before. I heard it several times in pharmacy school, but when I went out with a bunch of pharmacists for trivia and this came up, I was the only one who had heard it. Lesson: learn this quote for trivia night. :D)
 
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