Negotiating for more $$$ - Fresh out of school

[Zamboni200000]

Hey Guys,
I'm meeting with my CVS pharmacy supervisor next week to be presented with an offer to work for them upon graduation in 8 months. Do any recent grads or practicing pharmacists out there have any tips or tricks to negotiating more hourly pay? The bonus I don't really care about (which is $8000 if I sign on early) and vacation should be 3 weeks instead of 2 since I've worked at CVS for 6 years now...

Some things I've come up with so far:
-I'm coming from a highly ranked pharmacy school.
-I've worked for 6 years already for the company.
-I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but this supervisor knows that I know the retail pharmacy game pretty well.
-Didn't think I'd be working for CVS upon graduation so I never took the $5000 per year they offered for tuition... Now if i end up working for them anyways, shouldn't the $15,000 CVS saved count for something for me?

Any others ideas, suggestions, tips, tricks? - Would all be really appreicated.

Thanks a lot!!
Danny

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[modat]

I work for CVS also and I am a 6th year student. From what I have heard from people is that all the new graduates are going to make the same amount within their region. I have a dinner I am going to on thursday and I am expecting to get my offer then. Still not sure what to expect.

 

[Zamboni200000]

I work for CVS also and I am a 6th year student. From what I have heard from people is that all the new graduates are going to make the same amount within their region. I have a dinner I am going to on thursday and I am expecting to get my offer then. Still not sure what to expect.

Good luck with the offer... let me know how it goes! -and ill do the same
D

 

[Epic]

Hey Guys,
I'm meeting with my CVS pharmacy supervisor next week to be presented with an offer to work for them upon graduation in 8 months. Do any recent grads or practicing pharmacists out there have any tips or tricks to negotiating more hourly pay? The bonus I don't really care about (which is $8000 if I sign on early) and vacation should be 3 weeks instead of 2 since I've worked at CVS for 6 years now...

Some things I've come up with so far:
-I'm coming from a highly ranked pharmacy school.
-I've worked for 6 years already for the company.
-I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but this supervisor knows that I know the retail pharmacy game pretty well.
-Didn't think I'd be working for CVS upon graduation so I never took the $5000 per year they offered for tuition... Now if i end up working for them anyways, shouldn't the $15,000 CVS saved count for something for me?

Any others ideas, suggestions, tips, tricks? - Would all be really appreicated.

Thanks a lot!!
Danny

You can throw out the bolded arguments. Your school doesn't mean anything. And you didn't work as a pharmacist for 6 years. It could help your cause...of longevity.

But the real question is, what makes you more valuable than the other CPS pharmacists? If you can prove that, then you may have a case.

 

[no-see-um]

service with a smile.

Yeah, i should start negotiating. I want a yacht as a sign-on bonus. No yacht, no pharmacist.

To the OP, good luck.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Hey Guys,
I'm meeting with my CVS pharmacy supervisor next week to be presented with an offer to work for them upon graduation in 8 months. Do any recent grads or practicing pharmacists out there have any tips or tricks to negotiating more hourly pay? The bonus I don't really care about (which is $8000 if I sign on early) and vacation should be 3 weeks instead of 2 since I've worked at CVS for 6 years now...

Some things I've come up with so far:
-I'm coming from a highly ranked pharmacy school.
-I've worked for 6 years already for the company.
-I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but this supervisor knows that I know the retail pharmacy game pretty well.
-Didn't think I'd be working for CVS upon graduation so I never took the $5000 per year they offered for tuition... Now if i end up working for them anyways, shouldn't the $15,000 CVS saved count for something for me?

Any others ideas, suggestions, tips, tricks? - Would all be really appreicated.

Thanks a lot!!
Danny

My advice is to work for another chain that offers a higher wage, matched vacation, and a bonus. When you go back to CVS, they will feel obligated to pay you what you were making before which would be more than you could get if you worked for CVS right out of school.
(I know people who've done this. Their time with the company was bridged too. You have to play the right game. Instead of deuces are wild, PharmDs are wild).

 

[Jbuprepharm]

here's my advice,don't work for CVS

jk, but seriously, I work for them now as an intern, and there's no amount of money that would get me to work for them after school unless upper management improve exponentially between now and graduation.

 

[Zamboni200000]

here's my advice,don't work for CVS

jk, but seriously, I work for them now as an intern, and there's no amount of money that would get me to work for them after school unless upper management improve exponentially between now and graduation.

How come? I don't mind it... but of course, i've spent most of my time at a couple good stores... good help and good customers. Where do you live?... ill be sure not to move there

 

[PharmDstudent]

How come? I don't mind it... but of course, i've spent most of my time at a couple good stores... good help and good customers. Where do you live?... ill be sure not to move there

When you've worked for companies that have better computer systems, working at a CVS feels like being handicapped. I can't do this...I can't do that...etc.
I think they screw over their employees too, but that in itself is up for debate.

 

[Jbuprepharm]

How come? I don't mind it... but of course, i've spent most of my time at a couple good stores... good help and good customers. Where do you live?... ill be sure not to move there

I work at a good store too, but all the rest in the region are understaffed and overworked majorly.

Don't move to the Texas panhandle, no matter what they offer. I'll be happy to graduate and move on

 

[confettiflyer]

When you've worked for companies that have better computer systems, working at a CVS feels like being handicapped. I can't do this...I can't do that...etc.
I think they screw over their employees too, but that in itself is up for debate.

I'd like to hear what you have to say about CVS screwing over their employees...i work for them too, and agree for now. But then again, I'm just a clerk/tech...so my view is probably a little different.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I'd like to hear what you have to say about CVS screwing over their employees...i work for them too, and agree for now. But then again, I'm just a clerk/tech...so my view is probably a little different.

I'll get back to you on that. I need to think about it.

 

[pinkyrx]

-Didn't think I'd be working for CVS upon graduation so I never took the $5000 per year they offered for tuition... Now if i end up working for them anyways, shouldn't the $15,000 CVS saved count for something for me?

I passed up the tuition reimbursement with my company too. I don't think I'm going to end up working for them, but other people in my situation have been given money toward their student loans each year that equals what they would have received in reimbursement. I'm not sure how CVS works, but you could ask them if they have any programs to help with loans.

Good luck!

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

You probably cant get more money just because you worked in the company longer because you are already compensated with a 3 week paid vacation than a 2 week. The best thing to do is to be buddies with your DM, and tell him to hook you up. Tell the DM you can increase sales, etc and get him a bigger bonus.

 

[genesis09]

At Walgreens, they'll honor your tech years in terms of benefits. You'll get more vacation days and that sort of thing.

 

[Zamboni200000]

Buddy Buddy with the supervisor... interesting idea... anybody have more input on that?

 

[Hels2007]

here's my advice,don't work for CVS

jk, but seriously, I work for them now as an intern, and there's no amount of money that would get me to work for them after school unless upper management improve exponentially between now and graduation.

I support that wholeheartedly. One of my best friends just resigned from CVS a couple weeks ago after working for them for just two months. She said that while she was working as a graduate intern, everything was fine and dandy, but as soon as she got licensed, the problems started. First of all, they didn't honor their promise of keeping her in the town where she was hired to work and tried to send her all over. And they were violating the state law of 2 techs to 1 pharmacist by having 7 techs and 1 pharmacist on a daily basis. The state board of pharmacy people kept showing up - 4 visits in the 8 weeks she worked as a graduate intern. However, what made her resign was when they wanted her to sign off the CII log that was off by 30 tablets - and that's when the store was already being investigated for for missing CIIs! Of course, she decided not to risk her license and good reputation and resigned on the spot. She is with an outpatient pharmacy of a hospital chain now.

 

[bananaface]

service with a smile.

Yeah, i should start negotiating. I want a yacht as a sign-on bonus. No yacht, no pharmacist.

To the OP, good luck.

Do they make Hot Wheels Yachts?

 

[dr of rx]

from what I've seen, there is little room for negotiation, no matter what chain.

school, class rank, gpa, etc mean nothing. all they want to know is 1) do you have a license? 2) if not, can you get a license? 3) are you alive (optional)?

once you're proven yourself go out and get a better offer. then you can hit them up for a 'retention bonus.'

 

[Old Timer]

I can't speak for why other have had bad experiences with CVS. I have been with them for six years and I have nothing but good things to say about the company. The thing is with a company this large, CVS to you is your District Manager and your Pharmacy Supervisor. If they are good people and good at what they do, you will have a great experience. They are jerks, you will have a bad experience.

You will not have much luck negotiating. The sign on bonus is regional and standard within a region. So is the salary. Unless there is a wage tax differential for a specific city the rate for all graduates will be the same. The only way you could get more is if you took on more responsibility.

Please make arrangements at the dinner to meet with the pharmacy supervisor and go over all of your options. If you have specific questions you want answered about the company so you will be fully prepared when you meet with your pharmacy supervisor, please send me a PM.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I'd like to hear what you have to say about CVS screwing over their employees...i work for them too, and agree for now. But then again, I'm just a clerk/tech...so my view is probably a little different.

I'm ready to comment...but I need to write it all out, so I'm working on my post right now.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I'd like to hear what you have to say about CVS screwing over their employees...

First, CVS is notorious for paying its loyal pharmacists less than the new graduates. The pharmacists from my original CVS district got paid $3-5 less per hour than the new grads. Also, the raises/bonuses were not calculated based on the number of RXs they filled and sold. They were evaluated on "customer service". Basically, if there were any customer complaints at all, their raises suffered. This is unfortunate, because customer complaints can be very subjective. Pharmacists are not psychiatrists, therefore they can't know exactly how to please every customer. There are ways to undermine this by making a fake phone call, but it's unethical- they could just call 1800SHOPCVS and act like a satisfied customer.

Second, the company understaffs big time! They will work people to death to save a fairly insignificant amount of money. I've never worked harder in a pharmacy than I did when I worked for CVS. Sometimes it's ok to be understaffed, but that only happens on a good, slow day. The computer system is too tedious and backwards, so when the pharmacy is understaffed, you'll simply drown. You can't call more people in to help you, because the help hours are so tight and strictly enforced. I've heard too many people use the phrase "abandon ship, abandon ship", while working for CVS.

Third, they require too much paperwork and manual labor. There are so many different reports that have to be filled out by hand. They wanted us to call patients after their RXs had been ready for six days(literally call a list of people's phone numbers). You can't scan multiple RXs into the computer system; each RX has to be scanned right before the RX is going to be typed. They wanted us to type the RXs while the patients stood at the drop off window, because "it makes it seem faster" to the patient. They think the customers perceive that they've waited less, because it only took 10 minutes to fill the RX after it was "dropped off"(actually it was dropped off and typed). Ideally, we were suppose to answer the phone by the second ring or within 20 seconds(if we couldn't answer it on the second ring). The pharmacies are rated on how long, on average, it takes them to pick up the phones. CVS headquarters now controls the air conditioning systems too. I live in Louisiana, so how can they know how hot it is if they're in Rhode Island??? Maybe they just have some arbitrary number in mind. It could be 74 degrees for all I know.

Forth, they want you to have the RXs filled in 15 minutes or less. It's just like fast food- I'm sorry, but there's no getting around that.

Fifth, they reward bad behavior with gift cards. They give them $25-30 on a gift card for the "inconveniences" that they've had to suffer. This doesn't sound too bad at first, but it's just a way for the corporation to undermine the pharmacist's decision. For example: "Oh, you're not happy with our overworked, stressed out pharmacists? We can fix that, here's a gift card. Come again!"

Finally, they utilize the Extra Care card and their registers suck, which makes the job even more tedious. The pharmacist has to authorize all overrides concerning that damn card. If someone forgets to use their card, we had to get an authorization for the "Extra Care card update" after the transaction's over. The registers suck, because you can't go back after you've pressed the total key. Everything has to be voided after that point if there's a problem. Sometimes people want you to use their phone numbers instead of scanning their cards, which just adds to the tediousness. They have Extra Care card coupons that print out on the register receipts which expire within approximately two weeks- total BS if you ask me. Customers never get a chance to use their coupons, because they're always expired.

 

[Epic]

Paragraph breaks are your friend..

 

[PharmDstudent]

Paragraph breaks are your friend..

Hit the refresh key.

 

[Epic]

Hit the refresh key.

Too late, I read a very long one paragraph.

 

[Jbuprepharm]

I can't speak for why other have had bad experiences with CVS. I have been with them for six years and I have nothing but good things to say about the company. The thing is with a company this large, CVS to you is your District Manager and your Pharmacy Supervisor. If they are good people and good at what they do, you will have a great experience. They are jerks, you will have a bad experience.

Bingo, and our DM is a grade A douche bag A-hole

 

[Jbuprepharm]

Second, the company understaffs big time! They will work people to death to save a fairly insignificant amount of money. I've never worked harder in a pharmacy than I did when I worked for CVS. Sometimes it's ok to be understaffed, but that only happens on a good, slow day. The computer system is too tedious and backwards, so when the pharmacy is understaffed, you'll simply drown. You can't call more people in to help you, because the help hours are so tight and strictly enforced. I've heard too many people use the phrase "abandon ship, abandon ship", while working for CVS.

I agree with everything written, but this point is the deal breaker for me. I love my store and my co-workers, and my boss is hot, but once I'm done in amarillo, I'm done with CVS (whether I stick with retail or not)

 

[PharmDstudent]

I agree with everything written, but this point is the deal breaker for me. I love my store and my co-workers, and my boss is hot, but once I'm done in amarillo, I'm done with CVS (whether I stick with retail or not)

Same here. It was a waste of my life working for them.

 

[sdn1977]

WOW - just wow!

 

[confettiflyer]

I was thinking while at work today about this thread and PharmDstudent's reply. Yes, I'm quite the nerd, excited about an SDN reply and thinking about it at work!

Suffice to say, I pretty much resonated with each and every point (that I possibly could, as a lowly clerk/tech) that he made regarding CVS. Exception would be the a/c as that's never been an issue for me.

I also can see how everyone's experience could be different given the size of the company. But wow, that reply feels like one of my staff pharmacists at work could have written that. For 6 transactions in a row today, I had to call over the pharmacist for a register override regarding a) those extra crap cards or b) the $25 gift card coupons because the pt forgot.

My feel good moment was when my pharmacist actually allowed me to fill 10 scripts the other night just prior to closing when practically no one was in the store (at great personal risk, I know, so trust me when I say I quadruple checked everything and she was no more than 2 feet away). I thought, "this is the way it should be, not chaos for the remaining 7 hours of my shift."

I say this because I really like my pharmacists, techs, and clerks at work...heck even store management is great. It's just that every since I started, I've felt weird about how "things" are set-up in general, and pharmdstudent hits the nail on the head. I've contemplated finding another job at a lower volume store, but because of who I've worked with and the fact that I've learned quite a bit, I'll probably stick it out just a bit longer.

I guess the big thing I've learned is that the high volume/understaffed retail scene is not for me. I can handle it, but I'd just deteriorate over time. Hmm...to be continued!

 

[pinkyrx]

Wow!! They control your air conditioning? How does that work? A cool work environment is a must for me!!

 

[tussionex]

work in a hospital.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Wow!! They control your air conditioning? How does that work? A cool work environment is a must for me!!

Doctor M knows how to tweak the air conditioning! I won't give away his/her secrets though .

 

[rxlynn]

I'll expand on this point of staffing. I'm a 6 year+ tech veteran of CVS, and have noticed over the years that the company is particularly bad about "adjusting" tech hours over the course of a calendar year. For example, when your store has the inevitable summer slowdown, around July or so, the DM will cut the tech hours budget to the bare bones. Then, as the prescription volume ramps back up in the fall/early winter, the store will be terribly understaffed for a few months. Then, the DM will grudgingly add back in some tech hours, and then we will go through the same cycle next summer. This results in several problems, one of which is that you can't necessarily retain good techs because it is difficult to predict how many hours you might or might not have to give them. The company is making a tremendous amount of money - it seems like a little investment in being staffed enough to provide good customer service could go a long way.

 

[Zamboni200000]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT CVS??? haha

 

[PharmDstudent]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT CVS??? haha

NO! Except Old Timer, but I think they've spiked his tea.

 

[rxlynn]

They were evaluated on "customer service". Basically, if there were any customer complaints at all, their raises suffered. This is unfortunate, because customer complaints can be very subjective. Pharmacists are not psychiatrists, therefore they can't know exactly how to please every customer. There are ways to undermine this by making a fake phone call, but it's unethical- they could just call 1800SHOPCVS and act like a satisfied customer.

This is a big complaint of mine also. The customer service scores (Triple S) are based on phone calls made by patients in response to a prompt on the register receipts. So, anybody who's had beginning statistics can tell you that those numbers will be artificially lowered, since it's much more likely that somebody who had a bad experience will call than somebody who was basically satisfied with their service.

Also, this allows the store to game the system (and yes, I have personally witnessed this unethical behavior multiple times). Either the staff will keep the portion of the receipt with the phone number and code to call, and then use that information to call in as a fake patient and give the store all 5's, or in the instance that the clerk sees the phone prompt print out for a patient that is known to be a problem (therefore more likely to call and complain about the store), then the clerk will just conveniently tear off the receipt at the wrong place, thus insuring that the call information won't be used by the patient. So, voila! If the store does this enough, then suddenly they are a successful store with high Triple S scores. Of course, none of this really tells us anything about how well the store ACTUALLY serves its customers!

So, I am interested to know how OldTimer and some other CVS folks feel about this - what am I missing about why the company thinks this is a good way to measure stores???

 

[rxlynn]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT CVS??? haha

Yes - I feel like they have given me very good raises every year and by this point I am being paid more than fairly for what years of service I have. When I had a child, they were very generous with my maternity leave considering I was a tech in a retail situation. My pharmacists have been personally great and very encouraging to me in pursuing my goal of pharmacy school, and my store manager is really good.

 

[confettiflyer]

Also, this allows the store to game the system (and yes, I have personally witnessed this unethical behavior multiple times). Either the staff will keep the portion of the receipt with the phone number and code to call, and then use that information to call in as a fake patient and give the store all 5's, or in the instance that the clerk sees the phone prompt print out for a patient that is known to be a problem (therefore more likely to call and complain about the store), then the clerk will just conveniently tear off the receipt at the wrong place, thus insuring that the call information won't be used by the patient.

Hmm this is a good idea, I think I'll keep this in mind when I go to work tomorrow

 

[PharmDstudent]

Yes - I feel like they have given me very good raises every year and by this point I am being paid more than fairly for what years of service I have. When I had a child, they were very generous with my maternity leave considering I was a tech in a retail situation. My pharmacists have been personally great and very encouraging to me in pursuing my goal of pharmacy school, and my store manager is really good.

They cater to interns. I took a $2.50/hr pay cut when I left, but I won't be insulted as a pharmacist when it's time for a 1-3% raise. When you do the math, your top raise right now is around $1.50/hr. How do you justify the gap that exists when the newbies are paid more?

Let me spell it out: a pharmacist makes $47.00/hr. His raise is 3%. He will now make $48.41/hr. His colleague was hired at $49.00/hr. They get the same 3% raise, but it means $50.47/hr. The recently hired pharmacist will always make more money, especially if they've worked for another corporation that paid them more, because CVS will sometimes match a pharmacist's previous salary.

 

[Old Timer]

I guess I will now do a SDN1977 post, so pull up a chair. I'll try not to pontificate. Also any use of the word you is the royal you and is not addressed to any person unless I name that person. I'll try to address some of the misconceptions that have been spread. First as a I said before, your experience at CVS will depend on your DM and more importantly your Pharmacy Supervisor. If they are as Jbuprepharm said a grade A douche bag A-hole, you screwed, sorry. By that is true of any job. Take a hospital job or an industry job and if your boss meets the above criteria, your job will suck.
p.s. My tea is not spiked. I have been a community pharmacist for 25 years and I never, ever, ever thought I would work for the enemy, CVS. My boss at an independent pharmacy was so bad he made the grade A douche A-hole mentioned before look like a saint. So I called a former student who works for CVS and I got an interview. I was given an immediate 34% increase in pay and went from every other weekend to every 4th weekend. My stress went down as my bank account increased.

Triple-S: Yes, I know people cheat the system. The people who work for CVS are human beings. Without causing the whole board to erupt in panic I won't discuss the religious or moral implications of this activity. I don't do it and I don't condone it. Here is what I do know. Those patients that give the higher Triple-S scores spend significantly more money at each visit. They are less likely to shop the competition and less likely to leave the store for a competitor. This comports with common sense, those customers that feel they get better service at CVS are better customers for CVS. Those stores with higher Triple-S scores have more sales growth, make more profit and resist the competition better than stores with lower Triple-S scores. Are there problems with the system sure. I wish there were more receipts printed. I wish they did not print one after an RX refund. An RX refund is almost always and unpleasant experience. I know you feel this does not measure anything of value, but in reality the higher the Triple-S score the better the store performs.

Tech Hours: This is a touchy subject. Everybody wants more. There is no budget adjusting done by anyone. Your tech hours are set before the year begins. You have a base number of prescriptions and base number of tech hours. You are supposed to add or subtract one tech hour for each 11 scripts either way. You get a print out called green sheets (which are no longer on green paper) that are updated weekly and show what you did last year and what you are budgeted to do this year in a given week. Let's say your base is 1000 scripts per week and a tech budget of 115 hours. If your store is budgeted to do 1100 during a given week you can schedule 1100-1000= 100 extra scripts flex=base+(overage/11) in this case your flex is 124 hours. Flex is what they look at. You also flex down if your budgeted to do less and send people home early if it's really slow. If you don't know what green sheets are or have never seen them, you do not have enough information to comment on the way tech hours are allotted. Now there are problems with the CVS formula. Some stores are high maintenance and meeting budgeted hours will never happen. The system tends to work well at stores under 1500 scripts per week and over 2500 scripts per week. In between 1500 and 2500, the formula needs tweaking, IMHO. Another problem is the model assumes everyone is 100% trained and efficient. This is not true when hiring new people. They also do not allow enough training hours, again, IMHO.

Extra Care Cards: This is the most successful loyalty card programs in the USA. Make sure you ask for the card first when you are at the register. Also, use your noodle. You can activate the extra care card with the phone number, which happens to be on the receipt. So while Mrs. Smith is signing the log, type in her phone number and you won't have any problems. Again this is a loyalty card. People who are loyal to CVS come in and bring their cash. The cash they leave pays your salary. Tom Ryan does not have a money tree in Woonsocket, RI to pay you.

Coupons: Corporates job is drive patients into the store. At the store level it is your job to satisfy the customer so they will come back and spend more money so you can have a bigger raise. A coupon is an opportunity to meet a new patient and get to know them and give them a reason to come back to you. It's marketing 101. They do what they have to get the bodies into the store. If corporate is going over your head and ordering gift cards for disgruntled customers, you are doing a poor job of customer service. Your job is to try (not always possible) satisfy the customer at store level. Without knowing what particular issues were involved, I can't advise on how you could have handled them. If you can't satisfy the customer, DON'T let them call HQ. Tell them to call your boss and give the customer his/her corporate voice mail. Let the pharmacy supe deal with the a-holes. It never reaches HQ. Your supe is likely to satisfy the customer while backing you up.

Pay Rates: I don't know what other pharmacists are making in other parts of the country. In Philadelphia, the grads are NOT making more than the pharmacists who are already employed. I know I am making significantly more than the grads. I also know I have earned it. I have volunteered for all kinds of activities, some w/o pay, and I have been rewarded with handsome increases in pay. I can't speak to what happens in other parts of the country. If I were a pharmacist who has been with the company for 6 years and some kid fresh out of school were making more than me, I would be as they say less than thrilled. If this is happening in your area, your Pharmacy Supes and DM's are doing a poor job.

The Computer System: This is definitely a problem. It is being addressed. The system is easy to learn, but it is an old elephant. They are in the process of replacing the system. It is the weakest part of the company. The good thing is, corporate is aware and they are working on a new system. Sorry I can't divulge much more than that except to say they expect it to reduce phone calls by over 50%.

P.S.I: PSI is an anachronim (sp) for Pharmacy Service Initiative. This is the process of typing prescriptions into the system while patient waits at drop off. This is done so all problems can be identified and resolved before the patient comes back to pick up their prescriptions. It is a huge time saver. It's better if Mr. Jones knows at drop off his Celebrex needs a PA or his Azmacort is nor formulary and the copay will be $50.00 or his coverage has expired. There are no surprises at pick up. If you have not been at CVS long enough to have worked it both ways, I can tell you it is much better this way. As for the wait time, I would prefer the 20 minute mark, but corporate has studies that show 15 minutes is what the public wants. Now before you all freak out,if you look at your wait time reports and you are honest, you will see your average time to verify is almost always less than 15 minutes by a huge margin. What an experienced data entry person will do is re-set the patient's expectations if you cannot meet the 15 minute mark for whatever the reason. If they come to drop off with 15 prescriptions, they will probably not be done in 15 minutes, NO DUH.... The average time to complete a waiting script is less than 10 minutes. This does not include P/A's complicated DUR problems, insurance rejects, and a whole host of other problems. If there is a problem, your job is to let the patient know you cannot meet the expectation and come up with a mutually convenient solution.

AIR CONDITIONING: I really can't believe I am going to address this, but in order to be complete, I shall. They have a central monitoring service. If your store is too cold or too warm, call and they will adjust the temp for you. If it is still not right, call the FIXX line and get a service tech out there. Again is all perfect, no. I would like it to be a few ticks cooler and I would also like it if they turned the air up 15-30 minutes before the store opened as opposed to right at opening so it would already be cool when you opened. If it is that hot, store supply a fan and keep yourself comfortable. The reason for the central system is too many stores were destroying their systems by running them into the ground. Aside from the waste of energy and money for electricity, the cost of replacing these units is enormous.

In conclusion, I hope I have touched on the points people have raised. I have been with CVS for 6+1/2 years and I find it to be a remarkable company. I am paid well, treated professionally, have great benefits, flexible scheduling and a host of other perks. It appears the reason for some of the complaints is ignorance. Not on the part of the posters, but on their Pharmacists, especially the PIC's. It appears they are not aware of the options available to them to solve some of these problems as they arise. It also appears they do not understand the scheduling model or how to work with field management to improve the working conditions for their employees. It saddens me to see pharmacy students who work for CVS not feel good about the company or what it offers. This reflects poorly on the field management in these areas, not the students. If you want more information, let me know.

 

[Caverject]

hey man...you got the cliff notes version available?

 

[Old Timer]

hey man...you got the cliff notes version available?

That was the cliff notes version. A great deal was left out to protect the innocent. I did warn people it would be a long post.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

I got good stuff to say about cvs too. Lets see where to start off.. .

I hear a lot of complaints about tech hours, and pharmacists being short staffed. Like old timer said, your tech hours are assigned to you at the beginning of the year. You can pull up your web hours online. Whatever hours you do not use up in this month, will be moved to the next. So say you are assigned 100 hours for month A. If you only used up 85 of the hours, 15 of the hours are saved up, and you can use it for the next month. The only bad thing is if you dont use all of it up, next year, your total yearly hours will go down because they figure you dont need the extra help. Concering staffing shortage, is there a reason why there is a staff shortage? It can be because there is no "Trained help" available instead of the company being grimey. Another reason can be because the supervising pharmacist did not allocate the correct hours to the right time.

In terms of new graduates getting paid more than pharmacists who have been with the company for a while, this is not CVS alone. This is most other retail pharmacies too. If you are not happy, go to an area with a union in place. For seniority, there are other benefits that cannot be replaced with bonus alone like more paid vacations.

About customer service, you dont really have to cater to them. You just got to be smart about it. Unless you are the SP, you dont get "paid more" per se. If the DM is all over your ass, just tell them that you did your best and they should know how the business is. They understand as they were pharmacists at one point of time too, and want to keep their staff happy.

 

[Caverject]

First, CVS is notorious for paying its loyal pharmacists less than the new graduates. The pharmacists from my original CVS district got paid $3-5 less per hour than the new grads. Also, the raises/bonuses were not calculated based on the number of RXs they filled and sold. They were evaluated on "customer service". Basically, if there were any customer complaints at all, their raises suffered. This is unfortunate, because customer complaints can be very subjective. Pharmacists are not psychiatrists, therefore they can't know exactly how to please every customer. There are ways to undermine this by making a fake phone call, but it's unethical- they could just call 1800SHOPCVS and act like a satisfied customer.

Second, the company understaffs big time! They will work people to death to save a fairly insignificant amount of money. I've never worked harder in a pharmacy than I did when I worked for CVS. Sometimes it's ok to be understaffed, but that only happens on a good, slow day. The computer system is too tedious and backwards, so when the pharmacy is understaffed, you'll simply drown. You can't call more people in to help you, because the help hours are so tight and strictly enforced. I've heard too many people use the phrase "abandon ship, abandon ship", while working for CVS.

Third, they require too much paperwork and manual labor. There are so many different reports that have to be filled out by hand. They wanted us to call patients after their RXs had been ready for six days(literally call a list of people's phone numbers). You can't scan multiple RXs into the computer system; each RX has to be scanned right before the RX is going to be typed. They wanted us to type the RXs while the patients stood at the drop off window, because "it makes it seem faster" to the patient. They think the customers perceive that they've waited less, because it only took 10 minutes to fill the RX after it was "dropped off"(actually it was dropped off and typed). Ideally, we were suppose to answer the phone by the second ring or within 20 seconds(if we couldn't answer it on the second ring). The pharmacies are rated on how long, on average, it takes them to pick up the phones. CVS headquarters now controls the air conditioning systems too. I live in Louisiana, so how can they know how hot it is if they're in Rhode Island??? Maybe they just have some arbitrary number in mind. It could be 74 degrees for all I know.

Forth, they want you to have the RXs filled in 15 minutes or less. It's just like fast food- I'm sorry, but there's no getting around that.

Fifth, they reward bad behavior with gift cards. They give them $25-30 on a gift card for the "inconveniences" that they've had to suffer. This doesn't sound too bad at first, but it's just a way for the corporation to undermine the pharmacist's decision. For example: "Oh, you're not happy with our overworked, stressed out pharmacists? We can fix that, here's a gift card. Come again!"

Finally, they utilize the Extra Care card and their registers suck, which makes the job even more tedious. The pharmacist has to authorize all overrides concerning that damn card. If someone forgets to use their card, we had to get an authorization for the "Extra Care card update" after the transaction's over. The registers suck, because you can't go back after you've pressed the total key. Everything has to be voided after that point if there's a problem. Sometimes people want you to use their phone numbers instead of scanning their cards, which just adds to the tediousness. They have Extra Care card coupons that print out on the register receipts which expire within approximately two weeks- total BS if you ask me. Customers never get a chance to use their coupons, because they're always expired.

so why are you in pharmacy? All the retail chains will be similar so I guess I don't really understand the basis of your anger towards CVS

 

[Caverject]

That was the cliff notes version. A great deal was left out to protect the innocent. I did warn people it would be a long post.

your editor is fired

on a serious note though....just about everything you said can be applied to almost all chain drug stores and even some grocery chain drug stores. If you don't like it, perhaps a different area of pharmacy would be a better place to start off...

 

[Old Timer]

your editor is fired

on a serious note though....just about everything you said can be applied to almost all chain drug stores and even some grocery chain drug stores. If you don't like it, perhaps a different area of pharmacy would be a better place to start off...

To a certain extent yes, retail is retail. It has it's good points and it's bad points. I interviewed with Walgreens and was singularly unimpressed. I was told the entire interview how bad CVS was and how great WAGS was. If you think CVS is controlling, CVS is summer camp compared to Walgreens. Flexible is not a word associated with Walgreens. I really think CVS is on the cutting edge right now as a company. It's very aggressive in the market place and if you want to work retail, you will have a great future.

 

[PharmDstudent]

so why are you in pharmacy? All the retail chains will be similar so I guess I don't really understand the basis of your anger towards CVS

You wanna know why I'm in pharmacy? I can't believe you even require justification. What, am I supposed to prove my worthiness to you? I'll do that if it's necessary.
FYI: I'm fearless, so you can expect an honest answer when the time comes.

Tediousness at CVS is very, very draining as an employee. It's like taking the backroads on a 500 mile trip to a hospital instead of the interstate. I need to get people their medications; I don't need to waste time trying to figure out how to get the RXs through the computer system.
It's a matter of efficiency within the pharmacy. Things can either be inefficient and at a minimum or efficient and maximal. An inefficient, maxed-out work load is horrific. Believe it or not, I like things to be a little edgy and complicated. I'm not trying to advocate for a cake walk or anything like that.
The differences between the retail chains make them...well...DIFFERENT. I'm not angry about the existence of CVS. I'm angry about how they treat their employees, when they could be doing exponentially better.
I liked my coworkers, customers, employee discount, and freebie coupons, but that's all. I can find those things elsewhere.

 

[OUTexan]

In our district with CVS, a lot of the stores hours have been cut since the summer ended. There is a rumor going around that the last week the interns were with CVS, they got billed to the individual stores instead of the intern program. Therefore, the district was over 700 hours that week. In turn, the DM tries to cut ours to be under for the year.

Old Timer, you made a comment about how the DM will smooth things over if a customer has a complaint and will back up the pharmacy staff. However, our DM has told us specifically that he will just give them a $30 coupon if they have a complaint. I don't feel like that is backing us as a staff. For example, someone is on Medicaid and brings in a $30 coupon. I tell this person we can't honor it because she is on medicaid which is a government funded program. It happens to say it in small print. Well, they call the DM up and no matter what, here is your $30 gift card. How does someone deal with that?

I feel like CVS doesn't train there new hires well. I feel like there should be some mandatory classes and tests to pass before you go into the pharmacy. I like the idea of the CDs for HIPPA, but they do not do very well in training someone about the anatomy of a prescription. Yes, this does take practice, but maybe having to pass a test of the sigs and knowing some brief knowledge of drugs (Prozac = Fluoxetine) might be more beneficial than working on CDs by yourself. Each district also has a pharmacy trainer. However, I think a lot of the time, these trainers are too busy with paper work than actually teaching and training new employees.

All in All, I still like CVS. They have been very flexible with me and I have only had minor bumps here and there. I think I get more stressed out with some of my customers. I think I work in an area that is probably the richest area in the states and people want to be catered to a little more at the Walmart price.

Oh, and about the air conditioner. When it is too hot, heat up an ice pack and put it on the thermostat. Then, it will sense the heat and turn on the ac. Vice versa if it is too cold.

 

[confettiflyer]

Wow...thank you Old Timer for that post, it puts things into perspective. I think I'll keep my eyes and ears open and try to get a feel for things.... ::brain gears start churning::::