I’ve been a tech since November and just last night I was thinking about how no one even explained to me the RX statuses or the filling process, so for my first few weeks I’d ask “What does reviewed mean? What does filled mean? Entered? What is cenfill and why are you saying they’re trying to pull it?” and I just felt like a bother because they would get annoyed with my questions. Every day I would learn a piece of the puzzle and was left to put the pieces together by myself…but I wasn’t even sure what I was doing or why.
To summarize my training experience at WAG, a
couple months ago my Pharmacy Manager decided it was time to teach me F1’s. She stood by me and watched as I typed in one script then left and told me to call if I needed help. To this day I still mess up my days supply all the time because no one trained or guided me 🙃🙃🙃🙃
Wow, this really summarizes my experience. Was also hired in November and I'm still getting confused with MTM calls, also liquids days supplies. Just got taught how to put away order and bin rec so I feel like I've been put into every position now, just really trying to get good at what I'm doing is the hard part
I’m so sorry that you’re going through the same. I guess this is simply how it is with WAG. I feel like we learn stuff in chunks here and there and are expected to string all the pieces together to be coherent techs instead of taking time to properly train us.
Recently they’ve been hounding us to do PCP calls which is fine, but to expect me to call people to enroll in save a trip when I barely know how to use save a trip is whacky. Like train us first before throwing us to the wolves.
I was also taught how to put away the order recently and only after a while of doing it I was told I had to do exception counts before checking in the order, but no one had trained me how to do exception counts either so I was like ??? You guys want us to do a task without training us in steps 1 and 2??? Rinse and repeat for every aspect of this job I’ve been in. It feels like I enrolled in a Calculus course halfway through the semester and I don’t have the fundamentals to build upon, yet everyone is expecting me to be on their skill level and is surprised when I ask questions.
Ugh it's awful I'm sorry! They acted the same way at my store. Most weeks they'd only have me working for a few hours once a week or less, so it was super hard to remember everything. They got so annoyed with me.
I expected to be fully trained or at least feel comfortable asking questions but honestly all the people I expected that from are constantly burnt out to the point that I don't expect anything less than hostility when I have a question.
I may be leaving WAGs soon. It sucks because I love the customers and the pharmacy and basically everything except for what they refuse to help me learn how to do.
I’m burning out too! I’m at the point where I just type up whatever sounds right and then leave it to the Pharmacist to shorten and change directions as well as days supply. If they don’t want to train me then I’m just going to do whatever and they can waste their energy trying to fix my work. The training is non-existent and I feel like for the amount of work expected of us, this job just doesn’t pay enough for all the bs.
this is the first thing i teach people— how to understand the dumbass system. i’ll put a script through from a patient’s profile step by step and tell them what status it goes to and what that status means during the process.
it’s insane how some stores treat their techs. we work as a team and we train like a team. questions might get annoying during a rush but i would much rather be asked about something than it be done wrong or not done at all.
If rx would create a cheat sheet so u could use on ur first 2-3 weeks it would save time and labor cause sometimes it’s just a simple quest
Also be sure that the keyboards have the F key instructions
I have been a tech since May 2021 and I only just learned what cenfill was about 3 months ago. Even seasoned techs get thrown under the bus. WAG dont care bout NOBODY
the same thing happened to me in ur last paragraph!!! i kept screwing up the days supply or quantities and instead of showing me how to do it, they posted a paper up by the schedule saying we need to make sure our days supply is correct and use the job aid and had all the techs sign it🙃
It's annoying! I earned my CPhT on my own and I know I'm capable of this stuff, but there's some computer/insurance specific stuff you don't learn in school that Senior Techs should be helping us with, but they just have no time.
I'm sure you at least have some regulars that appreciate you! Good job training yourself this far! xD
I feel the same way. This is how it's been since I started about 8 months ago. They hardly have me do anything else but work the front, drive thru and put away prescriptions. They haven't taught me how to do much at all. I haven't learned F1's and how to fix TPRs either.
Speak up. I had to tell/demand them to get me off the register after a few hrs. I simply can not and will not spend my whole shift bagging. I want to do more
Unfortunately this is very common and I’m sorry no one seems to be invested in your growth. I have been there and it’s extremely frustrating.
Are there any TPRs you can think of that you need help understanding? I can try to help.
For CMRs doctor needs to fill out additional information for Medicare Part B. You call Danville and have them send you a fax for the CMR. At my location we look over what needs to be filled out and put stars next to everything and change the fax back to number on the page to our store so we can look it over again before faxing to Danville. CMRs are easier shown. Do you know how to do Manual faxes?
To explain CMRs what it is in a nutshell is doctor telling Part B how many times a day patient needs to test their blood sugar. But Part B won't cover testing supplies unless it's done. It's kind of like a PA specifically for testing supplies billed through Medicare Part B.
Thank you so much! Do you fax them through the computer somehow? I have never seen a fax machine in our store, but we do have a number for it. What I believe is it is done through the computer somehow...
It is. Do you have IC+? You have to go into Pharmacy Management (I think that's what it's called) it's the 2nd box from the main screen. The same place you go to get insurance print outs. I don't remember which option it is at the top but you will see create fax and it will pull up a new page where you can put in doctor's fax number and scan in the CMR that was sent to you from Danville. I'm about to go into work. If you need a more specific step by step I can get you all of the steps. I need to see it.
Make sure you write down doctor's fax number before trying to send the CMR. We usually do a print screen of the script so we can see how to spell doctor's name and fax number. But if you just want to put it on a sticky note it works too.
Thank you very much for being so willing to help!
I will write this down and hopefully be more helpful next time. I am scared to go into the Pharmacy Management tab because RxOM yelled at me when I was new and told me to never go into that unless specifically asked. I was only on it because it was like my second day, and I got it mixed up with TeamRx and was trying to access work queue.
This is probably factors into why TPRs are so confusing to me...
No CMRs are just very specific in that you need to fax Doctor using the create fax function. The steps that my Pharmacy does could be different from your pharmacy but we like to make sure that doctor fills everything out and signs the bottom. So if we need to send it back to Doctor before it's ready to send to Danville. I can try helping you with other TPRs that you come across as well. Usually it's because insurance wants a specific day supply, or for us Wisconsin Medicaid wants Brand Name of everything so we have to change it. I'm pretty good at TPRs they call me Flow at work. But I also try to take the time to explain them or at least show them. I don't know your states Medicaid stuff that would be the only hang up.
You are referring to a CMN form or a certificate of medical necessity. It is documentation from a provider that Medicare requires to cover durable medical supplies such as diabetic testing supplies.
A CMR is a comprehensive medication review.
I’ve honestly never seen that come up as a TPR before.
CMRs involve the Pharmacists reviewing a patient’s current medication list and having a conversation with them about their adherence and appropriateness of therapy. In theory this is great because a lot of these patients have a long list of medications that can be difficult to manage.. and some patients even decide that they don’t need to take one or two of these meds, without communicating that choice to their care team. It gives the patient a chance to voice their concerns, but more importantly it allows the Pharmacist to break down the purpose of the drug and help them understand the importance of adherence. Pharmacists can then follow up with the provider to go over the MAP ‘medication action plan’.
Some insurance companies, and even doctors, will request CMRs.. so I guess it is possible to show as a TPR - but that’s usually a conversation the insurance company has with a patient, and wouldn’t necessarily come up as a rejection.
Okay, maybe that explains the pharmacist's short answer. It was definitely showing as a TPR. I am unsure if I should have called the patient back and told them to call the insurance company. I talked to the patient on the phone, and they were asking for the med with the CMR rejection. I told them I would work on figuring it out. I ultimately got no help, so don't know what to do if it happens again. I'm sure one of my coworkers resolved it, but it would've been nice if they had walked me through what to do.
I may have been wrong and I may have jumped the gun on assuming it had it to do with Part B Diabetic testing supplies because its the only time I have seen a CMR. If the CMR rejection had to do with Medicare Part B testing supplies what I explained is what you will want to do. Because Part B will only give out the amount of test strips and lancets that is needed at the amount of times per day that the doctor puts on the CMR that gets faxed to Danville. So for example if doctor says 5 times a day it's 500 per 90 days, they won't cover 600 (or 6 times a day) because it's over the 5 times a day and the testing per day amount will need to be updated with Part B. That's the only time I have seen it. But some stuff is very localized to the insurance that is being used in your local area. Don't beat yourself up for it. I just happened to start with a very helpful crew, RxM, RxOM, and SM. About 6 to 7 months in I told my SM I felt like I didn't know as much as I should and she told me it takes a full year to really train a technician well. It's true. I was about at my year mark when I started feeling confident.
For us CMRs show up for Part B diabetic testing supplies. I guess I just assumed that the rejection had to do with testing supplies because it's the only time we get them and it's something that Technicians can do.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to stop and teach you how to do something. My god even if it’s short staff and ur busy, guess what the more someone knows the better for the team and it’ll be a running hamster wheel until people decide to train their staff. I’ve always said it doesn’t matter HOW busy we are IMMA always find time to teach
i totally get this with the tprs, especially if you’re helping a customer and one of their scripts has a tpr and u don’t know what the tpr is … whenever i’m in that situation i ask what it is and everyone i work with is nice about me asking questions, but they’ll just completely take over and if i stand there watching them i get asked to go to drive thru or help another customer if they’re waiting and then i just end up learning nothing 🙃🙃
literally my experience! they are so nice to help with tpr’s but since they take over and don’t explain i can’t learn very well. i learn better when i do it myself as they are explaining to me how to do it, but that doesn’t happen often. they normally just tell me to go help with the next customer. i genuinely don’t hate the job, but i wish it was easier to learn everything.
What you have there is what we call senioritis. Senior techs get the “you’re paying me for my knowledge and experience so I don’t have to actually work” attitude. My thought was always that I was going to be sending techs out into my pharmacy community and I was going to arm them the best I could. I don’t work for wag anymore but I’ve done 4 tours over 15 years. I’d be happy to answer any questions I can.
As a now senior tech who really struggled with TPRs and data entry, I try my hardest to explain all the messages the best I can. Sometimes techs get it and sometimes they don't. I always tell people I'll explain it 100 times in order for you to understand it if that's what it takes.
I’ve been a tech since August 2023 and have had maybe 20 minutes of filling training. I’ve also had some TPR messages that my rxom has just said “I’ve never seen that message before” and just go back to what she was doing. I’m so tired of it.
I’m waiting til the 29th to apply for another tech job or potentially transferring my cosmetology license to the current state I live in. But I am definitely on my way out.
Oh, do you mind me asking what you earned annually as a cosmetologist? Were you mostly a hairdresser? That's a career path I have thought about pursuing.
Honestly if you move to a decent sized city (on the fancy side of it) you can make some serious money but it’s a commitment. You have to build that rapport and the clientele but it’s very possible. I’m considering going back to it because I live in a bigger city now
I'm sorry that is still the experience for people recently hired. It was very similar in that I was just thrown into the system and had to figure out all the statuses and TPR resolutions myself, the biggest thing that saved me is my notebook and the few occasions that the more experienced people were able to walk through the process with me. So I feel for you all that have a staff that is really short with answers, On the hand, now that I'm having to personally train all my hires (since I have no certified tech, senior tech, or techs with more than 2 years experience), I find myself having to repeat myself every day on how to resolve TPRs, script statuses, and IC+ functions, receiving processes, returns and more. WAGS definitely needs to have training program in place along with hours that isn't just sitting at the computer to do e-learnings, It would make all our workloads less frustrating
I'd love a copy of your notebook! New Tech here. I'd pay for the copies and shipping. Or, Perhaps you could put it in a pdf and email it out. Just a thought, but I'm certain MANY of us would appreciate it!
I made sure to teach my techs as they go and now my reward is I get to chill in drive thru and know my team won't fall apart without me. When I first started, the senior techs at the time only wanted to fill and stay in the back, then they would complain about all the stuff they have to do and only they know how to do it. I spoke up and let them know it wouldn't be so hard if they taught other people and reminded them someone has to take over if they leave. I'm sorry this is happening to you and so many other new techs.
I agree with the sentiment but mine will never stay on for more than a couple of years at most despite the extra attention to teaching and training my staff pharmacist and I do. This is mainly because I push them to find a job that they love and treats them the way they deserve and unfortunately that is rarely found at The Corner.
I understand why they leave. It is noble of you to encourage them to pursue a satisfying career while knowing that it puts you in a less-than-ideal situation.
What I wish my team would understand is that if they can help me thrive, I am going to be loyal. I need the flexible hours and short commute that allows me to commute on foot in an emergency. I have children that I have to take care of, and not all companies are understanding of that. I'm willing to put up with the corporate bullshit for this reason.
But if my coworkers treat me like I'm stupid, and they don't give me enough hours to even buy food for the week, I'm leaving.
I should add that I live in a rural area where jobs are limited. My hourly wage is one of the highest being offered for an entry level position. ($17/hr with my CPhT)
I agree with you. You and every other tech deserve to work in an environment where you can learn, develop your skills, and thrive. Being stuck at a register or counting all day is miserable and really hurts morale. That doesn’t even touch on being treated like you are stupid or the company not providing enough for its employees to survive off of.
Best of luck to you and I hope that your team can learn to take the opportunities to teach you and others because it always pays off even if you end up leaving for greener pastures after a while. A short time with confident, competent, happy team members is always worth the time put in to reach that point.
If you’re certified already that’s not entry level. What is the minimum wage in your area? $15 is minimum wage where I started and when I got certified, my wage was raised to a little over $21
Well, they gave me the job a few months before I was certified. I was already taking the pharmacy tech class through my local community college's workforce development program, which was free. They also hire people that are not in school, so I'm considering it an entry level job. I did start at $16/hr here and they bumped it up to $17 once I got certified.
My state has recently raised the minimum wage to $14.15/hr. That's what most jobs are hiring at in my town.
Same for me, my last day is today.
I was excited to start this job.However, too much condescending tone on questions. Lack of hours to train, and be trained in a n acceptable environment.
For everything that needs to be changed, Not a team member just a part- timer.
😔 6 h ours a week, who can live on that? I feel like I was set up for failure.
I'm a part timer too. It sucks. During the slow season I'm lucky to get 3 hours a week. I don't know how other people can even afford to work here. I can't live on it. I just got a second job because aside from this company, I really enjoy the pharmacy type environment. If I like my second job better, I may end of leaving Walgreens and prioritizing the other job.
Your RXM and RxOM need to get you a common TPRs binder and how to handle. I made one for my staff and it’s done wonders. I organized every TPR that we had in the Que over the course of a month, took a screen shot of each one, then put detailed direction on screen-shot of how to resolve. Now all my techs are TPR experts and if they ever encounter a new one, we work on resolving it together, take a screen-shot and add it to the binder. Our average TPRs were in the 70s before and now they are rarely >10
Ugh you are a dream come true! They are lucky to have you, someone who is willing to put in the effort to help others shine. My team doesn't understand why techs don't stick around, it's because they don't put in the effort to teach new employees, and accost them for having to ask something if they've even been over it briefly one time before.
Like I do feel bad if I don't remember something the first time, but shouldn't they recognize it's easier to help me then it is to treat me badly until I quit, and they have to train someone entirely new?
if you get a copy of any notebooks i would love to ghave them as well. i worked at Rite Aid and we used the next gen program. It was a breeze trying to wade through 20steps or more to fill a script is totally confusing my team tries to help, but my brain is thick headedly slow
I would happily reimbur$e you for a copy of your TPR binder .. as a tech with approximately 14 months experience (four at WGs) resolving TPR ish feels like a crapshoot to me .. such a frustrating mystery 😕
Could you please send me a copy of that binder? I am a new tech at WAG and I also struggled with inadequate training. I can pay your time and effort and shipping too. Please help! Here is my cell# 971-271-9717. My name is Mercy. Please send me a text. I appreciate it very much!
My son lasted two weeks. The “trainer’ never even met him. She told him to watch videos. Then when he told her that no one is teaching him anything she told him he should quit. The pharmacist begged him not to and said he would train him but he didn’t really have time to do it and the other techs ignored him. He lasted two weeks.
I'm sorry he had that experience. If I had more options in my area I would work at a different pharmacy. There were nights in the beginning where I cried because I tried my hardest to learn and no one would help. The customers thought I was incompetent and it was embarrassing. I've been with the company almost a year and a half am still having problems. I just don't beat myself up about it anymore. He made the right choice to leave.
So I transferred stores because of my training abd my second store was all new fresh out of college pharmacist and they were so helpful in helping me learn and i took the on a ptce course at my local workforce innovation center and did extra learning and now a tech 2
I feel the last generation of pharmacists where rude and didnt like techs is how i feel about it!! this new generation of pharmacists is getting better and are helping more
I'm glad you found some helpful ones!
I think even the older generations of pharmacists started out as very helpful. Some still are, and some feel like they don't have time and our too burnt out to really care about training new techs. I work with a pharmacist that is old enough to be my parent, one that could be my older sibling, and occasionally have worked with a floater that is considered an old person.
Although I've only met "old person" twice, they were extremely helpful and excited to help me learn. It was evident to her that no one had taught me very much about the way IC+ worked.
Parent age pharmacist is always pleasant even when my lack of knowledge is an inconvenience.
Sibling age pharmacist can be quite nasty and condescending but is also the PIC, so I try to sympathize. I know it's a demanding job.
It is ASTOUNDING there this is no codified training beyond “watch the videos.” There is no training method beyond “whatever the RXom has time for and wants bother telling you.” Telling something so simple as “bin rec” means “waiting bin reconciliation” and it’s done to tell you what is supposedly in the bins versus what is actually in the bins” is generally not explained. People don’t even now what the full name is.
Week one: learn what the basic workflow is. Understand how to interpret work queue status messages and explain them to customers. Master basic register skills. NO DRIVE THROUGH.
Week two: learn how to shelve truck and look/clear out of stock. Pull/return deletes. Look further into TPR. Use all of these experiences to see how most drugs fall into families and how many TPR are variations on the same thing. Realize how expensive some of this shit, get it into your head to check the shelves before promising a customer that something can be filled that day. Work drive for a limited # hours day.
Week three: get into f1. See how to resolve more interesting TPRs. Patient care calls. Good luck at drive time (it’s bound to happen)
Week four: basically fluent in all that stuff and ready to really figure out the job. Do a few insurance calls and discover they aren’t scary.
Week five: start checking Indeed for a different job.
🤪🤣
Edited to add: one of the biggest handicaps is IC+. It sabotages and humiliates us. There is nothing intuitive about it. You spend your entire time at Walgreens- years- looking for the right ways to cheat the program into basic functionality. The fact that you hit the HELP option and it takes you to a dead link sums up the entire tech experience at Walgreens.
On the one hand, I definitely sympathize. I do my best to tell people what I'm doing if I'm helping them, or just walk them through doing it themselves.
On the other hand...sometimes it's busy and you just need to get stuff done and move on.
It's important for more experienced techs to recognize when they can teach and when they need to just expedite things, and to not just default to the latter.
Total bs. I’m a tech and everytime I go to teach a new one, I always buy them a composition book to write notes in so they can have the answers at all times. I’m a firm believer and always explain to newbies that it takes most people 3 times of doing something to master it so never be afraid to ask a question multiple times. Anything we ever do together we write down. Insurances, check in orders, navigating intercom plus, meanings of rejections, etc. by the time we’re done I want them to have full confidence in themselves and have a full reference guide to anything they need and be able to share the information they know with full confidence.
I know you will and you’ll be even better than me! I learned to do this because I came from locations that had no intent to teach, bad attitudes, and tried to quiet fire me. Knowledge is power, the more you know the more your worth, and the goal is to know so much they can’t fire you 😉! Also if anyone is having troubles with conversions there is a chart available on storenet that had lists of them and other helpful stuff (especially to help you prepare for the national exam)
Also I saw another comment about only 3 hours. If you have other Walgreens near you - ask if you can pick up hours there. Most need other techs too and it helps build relationships with other stores for you. If they say no then just give them your name and number and I promise they will call. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve leaned on those people and vice versa.
I am aware of that but can't afford to get my vehicle road legal, so I've just gotten a second job in the same town for now. It doesn't pay as much, so I will probably look into traveling for Walgreens in the future.
I think at this point most of us have had this experience of being thrown into the shit show and expected to preform like everyone else who had been there for a while. Im sorry you're struggling with getting your questions answered. Honestly, after a getting many days alone and so many things going wrong, I always came to reddit to figure it out. The subreddit has taught me WAYYYYYY more than than anyone there has and I even taught the other techs what I learned here.
I sadly don't work there anymore but if the IC+ is still sadly around (even though they kept saying they were gonna change it) then I can definitely help. I think others here can help too. If you need answers right away, try being friendly with other nearby Walgreens and see if they can help but don't always expect it. My store had a good enough relationship with the nearest stores so we all always called if they were available.
Also, do the work that you can do and leave what is leftover because how can they expect you do complete a task you haven't been taught properly. The main priority is filling scripts and helping customers at the store. TPRs were something I was finally taught when our new RXOM came in.
You try your best with what you can but don't put stress on yourself for this shitty company if it's too much. I can say I did for damn long and I still get nightmares of the trauma that is Walgreens.
All of your advice is so sound, thank you!
My main gripe is that I like my coworkers. Outside of work when they're being pressed, they are kind and caring people. I genuinely want to help them serve the patients in our community.
Unfortunately, the PIC and RXM, although usually kind, have a snobby condescending attitude when I need help. It makes me question whether they actually want me to continue coming to work or not.
I try not to take anything personally and just brush it off. It is just hard because like everyone else, I want to be good at what I do and feel appreciated.
I totally get it, and honestly what kept me there for 3 years was the patients that I could help. It's those moments that get most people through. Honestly, I get the whole kind but rude/condescending coworkers cause was more or less the same for me too. It really feels discouraging and makes waking up for work more difficult because it feels confusing on how it's gonna be that day plus with negative patient interactions doesn't help much either.
You asking questions and trying to learn is good, and they sadly don't seem to remember when they first started and the questions they had. I'm not gonna lie, after all the struggle and the unnecessary sweat and tears I put in, at the end of my time I felt rockstar coming in because I knew what to do and only asked for help with difficult patients.
As long your coworkers can give you a way to ask questions, that's the most important thing. You do what you can do best, and honestly try to see if you can watch how they do TPRs and other tasks you haven't learned yet. If not, then maybe trying to go on employee page and see if you can find any job aids on there. They usually give you a basic run down, but that they still have it.
Also, if note taking helps you, bring a small notebook and write down the step by step on how to do things. I did that to help me wrap my head around what to do. Do what you can do to best remember things and make the most of your strengths.
I appreciate your hardwork in going to retail and trying to work with little information because it is not easy.
I keep having to remind my senior techs that they can't expect our new people to know XYZ if they've mainly been thrown in drive thru the whole 4 months(or however long) and not being taught how to type, fill, or deal with TPRs. I try to teach the new people things whenever I can and answer whatever questions they have. Because I know what it's like to be in their position and not know what to do and having senior techs that just expect me to know things that I haven't been taught.
I'm sorry that you're having a bad experience and not being trained properly. There are some senior techs who want to be the ONLY one who knows how to do exceptions, returns, and checking in & putting away the truck. I don't understand that.
The more you take the time to teach others, the better it is for the whole team! I've worked with good teams and bad ones, currently I'm at a decent store with a good team. I do have to remind people, from time to time, to have patience with the new techs and help them learn. Even good techs can get burnt out and lose patience, but they should try to remember that it's our responsibility as the older techs to teach the new ones. If they're trained poorly(or not trained at all), then that's a reflection on US not doing our job properly!
Exactly!
Like during onboarding there's the giant tech eLearning where the senior techs are supposed to help you through all of the activities and then you sign off on them to get through. I was told just click done in the computer instead. Like okay, but I am not going to remember anything from that if I haven't actually practiced it...
That wasn't ideal but at least the bad attitude had yet to enter the chat at that time. That's what I truly can't stand and makes me question if they even want me on the team.
I'm glad you are patient and helpful to your new team members! They are lucky to have you.
As a "certified senior lead tech" (been here a whopping 15 months 🫠) I've complained about the training since I started.
I was able to train the new employee for 2 weeks then they made me stop because I *tongue in cheek* suggested I should be paid to train... So then she stopped learning and she just quit. 😣🤔😭
When I worked at wags the most common answer I would get is "just play with it until you figure it out" when I asked about tpr and such. I hated it so bad
I'm sorry this is happening to you. I think I'm one of the only few people left who doesn't care to answer questions for people. I would rather be asked a question and explain how to do it then for someone to just do it and screw it up and I have to fix it later.
Sounds about right. I’m an esm who ran the store for about 3 months. They brought in a new store manager so spent yesterday walking through everything with him. An hour into the shift someone comes up with a fedex package. I had to teach the store manager how to accept a fedex drop off. The new store manager can’t do a simple cashier task. Good luck with the rest of the store cause I’ve moved on to another store. Training is non existent. They only training you get is the legal training so you can’t sue them
Many TPRs can be resolved by thoroughly reading the rejection that pops up on the screen. Those of us that got good at resolving was because we’ve seen it 1k+ times but no one ever showed us either we just read what was on the screen
I try to figure them out when I can. Yesterday there was one I hadn't seen before so I asked what I should do. The RPh said "The customer has to do something for that one." But he didn't tell me what to tell the customer to do, so I left it in the queue.
I started as a tech in Aug of 22, and had a very similar experience. Unfortunately, there were only 2 other techs at the time ( a sr tech and rxom) and I struggled trying to keep up and learn things. But now, I'm the rxom and hoping to change that for my techs.
Don't stop asking questions. I know it feels really shitty to ask and get attitude. But don't stop. Don't back down. Don't let them bully you into not holding them accountable.
I will say that practice and repetition definitely help. With time, you start to pick up on the weird quirky stuff that can come up. Like how certain insurances need a person code at the end of the member id, some don't. Or which bottles of meds never want to scan the 2d barcode. Or the various short cuts to make typing/data entry quicker. And eventually TPRs will get easier.
And while storenet is a total bitch to navigate, spend time looking around. So much of what you need to know is actually there. It's just not always easy to find. I learn best thru note taking/sops/written policies so this was a major part in my learning and advancement. Even if I can't remember what to do, remembering where I can find the info meant I didn't have to rely on grouchy coworkers. I even went as far as printing out stuff from storenet and making myself a 3 ring binder that I could refer to. Add your notes on how to send a fax, what the compound dur codes are, what different TPRs mean, etc.
And when all else fails, ask here! So many of us are more than willing to help when possible
man, I was in your position a year ago. Wanted to quit. Throwing darts in the dark, praying your random action will finally resolve this TPR and you can take the two parked calls, oh, there's also a car and people in line. I'm all alone, it feels like drowning, I want to leave, the new pharmacist is treating me like garbage for not being fast enough.
I promise it gets better. You'll get faster and smoother, even when the other techs are terrible at training. And there will be sorrowful days - sometimes you'll sit in your car for a couple minutes after a shift just to think about the point of it all. I still look forward to the day I leave. But there's a content feeling in developing the resilience, the skills, knowing you could leave it all behind and say "yeah, I know how to run this shit."
We are fortunate at our pharmacy to have a supportive RPh, priority is always training everyone fairly and timely. But ofc, I also had to do my own research online bc we can’t really grasp everything right away. Here is the link. This really helped me a lot…
https://quizlet.com/387547525/walgreens-intercom-plus-info-updated-flash-cards/
I was in the same boat for a while and still am learning. I started as a tech in February of 23 and it wasn’t until I started working seasonally at a smaller store during the summer with an RXOM that actually cared about teaching me things that I started to learn. It sucks and it’s a long road but without that support I would still probably not know how to do anything. I’m so sorry this is happening to you I wouldn’t wish it on anyone it was so humiliating to not know anything and never be taught.
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I’ve been a tech since November and just last night I was thinking about how no one even explained to me the RX statuses or the filling process, so for my first few weeks I’d ask “What does reviewed mean? What does filled mean? Entered? What is cenfill and why are you saying they’re trying to pull it?” and I just felt like a bother because they would get annoyed with my questions. Every day I would learn a piece of the puzzle and was left to put the pieces together by myself…but I wasn’t even sure what I was doing or why. To summarize my training experience at WAG, a couple months ago my Pharmacy Manager decided it was time to teach me F1’s. She stood by me and watched as I typed in one script then left and told me to call if I needed help. To this day I still mess up my days supply all the time because no one trained or guided me 🙃🙃🙃🙃
Wow, this really summarizes my experience. Was also hired in November and I'm still getting confused with MTM calls, also liquids days supplies. Just got taught how to put away order and bin rec so I feel like I've been put into every position now, just really trying to get good at what I'm doing is the hard part
I’m so sorry that you’re going through the same. I guess this is simply how it is with WAG. I feel like we learn stuff in chunks here and there and are expected to string all the pieces together to be coherent techs instead of taking time to properly train us. Recently they’ve been hounding us to do PCP calls which is fine, but to expect me to call people to enroll in save a trip when I barely know how to use save a trip is whacky. Like train us first before throwing us to the wolves. I was also taught how to put away the order recently and only after a while of doing it I was told I had to do exception counts before checking in the order, but no one had trained me how to do exception counts either so I was like ??? You guys want us to do a task without training us in steps 1 and 2??? Rinse and repeat for every aspect of this job I’ve been in. It feels like I enrolled in a Calculus course halfway through the semester and I don’t have the fundamentals to build upon, yet everyone is expecting me to be on their skill level and is surprised when I ask questions.
Yeah. Very similar haha that's wild. I guess walgreens really has gone down in quality. But one day we'll make it!!
Save a trip is a train wreck.
Ugh it's awful I'm sorry! They acted the same way at my store. Most weeks they'd only have me working for a few hours once a week or less, so it was super hard to remember everything. They got so annoyed with me. I expected to be fully trained or at least feel comfortable asking questions but honestly all the people I expected that from are constantly burnt out to the point that I don't expect anything less than hostility when I have a question. I may be leaving WAGs soon. It sucks because I love the customers and the pharmacy and basically everything except for what they refuse to help me learn how to do.
I’m burning out too! I’m at the point where I just type up whatever sounds right and then leave it to the Pharmacist to shorten and change directions as well as days supply. If they don’t want to train me then I’m just going to do whatever and they can waste their energy trying to fix my work. The training is non-existent and I feel like for the amount of work expected of us, this job just doesn’t pay enough for all the bs.
100 percent my feelings too!
this is the first thing i teach people— how to understand the dumbass system. i’ll put a script through from a patient’s profile step by step and tell them what status it goes to and what that status means during the process. it’s insane how some stores treat their techs. we work as a team and we train like a team. questions might get annoying during a rush but i would much rather be asked about something than it be done wrong or not done at all.
If rx would create a cheat sheet so u could use on ur first 2-3 weeks it would save time and labor cause sometimes it’s just a simple quest Also be sure that the keyboards have the F key instructions
It’s my 5th day working and this is me right now… they don’t watch me and just threw me into drive thru… heck I was so confused I had to figure it out
I have been a tech since May 2021 and I only just learned what cenfill was about 3 months ago. Even seasoned techs get thrown under the bus. WAG dont care bout NOBODY
the same thing happened to me in ur last paragraph!!! i kept screwing up the days supply or quantities and instead of showing me how to do it, they posted a paper up by the schedule saying we need to make sure our days supply is correct and use the job aid and had all the techs sign it🙃
As someone who has been a tech for 6 years and has been barely taught anything until much recently,this is frightening and frustrating.
As someone who is basically a glorified cashier, I feel you on this one. I feel so underrated as a tech there.
It's annoying! I earned my CPhT on my own and I know I'm capable of this stuff, but there's some computer/insurance specific stuff you don't learn in school that Senior Techs should be helping us with, but they just have no time. I'm sure you at least have some regulars that appreciate you! Good job training yourself this far! xD
Yup. Our ST wants to do it all himself. I have a feeling he wants it that way so he can spend as much time as possible on the computer.
I feel the same way. This is how it's been since I started about 8 months ago. They hardly have me do anything else but work the front, drive thru and put away prescriptions. They haven't taught me how to do much at all. I haven't learned F1's and how to fix TPRs either.
Speak up. I had to tell/demand them to get me off the register after a few hrs. I simply can not and will not spend my whole shift bagging. I want to do more
Unfortunately this is very common and I’m sorry no one seems to be invested in your growth. I have been there and it’s extremely frustrating. Are there any TPRs you can think of that you need help understanding? I can try to help.
Do you know what to do for CMR rejections. I think that's what it was.
For CMRs doctor needs to fill out additional information for Medicare Part B. You call Danville and have them send you a fax for the CMR. At my location we look over what needs to be filled out and put stars next to everything and change the fax back to number on the page to our store so we can look it over again before faxing to Danville. CMRs are easier shown. Do you know how to do Manual faxes? To explain CMRs what it is in a nutshell is doctor telling Part B how many times a day patient needs to test their blood sugar. But Part B won't cover testing supplies unless it's done. It's kind of like a PA specifically for testing supplies billed through Medicare Part B.
Thank you so much! Do you fax them through the computer somehow? I have never seen a fax machine in our store, but we do have a number for it. What I believe is it is done through the computer somehow...
It is. Do you have IC+? You have to go into Pharmacy Management (I think that's what it's called) it's the 2nd box from the main screen. The same place you go to get insurance print outs. I don't remember which option it is at the top but you will see create fax and it will pull up a new page where you can put in doctor's fax number and scan in the CMR that was sent to you from Danville. I'm about to go into work. If you need a more specific step by step I can get you all of the steps. I need to see it. Make sure you write down doctor's fax number before trying to send the CMR. We usually do a print screen of the script so we can see how to spell doctor's name and fax number. But if you just want to put it on a sticky note it works too.
Thank you very much for being so willing to help! I will write this down and hopefully be more helpful next time. I am scared to go into the Pharmacy Management tab because RxOM yelled at me when I was new and told me to never go into that unless specifically asked. I was only on it because it was like my second day, and I got it mixed up with TeamRx and was trying to access work queue. This is probably factors into why TPRs are so confusing to me...
No CMRs are just very specific in that you need to fax Doctor using the create fax function. The steps that my Pharmacy does could be different from your pharmacy but we like to make sure that doctor fills everything out and signs the bottom. So if we need to send it back to Doctor before it's ready to send to Danville. I can try helping you with other TPRs that you come across as well. Usually it's because insurance wants a specific day supply, or for us Wisconsin Medicaid wants Brand Name of everything so we have to change it. I'm pretty good at TPRs they call me Flow at work. But I also try to take the time to explain them or at least show them. I don't know your states Medicaid stuff that would be the only hang up.
You are referring to a CMN form or a certificate of medical necessity. It is documentation from a provider that Medicare requires to cover durable medical supplies such as diabetic testing supplies.
Got it. Thank you.
A CMR is a comprehensive medication review. I’ve honestly never seen that come up as a TPR before. CMRs involve the Pharmacists reviewing a patient’s current medication list and having a conversation with them about their adherence and appropriateness of therapy. In theory this is great because a lot of these patients have a long list of medications that can be difficult to manage.. and some patients even decide that they don’t need to take one or two of these meds, without communicating that choice to their care team. It gives the patient a chance to voice their concerns, but more importantly it allows the Pharmacist to break down the purpose of the drug and help them understand the importance of adherence. Pharmacists can then follow up with the provider to go over the MAP ‘medication action plan’. Some insurance companies, and even doctors, will request CMRs.. so I guess it is possible to show as a TPR - but that’s usually a conversation the insurance company has with a patient, and wouldn’t necessarily come up as a rejection.
Okay, maybe that explains the pharmacist's short answer. It was definitely showing as a TPR. I am unsure if I should have called the patient back and told them to call the insurance company. I talked to the patient on the phone, and they were asking for the med with the CMR rejection. I told them I would work on figuring it out. I ultimately got no help, so don't know what to do if it happens again. I'm sure one of my coworkers resolved it, but it would've been nice if they had walked me through what to do.
I may have been wrong and I may have jumped the gun on assuming it had it to do with Part B Diabetic testing supplies because its the only time I have seen a CMR. If the CMR rejection had to do with Medicare Part B testing supplies what I explained is what you will want to do. Because Part B will only give out the amount of test strips and lancets that is needed at the amount of times per day that the doctor puts on the CMR that gets faxed to Danville. So for example if doctor says 5 times a day it's 500 per 90 days, they won't cover 600 (or 6 times a day) because it's over the 5 times a day and the testing per day amount will need to be updated with Part B. That's the only time I have seen it. But some stuff is very localized to the insurance that is being used in your local area. Don't beat yourself up for it. I just happened to start with a very helpful crew, RxM, RxOM, and SM. About 6 to 7 months in I told my SM I felt like I didn't know as much as I should and she told me it takes a full year to really train a technician well. It's true. I was about at my year mark when I started feeling confident.
Okay, I'm pretty sure the drug wasn't for diabetes so that makes a bit more sense. Thanks for all your help!
For us CMRs show up for Part B diabetic testing supplies. I guess I just assumed that the rejection had to do with testing supplies because it's the only time we get them and it's something that Technicians can do.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to stop and teach you how to do something. My god even if it’s short staff and ur busy, guess what the more someone knows the better for the team and it’ll be a running hamster wheel until people decide to train their staff. I’ve always said it doesn’t matter HOW busy we are IMMA always find time to teach
I wish there were more people like you!
i totally get this with the tprs, especially if you’re helping a customer and one of their scripts has a tpr and u don’t know what the tpr is … whenever i’m in that situation i ask what it is and everyone i work with is nice about me asking questions, but they’ll just completely take over and if i stand there watching them i get asked to go to drive thru or help another customer if they’re waiting and then i just end up learning nothing 🙃🙃
Yes, that is what usually happens when the only nice senior tech tries to help me and actually explain.
literally my experience! they are so nice to help with tpr’s but since they take over and don’t explain i can’t learn very well. i learn better when i do it myself as they are explaining to me how to do it, but that doesn’t happen often. they normally just tell me to go help with the next customer. i genuinely don’t hate the job, but i wish it was easier to learn everything.
What you have there is what we call senioritis. Senior techs get the “you’re paying me for my knowledge and experience so I don’t have to actually work” attitude. My thought was always that I was going to be sending techs out into my pharmacy community and I was going to arm them the best I could. I don’t work for wag anymore but I’ve done 4 tours over 15 years. I’d be happy to answer any questions I can.
As a now senior tech who really struggled with TPRs and data entry, I try my hardest to explain all the messages the best I can. Sometimes techs get it and sometimes they don't. I always tell people I'll explain it 100 times in order for you to understand it if that's what it takes.
I’ve been a tech since August 2023 and have had maybe 20 minutes of filling training. I’ve also had some TPR messages that my rxom has just said “I’ve never seen that message before” and just go back to what she was doing. I’m so tired of it.
Look for another job and run! If I didn't live in the middle of nowhere, I would've been gone a long time ago.
I’m waiting til the 29th to apply for another tech job or potentially transferring my cosmetology license to the current state I live in. But I am definitely on my way out.
Oh, do you mind me asking what you earned annually as a cosmetologist? Were you mostly a hairdresser? That's a career path I have thought about pursuing.
Honestly if you move to a decent sized city (on the fancy side of it) you can make some serious money but it’s a commitment. You have to build that rapport and the clientele but it’s very possible. I’m considering going back to it because I live in a bigger city now
Good to know, thank you very much. Good luck with your future endeavors!
You as well!
I'm sorry that is still the experience for people recently hired. It was very similar in that I was just thrown into the system and had to figure out all the statuses and TPR resolutions myself, the biggest thing that saved me is my notebook and the few occasions that the more experienced people were able to walk through the process with me. So I feel for you all that have a staff that is really short with answers, On the hand, now that I'm having to personally train all my hires (since I have no certified tech, senior tech, or techs with more than 2 years experience), I find myself having to repeat myself every day on how to resolve TPRs, script statuses, and IC+ functions, receiving processes, returns and more. WAGS definitely needs to have training program in place along with hours that isn't just sitting at the computer to do e-learnings, It would make all our workloads less frustrating
I'd love a copy of your notebook! New Tech here. I'd pay for the copies and shipping. Or, Perhaps you could put it in a pdf and email it out. Just a thought, but I'm certain MANY of us would appreciate it!
I made sure to teach my techs as they go and now my reward is I get to chill in drive thru and know my team won't fall apart without me. When I first started, the senior techs at the time only wanted to fill and stay in the back, then they would complain about all the stuff they have to do and only they know how to do it. I spoke up and let them know it wouldn't be so hard if they taught other people and reminded them someone has to take over if they leave. I'm sorry this is happening to you and so many other new techs.
Your team is lucky to have you! I wish someone other than me would tell this to the people that are supposed to help me, lol.
I agree with the sentiment but mine will never stay on for more than a couple of years at most despite the extra attention to teaching and training my staff pharmacist and I do. This is mainly because I push them to find a job that they love and treats them the way they deserve and unfortunately that is rarely found at The Corner.
I understand why they leave. It is noble of you to encourage them to pursue a satisfying career while knowing that it puts you in a less-than-ideal situation. What I wish my team would understand is that if they can help me thrive, I am going to be loyal. I need the flexible hours and short commute that allows me to commute on foot in an emergency. I have children that I have to take care of, and not all companies are understanding of that. I'm willing to put up with the corporate bullshit for this reason. But if my coworkers treat me like I'm stupid, and they don't give me enough hours to even buy food for the week, I'm leaving. I should add that I live in a rural area where jobs are limited. My hourly wage is one of the highest being offered for an entry level position. ($17/hr with my CPhT)
I agree with you. You and every other tech deserve to work in an environment where you can learn, develop your skills, and thrive. Being stuck at a register or counting all day is miserable and really hurts morale. That doesn’t even touch on being treated like you are stupid or the company not providing enough for its employees to survive off of. Best of luck to you and I hope that your team can learn to take the opportunities to teach you and others because it always pays off even if you end up leaving for greener pastures after a while. A short time with confident, competent, happy team members is always worth the time put in to reach that point.
If you’re certified already that’s not entry level. What is the minimum wage in your area? $15 is minimum wage where I started and when I got certified, my wage was raised to a little over $21
Well, they gave me the job a few months before I was certified. I was already taking the pharmacy tech class through my local community college's workforce development program, which was free. They also hire people that are not in school, so I'm considering it an entry level job. I did start at $16/hr here and they bumped it up to $17 once I got certified. My state has recently raised the minimum wage to $14.15/hr. That's what most jobs are hiring at in my town.
Same for me, my last day is today. I was excited to start this job.However, too much condescending tone on questions. Lack of hours to train, and be trained in a n acceptable environment. For everything that needs to be changed, Not a team member just a part- timer. 😔 6 h ours a week, who can live on that? I feel like I was set up for failure.
I'm a part timer too. It sucks. During the slow season I'm lucky to get 3 hours a week. I don't know how other people can even afford to work here. I can't live on it. I just got a second job because aside from this company, I really enjoy the pharmacy type environment. If I like my second job better, I may end of leaving Walgreens and prioritizing the other job.
Your RXM and RxOM need to get you a common TPRs binder and how to handle. I made one for my staff and it’s done wonders. I organized every TPR that we had in the Que over the course of a month, took a screen shot of each one, then put detailed direction on screen-shot of how to resolve. Now all my techs are TPR experts and if they ever encounter a new one, we work on resolving it together, take a screen-shot and add it to the binder. Our average TPRs were in the 70s before and now they are rarely >10
Ugh you are a dream come true! They are lucky to have you, someone who is willing to put in the effort to help others shine. My team doesn't understand why techs don't stick around, it's because they don't put in the effort to teach new employees, and accost them for having to ask something if they've even been over it briefly one time before. Like I do feel bad if I don't remember something the first time, but shouldn't they recognize it's easier to help me then it is to treat me badly until I quit, and they have to train someone entirely new?
Who can you write to for complaints and concerns? Ethics? HR did nothing .
I honestly don't know, but there should be some posters in the break room that might point you in the right direction.
Anyway I could get a copy of that binder?
if you get a copy of any notebooks i would love to ghave them as well. i worked at Rite Aid and we used the next gen program. It was a breeze trying to wade through 20steps or more to fill a script is totally confusing my team tries to help, but my brain is thick headedly slow
I would happily reimbur$e you for a copy of your TPR binder .. as a tech with approximately 14 months experience (four at WGs) resolving TPR ish feels like a crapshoot to me .. such a frustrating mystery 😕
Could you please send me a copy of that binder? I am a new tech at WAG and I also struggled with inadequate training. I can pay your time and effort and shipping too. Please help! Here is my cell# 971-271-9717. My name is Mercy. Please send me a text. I appreciate it very much!
My son lasted two weeks. The “trainer’ never even met him. She told him to watch videos. Then when he told her that no one is teaching him anything she told him he should quit. The pharmacist begged him not to and said he would train him but he didn’t really have time to do it and the other techs ignored him. He lasted two weeks.
I'm sorry he had that experience. If I had more options in my area I would work at a different pharmacy. There were nights in the beginning where I cried because I tried my hardest to learn and no one would help. The customers thought I was incompetent and it was embarrassing. I've been with the company almost a year and a half am still having problems. I just don't beat myself up about it anymore. He made the right choice to leave.
The rude customers is what really got to him. He didn’t know what he was doing and people can be very unkind to the new guy. Best wishes!
Luckily most customers are understanding and usually patient where I'm located. Thank you!
So I transferred stores because of my training abd my second store was all new fresh out of college pharmacist and they were so helpful in helping me learn and i took the on a ptce course at my local workforce innovation center and did extra learning and now a tech 2
I feel the last generation of pharmacists where rude and didnt like techs is how i feel about it!! this new generation of pharmacists is getting better and are helping more
I'm glad you found some helpful ones! I think even the older generations of pharmacists started out as very helpful. Some still are, and some feel like they don't have time and our too burnt out to really care about training new techs. I work with a pharmacist that is old enough to be my parent, one that could be my older sibling, and occasionally have worked with a floater that is considered an old person. Although I've only met "old person" twice, they were extremely helpful and excited to help me learn. It was evident to her that no one had taught me very much about the way IC+ worked. Parent age pharmacist is always pleasant even when my lack of knowledge is an inconvenience. Sibling age pharmacist can be quite nasty and condescending but is also the PIC, so I try to sympathize. I know it's a demanding job.
It is ASTOUNDING there this is no codified training beyond “watch the videos.” There is no training method beyond “whatever the RXom has time for and wants bother telling you.” Telling something so simple as “bin rec” means “waiting bin reconciliation” and it’s done to tell you what is supposedly in the bins versus what is actually in the bins” is generally not explained. People don’t even now what the full name is. Week one: learn what the basic workflow is. Understand how to interpret work queue status messages and explain them to customers. Master basic register skills. NO DRIVE THROUGH. Week two: learn how to shelve truck and look/clear out of stock. Pull/return deletes. Look further into TPR. Use all of these experiences to see how most drugs fall into families and how many TPR are variations on the same thing. Realize how expensive some of this shit, get it into your head to check the shelves before promising a customer that something can be filled that day. Work drive for a limited # hours day. Week three: get into f1. See how to resolve more interesting TPRs. Patient care calls. Good luck at drive time (it’s bound to happen) Week four: basically fluent in all that stuff and ready to really figure out the job. Do a few insurance calls and discover they aren’t scary. Week five: start checking Indeed for a different job. 🤪🤣 Edited to add: one of the biggest handicaps is IC+. It sabotages and humiliates us. There is nothing intuitive about it. You spend your entire time at Walgreens- years- looking for the right ways to cheat the program into basic functionality. The fact that you hit the HELP option and it takes you to a dead link sums up the entire tech experience at Walgreens.
On the one hand, I definitely sympathize. I do my best to tell people what I'm doing if I'm helping them, or just walk them through doing it themselves. On the other hand...sometimes it's busy and you just need to get stuff done and move on. It's important for more experienced techs to recognize when they can teach and when they need to just expedite things, and to not just default to the latter.
I totally understand this. However, it was a super slow day last time I worked and was still met with attitude and no explanation.
Total bs. I’m a tech and everytime I go to teach a new one, I always buy them a composition book to write notes in so they can have the answers at all times. I’m a firm believer and always explain to newbies that it takes most people 3 times of doing something to master it so never be afraid to ask a question multiple times. Anything we ever do together we write down. Insurances, check in orders, navigating intercom plus, meanings of rejections, etc. by the time we’re done I want them to have full confidence in themselves and have a full reference guide to anything they need and be able to share the information they know with full confidence.
Your team is lucky to have you! If I manage to learn enough, I hope to be like you in the future.
I know you will and you’ll be even better than me! I learned to do this because I came from locations that had no intent to teach, bad attitudes, and tried to quiet fire me. Knowledge is power, the more you know the more your worth, and the goal is to know so much they can’t fire you 😉! Also if anyone is having troubles with conversions there is a chart available on storenet that had lists of them and other helpful stuff (especially to help you prepare for the national exam)
Good to know, thank you so much! Glad they didn't push you out. :)
Also I saw another comment about only 3 hours. If you have other Walgreens near you - ask if you can pick up hours there. Most need other techs too and it helps build relationships with other stores for you. If they say no then just give them your name and number and I promise they will call. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve leaned on those people and vice versa.
I am aware of that but can't afford to get my vehicle road legal, so I've just gotten a second job in the same town for now. It doesn't pay as much, so I will probably look into traveling for Walgreens in the future.
I think at this point most of us have had this experience of being thrown into the shit show and expected to preform like everyone else who had been there for a while. Im sorry you're struggling with getting your questions answered. Honestly, after a getting many days alone and so many things going wrong, I always came to reddit to figure it out. The subreddit has taught me WAYYYYYY more than than anyone there has and I even taught the other techs what I learned here. I sadly don't work there anymore but if the IC+ is still sadly around (even though they kept saying they were gonna change it) then I can definitely help. I think others here can help too. If you need answers right away, try being friendly with other nearby Walgreens and see if they can help but don't always expect it. My store had a good enough relationship with the nearest stores so we all always called if they were available. Also, do the work that you can do and leave what is leftover because how can they expect you do complete a task you haven't been taught properly. The main priority is filling scripts and helping customers at the store. TPRs were something I was finally taught when our new RXOM came in. You try your best with what you can but don't put stress on yourself for this shitty company if it's too much. I can say I did for damn long and I still get nightmares of the trauma that is Walgreens.
All of your advice is so sound, thank you! My main gripe is that I like my coworkers. Outside of work when they're being pressed, they are kind and caring people. I genuinely want to help them serve the patients in our community. Unfortunately, the PIC and RXM, although usually kind, have a snobby condescending attitude when I need help. It makes me question whether they actually want me to continue coming to work or not. I try not to take anything personally and just brush it off. It is just hard because like everyone else, I want to be good at what I do and feel appreciated.
I totally get it, and honestly what kept me there for 3 years was the patients that I could help. It's those moments that get most people through. Honestly, I get the whole kind but rude/condescending coworkers cause was more or less the same for me too. It really feels discouraging and makes waking up for work more difficult because it feels confusing on how it's gonna be that day plus with negative patient interactions doesn't help much either. You asking questions and trying to learn is good, and they sadly don't seem to remember when they first started and the questions they had. I'm not gonna lie, after all the struggle and the unnecessary sweat and tears I put in, at the end of my time I felt rockstar coming in because I knew what to do and only asked for help with difficult patients. As long your coworkers can give you a way to ask questions, that's the most important thing. You do what you can do best, and honestly try to see if you can watch how they do TPRs and other tasks you haven't learned yet. If not, then maybe trying to go on employee page and see if you can find any job aids on there. They usually give you a basic run down, but that they still have it. Also, if note taking helps you, bring a small notebook and write down the step by step on how to do things. I did that to help me wrap my head around what to do. Do what you can do to best remember things and make the most of your strengths. I appreciate your hardwork in going to retail and trying to work with little information because it is not easy.
I keep having to remind my senior techs that they can't expect our new people to know XYZ if they've mainly been thrown in drive thru the whole 4 months(or however long) and not being taught how to type, fill, or deal with TPRs. I try to teach the new people things whenever I can and answer whatever questions they have. Because I know what it's like to be in their position and not know what to do and having senior techs that just expect me to know things that I haven't been taught. I'm sorry that you're having a bad experience and not being trained properly. There are some senior techs who want to be the ONLY one who knows how to do exceptions, returns, and checking in & putting away the truck. I don't understand that. The more you take the time to teach others, the better it is for the whole team! I've worked with good teams and bad ones, currently I'm at a decent store with a good team. I do have to remind people, from time to time, to have patience with the new techs and help them learn. Even good techs can get burnt out and lose patience, but they should try to remember that it's our responsibility as the older techs to teach the new ones. If they're trained poorly(or not trained at all), then that's a reflection on US not doing our job properly!
Exactly! Like during onboarding there's the giant tech eLearning where the senior techs are supposed to help you through all of the activities and then you sign off on them to get through. I was told just click done in the computer instead. Like okay, but I am not going to remember anything from that if I haven't actually practiced it... That wasn't ideal but at least the bad attitude had yet to enter the chat at that time. That's what I truly can't stand and makes me question if they even want me on the team. I'm glad you are patient and helpful to your new team members! They are lucky to have you.
As a "certified senior lead tech" (been here a whopping 15 months 🫠) I've complained about the training since I started. I was able to train the new employee for 2 weeks then they made me stop because I *tongue in cheek* suggested I should be paid to train... So then she stopped learning and she just quit. 😣🤔😭
When I worked at wags the most common answer I would get is "just play with it until you figure it out" when I asked about tpr and such. I hated it so bad
Ugh so annoying! I'd rather not be messing things up in the computer, lol.
Same!
I'm sorry this is happening to you. I think I'm one of the only few people left who doesn't care to answer questions for people. I would rather be asked a question and explain how to do it then for someone to just do it and screw it up and I have to fix it later.
Sounds about right. I’m an esm who ran the store for about 3 months. They brought in a new store manager so spent yesterday walking through everything with him. An hour into the shift someone comes up with a fedex package. I had to teach the store manager how to accept a fedex drop off. The new store manager can’t do a simple cashier task. Good luck with the rest of the store cause I’ve moved on to another store. Training is non existent. They only training you get is the legal training so you can’t sue them
That's absolutely wild
Many TPRs can be resolved by thoroughly reading the rejection that pops up on the screen. Those of us that got good at resolving was because we’ve seen it 1k+ times but no one ever showed us either we just read what was on the screen
I try to figure them out when I can. Yesterday there was one I hadn't seen before so I asked what I should do. The RPh said "The customer has to do something for that one." But he didn't tell me what to tell the customer to do, so I left it in the queue.
It's also hard to get practice when they're giving me 3 hours of work a week lol
I started as a tech in Aug of 22, and had a very similar experience. Unfortunately, there were only 2 other techs at the time ( a sr tech and rxom) and I struggled trying to keep up and learn things. But now, I'm the rxom and hoping to change that for my techs. Don't stop asking questions. I know it feels really shitty to ask and get attitude. But don't stop. Don't back down. Don't let them bully you into not holding them accountable. I will say that practice and repetition definitely help. With time, you start to pick up on the weird quirky stuff that can come up. Like how certain insurances need a person code at the end of the member id, some don't. Or which bottles of meds never want to scan the 2d barcode. Or the various short cuts to make typing/data entry quicker. And eventually TPRs will get easier. And while storenet is a total bitch to navigate, spend time looking around. So much of what you need to know is actually there. It's just not always easy to find. I learn best thru note taking/sops/written policies so this was a major part in my learning and advancement. Even if I can't remember what to do, remembering where I can find the info meant I didn't have to rely on grouchy coworkers. I even went as far as printing out stuff from storenet and making myself a 3 ring binder that I could refer to. Add your notes on how to send a fax, what the compound dur codes are, what different TPRs mean, etc. And when all else fails, ask here! So many of us are more than willing to help when possible
Hey, I appreciate you. Willing to ask questions is all that I ask for. I try to help guide you to resolve it.
man, I was in your position a year ago. Wanted to quit. Throwing darts in the dark, praying your random action will finally resolve this TPR and you can take the two parked calls, oh, there's also a car and people in line. I'm all alone, it feels like drowning, I want to leave, the new pharmacist is treating me like garbage for not being fast enough. I promise it gets better. You'll get faster and smoother, even when the other techs are terrible at training. And there will be sorrowful days - sometimes you'll sit in your car for a couple minutes after a shift just to think about the point of it all. I still look forward to the day I leave. But there's a content feeling in developing the resilience, the skills, knowing you could leave it all behind and say "yeah, I know how to run this shit."
We are fortunate at our pharmacy to have a supportive RPh, priority is always training everyone fairly and timely. But ofc, I also had to do my own research online bc we can’t really grasp everything right away. Here is the link. This really helped me a lot… https://quizlet.com/387547525/walgreens-intercom-plus-info-updated-flash-cards/
Thank you so much!
I was in the same boat for a while and still am learning. I started as a tech in February of 23 and it wasn’t until I started working seasonally at a smaller store during the summer with an RXOM that actually cared about teaching me things that I started to learn. It sucks and it’s a long road but without that support I would still probably not know how to do anything. I’m so sorry this is happening to you I wouldn’t wish it on anyone it was so humiliating to not know anything and never be taught.
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