Sacrifices on the Weekend

At my Goofmart location, our business has grown quite a bit over the past few years, but The Authorities insist on trying to run the place with a minimal number of technician hours. It's like they're oblivious to the fact that we're now as busy as some other locations that have 50% more tech hours.

Oh, we've complained. We've whined. We've cried out from the wilderness.

"We don't have anyone to send you," is the usual reply.

BECAUSE of this, the pharmacist in charge runs the place alone on the weekend so that we can have technician hours during the week.

BECAUSE of that, sacrifices have to be made. The first sacrifice is the phone. If I'm working alone on the weekend, the phone doesn't get answered if I'm at the register or on the phone with someone else or out on the floor counseling a patient on the virtues of Pepto Bismal.

The Authorities don't like that.

They want the phone answered each and every time. "Go back to the phone and put the caller on hold," they will say. So if I'm counseling a lady on her genital itching and the phone rings, I'm supposed to politely excuse myself, run back to the pharmacy, answer the phone, put the caller on hold, and rush back to the customer. I might also mention that the phone system will ring back in two minutes and I'm expected to repeat the process.

Somehow, The Authorities are just not getting it. Do they ever get it? Or do they just sit in a tower somewhere sitting around a table talking about this kind of thing all day and deciding how things should work without really giving it any thought?

I just let the phone ring. If it is important, they'll call back.