Managers Go Fishing

At my pharmacy, we do about 65% of the entire day's scripts during the first four hours we're open. It happens due to the automatic refill queue, people that request their medication using the automated system the night before, and people that see the physicians in the morning.

It's not the best time for management to poke around the pharmacy.

But there he is, standing out there staring at us with the store manager standing behind him. He's Dick Brain from Goofmart corporate, and he's here visiting our humble store here in the Tri-county area to walk and talk with us underlings. 

"How's it going today, Crazy?" he asks.

"Oh, we're pretty busy." I'm actually very busy and he's not getting the hint.

"You have flu shot clinics set up?" he asks.

"Yes, we have two. One in two weeks at the Wiki Hut offices and another at Snootyville High School."

"Have you been passing out the flyers?" he asks.

Flyers. Flyers. I'm accessing my brain furiously. What flyers? I don't know anything about any flyers.

"Flyers? What flyers?" I ask.

"The printed flyers that go into EVERY bag and are to be taken to local businesses telling them about our immunization services and the discount for getting a shot."

Behind Dick Brain I see the store manger mouthing something to me but I can't read lips.

"I guess we'll be getting them," I respond, "Since I don't have them here."

Dick Brain and the store manager move on to another department to pester. I start looking through our flu shot promotional materials. I can't find any flyers. Then I start rifling through the entire pharmacy. There are no flyers. I go to the email and shoot off an angry email to our regional pharmacy manager.

Later...

The store manager reappears at the window to tell me that there are no flyers. Dick Brain has been going around to various stores and quizzing the pharmacies about flyers to see what the pharmacists would say. Apparently I passed the secret test because there's a lot of pharmacists that say they're handing out the flyers to everyone they can... flyers that don't actually exist.

I was baited with a false story about flyers to see if I would lie. I'm sure this isn't the first time a manager has used such a tactic to bait an employee, but it was the first time for me, and it's not funny. 

It's not ethical, responsible, mature, or appropriate.

Shame on you, Goofmart Corporate.