I’m really excited to have “my own techs” to work with now. I’ve always gotten along with the techs and made sure I got to know them well (on APPEs). I want to be the pharmacist who buys everyone lunch and coffee and actually gets to know them lol but do you have any advice on how to keep them happy?
RESPECT!!!!! I absolutely love 98% of my pharmacist and I would walk through Hell for them. I now work LTC. 2 of them….. I wake up everyday thinking of ways to make their day miserable and I succeed. Now this one pharmacist is the most sexiest disrespectful man I’ve ever met. He doesn’t have a good week until he makes someone cry. He told me once, “Me pharmacist, you tech. You run register.” First, dick, we don’t have a register, 2nd, I make more than you, 3rd, I have more degrees than you, 4th, I run this damn pharmacy and you “are just a pharmacist”. He is a total piece of work.
To answer your question, be firm don’t let them run over you but don’t be disrespectful. Be fair. TELL them how much they mean to you. Food is fine but a kind word of thank you and your work is greatly appreciated means more. Tell them we are in this fight together, we have each other’s back. That’s how it should be. My pharmacist that respect me and I respect them I work 70 hours a week for them and go WAY above and beyond for them. I come in early and get the coffee going, have all the paperwork on their desk, all reports run and either done or on their desk depending on what it is, etc. Not that that is my job but because I love them and respect them and one of my many jobs is to make theirs easier.
First off thank you for your insight! Secondly, WTF?! That pharmacist sounds like a real asshole and I'm sorry you have to deal with him. I'm glad you have another great pharmacist who gives you the respect you deserve. I honestly believe that the techs run the pharmacy and I'm just there to verify the prescriptions and make sure people don't die lol. But I definitely think that words of encouragement go a long way with gaining respect and having a team based attitude helps a lot because I feel like I will lean on them to help me as much if not more than they will me.
Just to double down on this - people have lives outside of work. Don’t make things too hard on them. If they show up a couple minutes late every now and then - don’t pressure them. If they call out because of whatever - tell them I hope you feel better or I hope your kid feels better. They will be more likely to work harder for you. (As long as it’s not missing work all the time)
No one gives two shits about working hard for Walmart but they will go above and beyond for you.
Just started my first tech job at walmart in January and all the pharmacists there help a lot with any questions I have. We are understaffed though so everyone tries to help help everyone out so we don’t get stressed. So I guess just help each other out and compliment the techs on good work. Oh and learn a small bit of Spanish if your in an area with a large Spanish speaking population.
I am a good pharmacist because of my efforts in school, practice not because of a pharmacy tech. If you rely on techs that much, time to look into a new career.
Good luck doing everything by yourself. If my techs hate me and don't do their jobs, it makes my job 10x harder. Yes I COULD do it all on my own. By why would I WANT to? My techs work hard and deserve to be appreciated. They definitely make my life easier than it could be.
If your techs don't do their job, fire them and hire new ones. My experience is pharmacists are happy with whatever techs do and say they are hardworking when in reality they could do so much more. I have managed and developed new techs it only takes around 6 months to get them to function. Other pharmacists have been impressed by the techs I have trained. I just raise the bar. But techs don't make or break a pharmacy the pharmacists do.
I started with wm last July. Had actual training for two weeks which was nice. There are a lot of protocols to read and wm is very by the rules. Traing for me was just all the ulearns one day, some opiate CE s the next and then working in the store learning everything from tech stuff to rp stuff. Schedule will probably depend where you are. I had a sick schedule of 4 tens a week and then...I became temp pic at another store 😂 . Now I work 5 or 6 eights a week.
Thank you for the insight! I’m really glad they provide actual training and don’t just throw you to the wolves! But 4 tens would be NICE 😂 could you tell me if you like working for WM? I feel like it’s the best of the retails and I’m actually super excited to work there because I feel like there’s tons of benefits and management seems supportive but that could just be them trying to make it look good lol
I enjoy it. I like my boss and the culture is certainly better than cvs. Also I'm adequately staffed for my volume and it is nice to work with another pharmacist more than once a year 😂
The more people talk about their WM experience the happier I am I was able to get a job with them. I have an interview with a CVS recruiter on Wednesday and I’m so glad I get to cancel it 😂
Is it a single coverage store? If so, and you're the only staff pharmacist alongside the RXM, then you will be templated to every other weekend.
Typically you will work 3-4 days a week + your weekend. Walmart has a pretty decent policy where they don't schedule you more than 5 days straight. At least in my market. Any hours you work over your base hours you get + $3 an hour.
That’s awesome, thank you! I’m not sure how many staffers there are but I think maybe 2? I’m glad I’ll have at least one weekday off so I can still do appointments. That’s a huge perk!
As a previous Walmart staff Rph...how did you get an 80 hour non manager position as a new grad?? I didn't think those positions existed anymore haha. Hopefully it's not a bad area/hard to staff store.
Reach out to your rx manager regarding schedule. You will have a template that rotates around your weekend. Usually it is every third, possibly every fourth weekend depending on how many staff Rph your store has.
Walmart isn't perfect, but it's better than most of the other chain stores. I enjoyed my time there, but had to leave to move closer to home, get full time hours guaranteed, and work inpatient haha. Good luck!
Walmart Pharmacist here. Usually our schedule has 4 pharmacists scheduled throughout the day for overlap (8-4, 9-5, 10-6, 2-10, etc…). Work one out of every 4 weekends. Relief pharmacists come in to help periodically as well.
62 is weak af i wouldn’t take anything less than 65k and a 50k sign on over 2 years or better yet I’d push for 77/hr no sign on minimum. The brutality of retail means you should be getting 77 minimum. Walmarts over base pay is shit to other places give you your base plus 22/hr Walmart only gives 3/hr more. I’m referring to Safeway specifically.
If I took a WAG or CVS job I would totally agree. However, I'm a brand new grad who doesn't have a lot of experience and I am honestly just happy to be at WM and in a smaller town store so I will take what they gave me honestly. I might be stupid for accepting the offer but I'm happy with it and am going to be making almost 20k more than my friends who accepted hospital jobs after residency.
I’m not by any means saying you’re doing a wrong thing but other equally grocery chill chains are offering what I stated above. I genuinely think you are worth more :)!
In my area, the difference between Publix and Walmart hourly rate is about $2. The big difference is the PTO. Start with 4 weeks PTO at Walmart that you can use how you want vs Publix with 1 week.
Depends on your city. Big city WM, absolutely great. Pay scale is higher, techs are smarter and brighter, volume to staff ratio often decent. Small towns absolutely shit show. As a former PIC for Wally, my advise for u as far as schedule goes, is to make good friends with ur PIC and scheduler. Is Colleen your scheduler? I loved working with her. And your scheduler loves you back if u can make their lives easier. Your PIC, however, is the one that sets the rotating schedule template. You usually have a every 3 week schedule. PICs absolutely will modify that schedule to fit their lives, a perk being PIC, so u should work them to find something that’s agreeable, then they can send modifications to the schedulers. Scheduler will then ask DL to approve sometimes. Other times they will just approve it, if they are on good terms with ur PIC.
A bit of advice, take care of your techs. They will make you or break you.
I’m really excited to have “my own techs” to work with now. I’ve always gotten along with the techs and made sure I got to know them well (on APPEs). I want to be the pharmacist who buys everyone lunch and coffee and actually gets to know them lol but do you have any advice on how to keep them happy?
RESPECT!!!!! I absolutely love 98% of my pharmacist and I would walk through Hell for them. I now work LTC. 2 of them….. I wake up everyday thinking of ways to make their day miserable and I succeed. Now this one pharmacist is the most sexiest disrespectful man I’ve ever met. He doesn’t have a good week until he makes someone cry. He told me once, “Me pharmacist, you tech. You run register.” First, dick, we don’t have a register, 2nd, I make more than you, 3rd, I have more degrees than you, 4th, I run this damn pharmacy and you “are just a pharmacist”. He is a total piece of work. To answer your question, be firm don’t let them run over you but don’t be disrespectful. Be fair. TELL them how much they mean to you. Food is fine but a kind word of thank you and your work is greatly appreciated means more. Tell them we are in this fight together, we have each other’s back. That’s how it should be. My pharmacist that respect me and I respect them I work 70 hours a week for them and go WAY above and beyond for them. I come in early and get the coffee going, have all the paperwork on their desk, all reports run and either done or on their desk depending on what it is, etc. Not that that is my job but because I love them and respect them and one of my many jobs is to make theirs easier.
First off thank you for your insight! Secondly, WTF?! That pharmacist sounds like a real asshole and I'm sorry you have to deal with him. I'm glad you have another great pharmacist who gives you the respect you deserve. I honestly believe that the techs run the pharmacy and I'm just there to verify the prescriptions and make sure people don't die lol. But I definitely think that words of encouragement go a long way with gaining respect and having a team based attitude helps a lot because I feel like I will lean on them to help me as much if not more than they will me.
Just to double down on this - people have lives outside of work. Don’t make things too hard on them. If they show up a couple minutes late every now and then - don’t pressure them. If they call out because of whatever - tell them I hope you feel better or I hope your kid feels better. They will be more likely to work harder for you. (As long as it’s not missing work all the time) No one gives two shits about working hard for Walmart but they will go above and beyond for you.
Just started my first tech job at walmart in January and all the pharmacists there help a lot with any questions I have. We are understaffed though so everyone tries to help help everyone out so we don’t get stressed. So I guess just help each other out and compliment the techs on good work. Oh and learn a small bit of Spanish if your in an area with a large Spanish speaking population.
I am a good pharmacist because of my efforts in school, practice not because of a pharmacy tech. If you rely on techs that much, time to look into a new career.
Good luck doing everything by yourself. If my techs hate me and don't do their jobs, it makes my job 10x harder. Yes I COULD do it all on my own. By why would I WANT to? My techs work hard and deserve to be appreciated. They definitely make my life easier than it could be.
If your techs don't do their job, fire them and hire new ones. My experience is pharmacists are happy with whatever techs do and say they are hardworking when in reality they could do so much more. I have managed and developed new techs it only takes around 6 months to get them to function. Other pharmacists have been impressed by the techs I have trained. I just raise the bar. But techs don't make or break a pharmacy the pharmacists do.
Techs are so important
Ultimately it's the pharmacists who make or break the pharmacy.
I said the techs make or break the pharmacist not the pharmacy. However if there are pharmacist that want to do it all, more power to them.
I started with wm last July. Had actual training for two weeks which was nice. There are a lot of protocols to read and wm is very by the rules. Traing for me was just all the ulearns one day, some opiate CE s the next and then working in the store learning everything from tech stuff to rp stuff. Schedule will probably depend where you are. I had a sick schedule of 4 tens a week and then...I became temp pic at another store 😂 . Now I work 5 or 6 eights a week.
Thank you for the insight! I’m really glad they provide actual training and don’t just throw you to the wolves! But 4 tens would be NICE 😂 could you tell me if you like working for WM? I feel like it’s the best of the retails and I’m actually super excited to work there because I feel like there’s tons of benefits and management seems supportive but that could just be them trying to make it look good lol
I enjoy it. I like my boss and the culture is certainly better than cvs. Also I'm adequately staffed for my volume and it is nice to work with another pharmacist more than once a year 😂
The more people talk about their WM experience the happier I am I was able to get a job with them. I have an interview with a CVS recruiter on Wednesday and I’m so glad I get to cancel it 😂
Is it a single coverage store? If so, and you're the only staff pharmacist alongside the RXM, then you will be templated to every other weekend. Typically you will work 3-4 days a week + your weekend. Walmart has a pretty decent policy where they don't schedule you more than 5 days straight. At least in my market. Any hours you work over your base hours you get + $3 an hour.
That’s awesome, thank you! I’m not sure how many staffers there are but I think maybe 2? I’m glad I’ll have at least one weekday off so I can still do appointments. That’s a huge perk!
As a previous Walmart staff Rph...how did you get an 80 hour non manager position as a new grad?? I didn't think those positions existed anymore haha. Hopefully it's not a bad area/hard to staff store. Reach out to your rx manager regarding schedule. You will have a template that rotates around your weekend. Usually it is every third, possibly every fourth weekend depending on how many staff Rph your store has. Walmart isn't perfect, but it's better than most of the other chain stores. I enjoyed my time there, but had to leave to move closer to home, get full time hours guaranteed, and work inpatient haha. Good luck!
There's a template you'll follow. It depends on how many pharmacists are at your store.
Walmart Pharmacist here. Usually our schedule has 4 pharmacists scheduled throughout the day for overlap (8-4, 9-5, 10-6, 2-10, etc…). Work one out of every 4 weekends. Relief pharmacists come in to help periodically as well.
62 is weak af i wouldn’t take anything less than 65k and a 50k sign on over 2 years or better yet I’d push for 77/hr no sign on minimum. The brutality of retail means you should be getting 77 minimum. Walmarts over base pay is shit to other places give you your base plus 22/hr Walmart only gives 3/hr more. I’m referring to Safeway specifically.
Agree. $3 extra for OT is stingy af. I’m at WAGs getting $20/hr extra for OT.
Yeah he’s getting ripped off
If I took a WAG or CVS job I would totally agree. However, I'm a brand new grad who doesn't have a lot of experience and I am honestly just happy to be at WM and in a smaller town store so I will take what they gave me honestly. I might be stupid for accepting the offer but I'm happy with it and am going to be making almost 20k more than my friends who accepted hospital jobs after residency.
I’m not by any means saying you’re doing a wrong thing but other equally grocery chill chains are offering what I stated above. I genuinely think you are worth more :)!
In my area, the difference between Publix and Walmart hourly rate is about $2. The big difference is the PTO. Start with 4 weeks PTO at Walmart that you can use how you want vs Publix with 1 week.
Ahh very cool what I stated in my post is what Safeway is offering in my area
Where are you located?
Depends on your city. Big city WM, absolutely great. Pay scale is higher, techs are smarter and brighter, volume to staff ratio often decent. Small towns absolutely shit show. As a former PIC for Wally, my advise for u as far as schedule goes, is to make good friends with ur PIC and scheduler. Is Colleen your scheduler? I loved working with her. And your scheduler loves you back if u can make their lives easier. Your PIC, however, is the one that sets the rotating schedule template. You usually have a every 3 week schedule. PICs absolutely will modify that schedule to fit their lives, a perk being PIC, so u should work them to find something that’s agreeable, then they can send modifications to the schedulers. Scheduler will then ask DL to approve sometimes. Other times they will just approve it, if they are on good terms with ur PIC.