Target Pharmacy Beware Target Pharmacy Oswego, Illinois

Target customer service up to management at most Target locations is absolutely hoorible. I have encountered this too many times to count, and will never shop at Target again unless I have no other option Target cannot attract and retain quality people, for the most part mainly because of the horrible wages they pay, along with poor working conditions, and lack of benefits. In my opinion, Target attracts mainly idiots who cannot get a job anywhere else.

Your situation with Target's pharmacy (as well as other pharmacies) is unfortunately...not unique.  There are countless reports that have surfaced over the years of serious medication mistakes being made by pharmacists, including dispensing the WRONG medication altogether!  In some instances, children have DIED because of pharmacy errors!

The only way to truly be certain you have been given the correct amount of medication AND the CORRECT medication is to just take the time right there at the counter while, in the presence of the pharmacist...count out every single pill AND verify it is indeed the correct medication!  Never mind how LONG it takes...JUST DO IT!  If that means holding up a line of people waiting to get their scripts picked up...TOO BAD!  Turn around and tell them WHY you are having to do it in the first place!  Word of mouth is a powerful inducement for such indifferent pharmacy personnel to get their act together...or perhaps Target prefers to risk being subjected to a lawsuit!  This is YOUR health and well-being we're talking about here!  Once you have left the pharmacy counter (if you haven't confirmed the foregoing)...it will be very hard to obtain remedial action.

I myself have had the unfortunate experience of having a script filled for what was supposed to be 30 mg codeine sulfate tablets (DEA Controlled Substances Schedule III), but instead...the pharmacist filled it with 50 mg tablets of Demerol, a powerful opiod pain reliever (DEA Schedule II)!  Both the codeine tabs and Demerol tabs are very small and if I hadn't happened to open the bottle & note the difference in the ID coding on the tabs at the time I picked the script up...I could have easily ended up taking 100 mg of Demerol instead of the 60 mg of codeine (for the hacking cough it had been prescribed for)!  And, the actual label on the bottle stated it WAS codeine sulfate!

I would also suggest (if this should occur in the future), you file a report with your state's pharmacy board, advise your personal physician of this gross medication error, and send a certified letter to Target's Corporate HQ about this situation.  There is absolutely NO excuse whatsoever for the abhorrent, reprehensible conduct on the part of the Target personnel; such unprofessional conduct could have well caused serious medical problems for you!

 

Thank You John, for going out of your way to support me.  I am VERY glad that you learned something from my misfortune and hassle and I hope what happened to me never happens to you or anyone else.

Blessings To You!

Kathy

(Oswego

Illinois

U.S.A.) - just ignore the "ignorant" comments that you have a problem.  I've been reading Ripoff for years now since it is very educational and always get amazed how user's can jump in ane make non-productive comments.  You were rightfully concerned, expressed your concerns and did something about it.  I have never "counted" my prescription (pills) but learned from your ripoff that we all should verify the pill count.  Thank you Kathy for sharing your "learning experience" with the rest of us.

Yup, I'm definitely a heroine!!!  Thank you for noticing!!! :-)  Hopefully at least one person will take notice of the several reports about Target's Pharmacy incompetence and be saved the hassle that we went through as a result of entrusting our medical needs to an incompetent pharmacy.  I don't expect strangers to care about whether or not I am able to take my medication, so Ken I forgive your personal attack and your and abusive comments and I'll assume you are probably the incompetent pharmacist or Target management in disguise LOL, but I do expect a business who takes my money to care about the services they provide to their customers and to care about their customers' welfare that becomes at stake when they made serious mistakes in dispensing medications.

If more good people stand up and demand excellent customer service from businesses like I do then poor customer service would be a thing of the past.  We have choices and when businesses don't value their customers they should loose those customers.  Why go where your patronage is not valued?  If businesses start to feel a loss in their bottom line (which is all they care about) then maybe good customer service will be restored.  At least it is my hope.  Maybe an impossible hope but yet a hope.

And Ken, I'm sure you are the perfect human being and above me at all levels.....shall I salute you or bow down?? LOL

Kathy, the only moral to your cautionary story is to avoid you, menstrual cycle or not.  If you were harmed in any way, it was by your own hand.  Do you think you are some kind of heroine for overreacting?  It is unfortunate that you are too addled to be embarrassed by your behavior.

First of all, to the person who commented on my report, I was NOT difficult with the police officer.  I didn't understand civil vs. criminal matters and now I have a better understanding of what the officer's position was because he and talked later that night.  He turned out to be a pretty good guy and admitted that he's used to dealing with liars and admitted that was his stance towards me and HE apologized to ME.  I accepted his sincere apology and I wished him a safe night when I said good-bye.  It WOULD be a criminal matter IF indeed the pharmacist stole the pills and then proceeded to claim that he gave all 75 pills to me.  This is what I was afraid happened. I simply wanted him to investigate the videos tapes before they were erased and copied over to help me if indeed there was theft involved.  No one, especially an officer, should state that NO THEFT was involved in a case when there is no investigation.  Amy the store manager implied that I may have taken the pills and was quite possibly falsely accusing Target for all she knew which is why I got the police involved in the first place.  Had Amy, the store manager, assured me that my prescription was going to be taken care of to my satisfaction in the morning and also given me a solution to discover if indeed the medication I was given was indeed the medication the bottle stated it contained, then this situation would not have elevated to the level it did.  I was PUT on the defensive with the commentary that suggested that she didn't know who was the cause of the missing pills and which left me a possible culprit. 

I was in a situation where I was 1) not able to take my medication safely 2) not given assurance that the missing pills were going to be supplied to me in the morning 3) not assured that taking two pills out of the bottle last night (once I verified them with another 24 hour pharmacy) from the incomplete prescription was the right thing to do and 4) being accused of possibly being the person who took the missing pills.

I wanted a police report on my side to detail this situation that night.  I was NOT being difficult... I was forced to deal with a situation that was a result of incompetence at the Target Pharmacy and was put in situation where I was left without medication that I felt safe taking and was then having the situation turned around on me and things were said that implied that I could have been the culprit of the missing pills.  Put yourself, sir, into that situation and see how you feel.  Difficult?  No.  Not taking "No" for an answer, indeed.  I stand up for myself.

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This morning I got a call from Target Pharmacy stating that I could come in and pick up a fresh prescription.  I came into Target and was told "sorry" and was given 75 pills and was not charged another co-pay.  The Pharmacist told me that the Pharmacist last night made a mistake in counting the pills.  At Target, the DS: 37 means Days Dosed.  He made a mistake and gave me 37 pills instead of 75.  I can understand how that mistake was made, however, I don't accept that the mistake was not able to be rectified for me last night to the point where Target was at least able to assure me that the Pharmacist only made a counting mistake and not an actual pill mistake (i.e. how do I know if the pills were my medication or not when clearly the Pharmacist was making mistakes with dispensing people's prescriptions.)  Target didn't care that I needed to take my medication last night.  They do not have anything in place to help a customer when their Pharmacy makes a gross mistake such as dispensing inaccurate medications to customers. 

I was told that I "should have counted my pills before I took the medication home."  Who does this?????  This statement puts the responsibility on me to make sure that my medication is correctly dispensed instead of on the Target Pharmacist.  You bet from now on I will count my pills and look in the bottle at the pills and make sure that the pills in the bottle are the right pills from any pharmacy that I go to now.  I'll then probably be accused of being paranoid for taking such active measures to assure that the Pharmacist didn't make a mistake!!!  It's a no win situation for the customer here.  The truth is that you can't trust Target Pharmacy and customer service at Target is at an all time low.

The store manager Evan was nonchalant and acted like what occurred was no big deal.  I tried to tell him how serious it is for a customer's medications to be dispensed wrongly and he responded in a way that made me feel like he just didn't care and that he really thought I was making a big deal out of nothing.  He just wanted to apologize and make the problem go away yet he didn't communicate to me in a way that showed that he agreed that Target incorrectly dispensing medication was a serious issue.  I felt like he had taken the stance that I was the problem instead of the store. He shrugged his shoulders when I tried to get him to see that this was a serious issue.  This is Target Customer Service from the Store Manager Level down.  I expect a store to act in a way that actually creates an environment for the customer, who was inconvenienced for hours by the store, to want to come back.  Maybe stating something like "This was absolutely something that should not have happened Mrs. Perkins and I am VERY sorry that you were put in the situation you were in last night.  I totally understand where you are coming from and had I been in your shoes, needing to feel safe to take my medication last night, I would have been just as upset.  I'm sorry that we don't have a way to rectify dispensing problems after hours and because of this issue I am going to look into ways that we can provide better service to our customers in the future so that this doesn't happen again.  Is there anything else that I can do to make this situation right for you?"  OMG!  Had he taken that stance I would have been SO forgiving and SO ready to just accept the 75 pills this morning.  But no, Evan was nonchalant and uncaring and pretty much acted towards me in a way that caused me to feel unwelcome in the store.  His apology was not sincere.  I could tell that he was bothered by my presence and bothered that I was not satisfied with just a refill the next morning and his insincere apology.  I wanted Target to understand and care about the situation they put me in last night but Target didn't care to hear about it.  Each time I attempted to explain to them why I was upset to the point that I was, the management just turned the situation back around on me and didn't take sincere responsibility for their mistake.  Evan even laughed a little bit and that really offended me. They think that money is all a person wants in this situation.  Not me.  Yes, I wanted to be compensated for the trouble they caused me (my time is worth a lot to me) but more than money I wanted Target management to make me feel like I was a valued customer.  That did not happen.  I now realize as confirmed by Evan the store manager, that I am not a Valued customer of Target's and therefore they have lost any future business that I may have decided to give them.  Thank God there are options. 

Customer service these days is at an all time low.  I remember when businesses used to treat their customers as guests in their home.  Not any more today.  One unhappy customer is just a number to them.  They just don't care.  Businesses seem to take a stance that assumes the customer is probably the one lying and trying to defraud them first.  It used to be that when a customer claimed a business made a mistake, the customer was always right no matter what.  They were sincere in their apology and were willing to go to any measure to make their customers happy and to take care of their customers in order to keep their business. That is sadly not the case in this day and age. Now days, if a business makes a mistake the customer is automatically assumed to be the problem or at best even if the business knows they made the mistake they won't treat the customer with the respect and concern the customer deserves. Each customer is just another number and if they are unhappy with even serious mistakes made by the business the business believes they won't loose anything because of one person's dissatisfaction.  Target was pleased to send me away with an insincere financial apology coupled with a kick in the a*s on the way out the door.  That's how I felt this morning.

I would hope that anyone reading this will understand that yes, Target financially made up for their mistake and admitted to their Pharmacist incorrectly dispensing my medication but they never did anything to gain back my trust back or to make me feel like a valued customer.  If you think you think you are a valued customer of Target's, think again.  You are just another number who they think they can afford to loose.

Principle is still important.  Money isn't the only thing that matters.

First, if it says on your paperwork that the pharmacist only dispensed 37, then the system knows he only dispensed 37.  So their inventory should only reflect 37 issued.  If any more are missing there may be a problem.

Once the pharmacy is closed, NO ONE in Target is allowed to access it without approval up the wazoo and then only in serious situations.  Even IF someone could go in there, only a licensed pharmacist can dispense the medication.  Odds were the pharmacist was not going to come back in to correct an issue that can just as easily be corrected the next morning.  The notation on your paperwork about the amount dispensed would keep you safe from charges of fraud/abuse.

Here's what I think happened.  They probably ran out of whatever medication you are on so they could not completely fill it.  Normally there will be a notation on the bottle or the paperwork of this fact.  Also, the pharmacist may have tried to tell you and it got lost in the mix somewhere.  OR...you were as difficult with him as you were the officer (cause it really is a civil matter and not criminal...he probably looked into it some more cause his supervisor told him to to make nice) and he just decided not to tell you.  Poor choice on his part but oh well.

Later in the evening, after I entered my rip off report, I decided to file a police report as well.  One might think that is an over reaction, and trust me I felt a little over board, but it was the best thing I ever decided to do.  Here is why.

Initially, the police treated me just like every other liar they have to deal with on a daily basis.  I was offended by that treatment and was not initially happy with the officer to met me at Target to take my report.  The officer told me initially that the issue was a civil matter and that no theft had taken place.  I knew for a FACT that I only got 37 pills and so I stood my ground and took the officer to task on his opinion in the matter.  I said to the officer "how can you decide that no theft has occurred when you yourself said that Amy, the store manager, had nothing to do with the pharmacy and she is the only one you interviewed in the situation?  Isn't it your job to INVESTIGATE a situation BEFORE you decide for yourself that there is or is not theft involved?"  This got his goat up and we didn't leave on good terms....I told him I was going to report him to his Sgt.  We departed, me on my way to Walgreens 24 hour pharmacy to verify if indeed the pills I was given was the medication the bottle said it contained, and the officer on his way to his local office to beat me to his Sgt. 

I verified the pills were indeed the right medication and then I got a phone call from the officer.  See, I made him take a copy of the medication papers that came with my pills.  He must have gotten a fire under his butt when I told him basically to do his job.  He looked closer at the papers he copied from my prescription and then called me back.  He said, "Look at your paper work that I copied.  It says Qty: 75 and under that is says DS: 37.  Are you still at Walgreens?"  I told him I was.  He said, "could you please ask the Walgreens pharmacist what DS: 37 means?"  As the officer was on the phone listening as I talked to the Walgreens pharmacist, he heard Walgreens tell me that DS: 37 meant that they only dispensed 37 pills but that they charged for a Quantity of 75 pills. 

WOW!  I would have NEVER noticed that.  The officer would have never looked further into the issue if I wasn't so insistent for him to do his job, and I would have been Screwed and thought of as a liar. 

Tomorrow I'm going into Target to ask them why the heck they charged me for 75 pills, gave me only 37 pills, didn't bother to explain to me when I picked up and paid for the medication that they shorted my pills, and why they refused to help me get my medication this evening. 

Target is going to have a lot of explaining to do.  This is, if not outright theft, insurance fraud at best.  On the black market, 30 pills of my medication would sell for over $400. 

This situation has cost me, so far, over 4 hours and it is still not rectified.  I will be going into Target tomorrow, spending more of my precious time, to attempt to get the balance of my 75 pills.

I will definitely be updating this rip off report as well.

By the way, the officer apologized to me and admitted that he is used to dealing with liars and he acknowledged that I was telling the truth.

Moral of the story is 2 parts:

A) Don't shop at Target!  Definitely don't use their pharmacy.  $10 isn't worth it!!!!
B) Police officers need to be held accountable to do their job.  They are the tax payer's employees and one need not feel intimidated by an officer who refuses to do their job and investigate a report of theft.

Buyer Beware of Target!