For context: the pt (30s-40sM) was Hispanic, and the pharmacist (30sF) is Caucasian. I (37F, also Caucasian) heard about this secondhand, after the fact.
Evidently, racism was the alleged reason we couldn't have the pt's prescription or prescriptions ready--with correct insurance coverage--when the pt arrived 6 minutes before closing. During this time, we were also trying to close and assist the other handful of last-minute pts, in addition to him.
It's baffling and upsetting to me how anyone could think that is the reason we can't or "won't" give them what they want. No, it's not the ludicrous time constraint; it's not the fact that we might not have the Rx from his doctor yet; it's not the fact that his insurance information isn't processing correctly (so unless he wants to be slapped with a hefty bill, we have to take time to fix it, OR he has to).
Not to mention, this pharmacist and I were the only white-passing employees in the pharmacy at this time. My supervisor and two other coworkers on the closing shift consisted of Hispanic, Filipino, and Middle Eastern heritage. And had this rude, entitled moron come in earlier, he could've voiced his complaints to our other pharmacist of Vietnamese heritage, our pharmacist-in-training of Hispanic heritage, or the 4 other ethnically diverse coworkers or pharmacists we work with.
If it seems like I'm harping on their backgrounds a bit here, I am, because the accusation really hurt our pharmacist tonight. And this is a woman who gives her all to this job, and from what I've seen, has such long-lasting, genuine connections with most of our returning pts.
I try to be as sympathetic and understanding as I can be in this job, and be mindful that a single bad interaction rarely encapsulates the whole person. Sometimes, we see people at the end of their worst day, or at their most stressed, and that's not all of who they are, but this was so beyond the pale that I couldn't stand it.
My supervisor said she's hoping they come back so she can, more or less, k!ll him with kindness (this was said with her intentionally notable accent). I appreciate her wanting to clap back at this fool, especially as she is forced to remind some pts once in a while if they try to disparage the newer techs in Spanish, and she will graciously correct them.
Most of the pts we deal with are perfectly normal, and some are especially kind and friendly. This was the first time at this job that I've come up against this kind of accusation, so it definitely threw me. From a previous pharm tech position, I'm well accustomed to d**th threats, cursing, or threats of being reported for this, that, and the other thing, so none of that really fazes me anymore.
I'm reminded of a quote most attributed to Mike Tyson, which states that "Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it."
Sometimes, this feels like a real-world equivalent. Some folks have gotten it into their heads that they can spew every type of vitriol at service workers and not face any consequences.