CVS Employee Calls Customer A 'Fucking AIDS Freak'
Check out this stunning exchange between a Philadelphia CVS employee and a customer:
His response was "Whatever, somebody needs to come deal with this because I'm about to go off..."
"You're about to 'Go off?', I asked him."Do you really think that's the best thing to say to a paying customer?"
And at this point, with his back turned to me, the young man muttered "Fucking AIDS freak."
Read J's full story of how it got to this point, and CVS' meager response, below.
Here's J's full email, for those of you who want a more detailed story:
In what has been one of the most horrifying experiences of my entire life, I have had a dreadful recent encounter at my local CVS. Ironically one of the other worst customer-service related mishaps I've ever had was at a CVS as well, though not the same one...
I was in my local CVS in Philadelphia getting my partner's prescription filled. We are a gay male couple and my partner is HIV+. The medication, Atripla, is HIV related. We are both currently on a medicaid-related health insurance plan, a situation that is new to us and directly related to his current health issues.
I had in hand a coupon from the local paper that awarded me a $20 gift card if I transferred a prescription to CVS. I had actually used the coupon the day before for another prescription, as it says you can do use it multiple times (just not on the same day.)
On this particular day they were having a very hard time getting through to the other pharmacy to put the transfer through. The staff was also particularly snide and unpleasant; more so than usual, at any rate.
After the fiasco of getting the actual transfer put through, when the young man attempted to ring me up and process my coupon, something went wrong in the computer. Another employee came by to try and figure things out, and they determined that the coupon was not acceptable for those with Medicaid.
I got a little agitated because they weren't being particularly polite about it, and I tried to explain that I wasn't specifically on Medicaid proper, but on a related plan. I also pointed out that I had just used the same coupon the day before. They then called over another young man who was apparently a manager. His actual position in the store is still up for debate; he appeared to be a front-of-store manager who was doing some work in the pharmacy area.
He walked into the situation with an extremely aggressive attitude. He wouldn't allow me to actually SAY anything or discuss the situation with him, and it was clear he was taking an "I know what I'm talking about, I know what you're up to, and I'm going to nip this in the bud" kind of stance with the whole thing. I was getting impatient, embarassed and frustrated. The whole of the staff back there were just glaring at me, and I was extremely perturbed.
My inclination in these situations, which seem to happen more frequently these days, is to try and be rational and direct without being rude. I said to this young man "You know what? I don't think you're handling this very well or being very polite, and I'd like to speak to someone else about this."
His response was "Whatever, somebody needs to come deal with this because I'm about to go off..."
"You're about to 'Go off?', I asked him (probably exacerbating the situation, I admit.) "Do you really think that's the best thing to say to a paying customer?"
And at this point, with his back turned to me, the young man muttered "Fucking AIDS freak."
I have to be honest with you: I'm 30 years old, and in all of my adult life - with all of the bigotry and hatred I have encountered in various forms and situations - this was the absolute most shocking and flabbergasting thing that has ever happened to me.
It was one of those situations where I was so stunned and slack-jawed that I had no real faculties to handle the situation. It's the kind of anger that silences you while your body tenses up and you try to control the shaking that's coming from the inside out.
By this point a woman, the manager of the pharmacy, had approached me and asked - stone faced - if she could help. I told her that if her employees felt comfortable speaking to customers they way they just did, and in her presence, that I didn't think she COULD help because obviously they felt doing so was okay. I asked her to void my prescription transfer and I left.
When I got home I immediately called a different CVS location and asked for a number to call to file a complaint. I called a local "headquarters" number and left a complaint on a voicemail for a district manager. I also called the general 800 number for CVS and left a complain with the customer service person. I was told the general manager of the store, Anthony, was on vacation until Monday.
On Monday, Anthony did call me back. Our conversation was brief and typical of what I expected. I was told that he would investigate the situation, and that if what I described did, in fact, happen, it would be dealt with. But that basically he couldn't promise anything other than that if I ever came into the store again and something similar happened, I should ask to speak to him directly.
I can tell you now that nothing really came of the situation. The young man still works at that CVS, and I have done my best to simply not go there anymore. As it is located only 2 bocks from my apartment, and is the only 24-hour estalishment in the area, I do still go occasionally, hating myself every step of the way.
I don't know what I expected CVS to do. I suppose - and I say this laughingly - an apologetic gift card might have been nice. But the real point is, is there any real resolution to a situation like this? Other than having the guy on video or audio tape, he's obviously going to deny that it happened, and his co-worker chums - presuming they heard what he said (as that one part is probably the only "fireable" part of his lousy customer service) - didn't seem the types inclined to get involved.
There's no real great way to wrap up this report. I guess the great lesson is, people can still be complete douchebags, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.
J, you may want to try writing a complaint letter and mailing it to the executive headquarters in Rhode Island—here's a list of their executives. (We looked for executive phone numbers and email addresses in their SEC filings, but couldn't find any.) Some people will never stop being complete douchebags, but it's likely your complaint never made it past the district manager, and since it wasn't adequately resolved at that level, you should take it higher.
(Photo: Getty)
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Comments:
I know I shouldn't be surprised, but it never ceases to amaze me that people can treat other human beings this way. Over a $20 giftcard! It's not your $20, asshole pharmacy guy, why the hell are you making such a big deal out of it!?
This is horrible. CVS should try to put the fire out that this ignorant employee started.
I believe you might have basis to file a HIPPA complaint.
By making a public comment on a medical condition even if is not one that you have but that you are picking up an Rx for, that clerk has violated HIPPA.
Check out [hhs.gov] for information on your rights.
This is horrible! I would file a complaint with the BBB and also contact the Exec's. Does not matter what prescription you are picking up - no one should ever be treated like this.
Check out PA's laws when it comes to hate crimes and assault. That could most certainly be considered a hate crime in some states, and I'm sure CVS would "take it seriously" if it were brought up to them in that manner.
that's one of many reasons Philly sucked when i lived there, If you're in Center City (as I was) everything closes early!!! the only thing you had was a few deli's and bars and CVS! (of course 7-11 and wawa were around but CVS for whatever reason was more plentiful)
How can somebody be a bigot in Philly? I mean 13'th street is like the broad street of the game community it has the countries 3'rd largest gay population that's a really bad idea to live there if you're a bigot or idiot.
I'd say you should sue them, CVS should have training for the employee's on discrimination.
Is it generally advisable not to punch some snot-nosed punk in the face for that, or does that come after a failed EECB?
Isn't that a HIPAA violation to disclose one's medical condition?
If the pharmacy employee said it loud enough that other people could hear it I would think that that would constitute unlawful disclosure.
I would think that would be interesting to whatever organization it is that regulates pharmacies.
By disclosing, I mean calling someone an AIDS freak. ^^^
Unbelievable. I would pursue every single way to nail them. HIPAA, CVS Corporate, City of Philly, Pharmacy Board, and State of PA. The fact that this happened is inexcusable and CVS' tepid response is even more appalling.
People in Philly are assholes? I've heard it all.
Would it be possible to share this story with a local gay rights or AIDS rights group, who could help you speak with a louder voice on this? It could perhaps keep you from feeling like it is you against an enormous cooperation.
I'm so sorry this happened to you.
@FunPaul: That's EXACTLY what I was thinking. I'd get his pharmacy license # (which like another commenter said - should be displayed) and file all sorts of complaints against CVS as well as the pharmacist individually.
I know it was a frustrating and horrifying scenario, but this should NOT be tolerated.
(figurative) Lemon juice and razor blades.
Oh Mr Gay Entitled, you show up once every whatever. He and the co-workers (recall this) spend days with each other and that will place you outside the tribe. You are a visitor to the village. Whining, petulance, delusions of entitlement...all would mark you as less than desirable.
Stay calm. Ask for a manager if things are icky. They are paid to listen to all sorts of stoopid. The clerks are not. Their work usually consists of stocking shelves and getting your purchase out the door quickly. Don't believe? Read a retail employee manual.
Your words give you away.
Consumer information from the Board of Pharmacy of Pennsylvania: [www.dos.state.pa.us]
PDF of Consumer Complaint form: [www.dos.state.pa.us]
Main office phone number: (717) 783-7156
nail 'em
@MrMold: also, excuse me? There was nothing entitled or frivolous about this man's complaint.
He was grossly mistreated by someone representing a pharmacy, which is a health care facility and is licensed at the discretion of the state of Pennsylvania. He has every right to complain and should do so, loudly and voraciously.
If the employee in questio was a mere clerk, it does not matter. He was behind the pharmacy counter and he represented the pharmacy. If he was not qualified to do so, he never should have interacted with the consumer under it's auspices.
Don't settle for anything else but a personal apology from the dick, preferably performed in front of the entire CVS store staff and a few paying customers.
You should of bit your lip and then spit at him...he doesn't know those pills are for someone else.
Which Philadelphia location is this? I'd love to know so I can avoid it.
I can believe that a CVS employee talked to you like that - what I'm shocked at is that someone in the actual pharmacy would. I'll admit I'm fairly ignorant of the applicable laws, but it seems like it would be a violation of something to make fun of a customer because of what prescription drugs they were buying.
This will all be solved when corporations replace all paid staff with automated kiosks.
That's where we are headed.
In the end, however, who will have any job to pay for anything?
the "about to go off" may have meant that the employee was about to go off shift. if he had another thirty seconds before his eight hours were up, and replacement employees were clocking in and the task you presented would have taken several minutes, going off is the most reasonable option. on the minus side, "fucking aids freak" makes him a very poor representative of his company; feel free to tell his boss.
Good luck GE, once the Commonwealth hears your complaint and investigates...nada. They have fraud, deaths, and idiot KKKristians who refuse to dispense meds. A guy with a beef over non-subservient store clerks will be very low on the priority list.
Next time, avoid the superiority issues and get the manager. "Stone-faced" tells me there is more to the tale. Throwing a hissy at that point is also an indicator of less than adult behavior on your part.
Remember folks, these are crap-wage jobs. A little politeness will be very appreciated. Treating clerks as human beings is far more efficient and will more likely get you what you want. Taking the stand that clerks are slavies and should kowtow to your every whim will place you in the "when Hell freezes over" category.
I would have said...
"Come over here and say that right to my face, pal."
I'm betting that he didn't have the stones to do that... certainly not to me. Say something derogatory to my face and I might demonstrate what happens when you use "fighting words".
Reference:
Fighting words doctrine. The First Amendment doctrine that holds that certain utterances are not constitutionally protected as free speech if they are inherently likely to provoke a violent response from the audience. N.A.A.C.P. v. Clairborne Hardware Co., Miss., 458 U.S. 886, 102 S.Ct. 3409, 73 L.Ed.2d 1215 (1982). Words which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace, having direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the persons to whom, individually, remark is addressed. The test is what persons of common intelligence would understand to be words likely to cause an average addressee to fight. City of Seattle v. Camby, 104 Wash.2d 49, 701 P.2d 499, 500.
The "freedom of speech" protected by the Constitution is not absolute at all times and under all circumstances and there are well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which does not raise any constitutional problem, including the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting words" which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 62 S.Ct. 766, 86 L.Ed. 1031.
SOURCE: Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition
A pop in the mouth may not be actionable when it's kicked off with something as inflamatory as "AIDS freak". Or perhaps wiping the entire pharm counter display to the floor with a "that's what us AIDS freaks do!" as a parting shot.
What assholes... they should be fired. All of them.
@MrMold: Inappropriate. Gay or not, he IS entitled to decency and privacy when dealing with health matters.
@MrMold:
Nobody involved threw a "hissy." And for someone talking such a big talk about how to treat other people, you might want to take some of your own advice.
Chris, thanks for continuing to post these stories. As disheartening as they are, it's still important to read them.
WOW! That's one of the worst stories I've read in a while. Myself, I probably would have reached across the counter and punched him in the back of the head. Congratulations on being more rational.
Regardless of that, you cannot simply say "they're not going to help me, all well." Be persistent and polite, but work your way up the chain. Drop that awesome EECB if you have to, because you deserve something better that "We'll look into it."
You can file a HIPAA complaint at: [www.hhs.gov]
They will send someone out to survey the site and remedy any violations.
You can also file a complaint with the PA board of pharmacy: [www.dos.state.pa.us]
If nothing else they can stop this from happening to another individual.
As a health care administrator I will say that it's usually against the law for companies to offer incentives for patients to use state/federal funded programs. So let's say Medicaid funds a health plan for someone and they get kickbacks for using the service, it's counted a fee splitting and is generally forbidden.
The coupon should specifically state that it's not valid for state funded programs. CVS staff have no excuse to offer poor customer service.
@MrMold: You're disgusting.
There is nothing do indicate anyone was acting "entitled" in the post. A paying customer was denigrated and somehow this is acceptable to you? Telling a person that has been robbed of their humanity to suck it up is ignorant to the Nth degree. But I suppose if the "clerk" had used a racial slur, it would have been fine by you, huh?
@PrestonBerryworth: Bad advice. An assault charge is never worth it.
Normally, when someone throws a fit about being called a name, I'd be the first in line to yell "get over it!" This, however, is a completely unacceptable situation. For a health "professional" (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense), to use an attitude and language like that should be immediate grounds for dismissal and permanent loss of license. This violates so many aspects of common sense and human decency that it seriously makes me ill.
Just out of curiosity, what was the Medicaid-related plan? Is it SPBP? If so, it is administered by the state, but not Medicaid. Very much like the AIDS Waiver Program. Possibly Federally funded at some level, but not Medicaid.
@Kaitydid: Please don't do that unless it was the actual pharmacist that committed the offense. It was probably a pharmacy tech, which isn't any different than a clerk and has nothing to do with the pharmacist. This is an issue for CVS corporate and the store management.
Everyone please remember to complain to the people responsible. Don't take a shotgun approach and hope something turns up. The pharmacist has nothing to do with it. Don't ding them with a report when they weren't involved.
@FunPaul: It has nothing to do with people who regulate pharmacies. The Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Secretary are responsible for HIPAA compliance. If there is a complaint, take it to them.
Katydid,
Read it again. Use those skills that you picked up during college/life/high school to suss out the truth.
The term of derision used by the clerk? was not meant to be overheard. Somehow, our intrepid lad managed to hear it and not mistranslate. Such godlike powers.
Anywho, if the clerk? did say this, the manager will have at least words (documented) with the employee.
I will also point out we are getting a very spun version of events.
I don't think this needs to be turned into a situation where we look for loopholes to make this a hate crime, or a breech on confidentiality. One human was rude to another human, lets keep it at that, and agree that it was an awful thing that this man had to endure.
I definitely think however, this employee needs to be swiftly tossed on his arse, and the consumer given some swift, comparable recompense.
That is just awful, it seems that CVS is getting worse by the day.
Those coupons are the devil, they annoy both pharmacy's involved and promote poor continuation of care. AND they state right on them they are not valid for Medicaid.
But you shouldnt have been called a freak
Their website lists a phone number that looks like it is a corporate HQ
CVS Caremark Corporation
One CVS Drive
Woonsocket, RI 02895
(401) 765-1500
@MrMold: So is that bigotry? You seem to be making a lot of assumptions here. And what's up with this "gay entitled" business? He is entitled to good service. Period. If the clerks, however much they are paid, are not willing to offer polite service, they need to be held accountable. Stop defending them.
@MrMold: Unfortunately, I just ended the part of the day I put aside for arguing with condescending assholes.
I'm going to spend the rest of my day trying to imagine scenarios where a) it's acceptable to say hateful things about a person in a professional context as long as they're not be heard and b) the term "fucking AIDS freak" could be intended positively if not "mistranslated."
To be fair, I've never heard of any discount program coupon or otherwise used with medicaid. So to me it sounds like the first store did something they weren't supposed to, and now the customer wanted it at the second store. I'm guessing when the customer didn't get it they started complaining about how the other store did it. In my opinion it's the governments fault, I routinely encounter people who have no idea what their medicaid or medicare will cover, seems to me that's what started this problem.
FriendlyNerd- read how he reacts to the manager. Sure looks like hissy fit.
MayorBee- read the post. Use the skills that I mentioned to Katydid. Then recall the use of the word "uppity". Context and word choice have meaning in language use.
For those not used to retail, a stone-faced manager should indicate that our intrepid reporter is being less than forthcoming.
There is a CVS outside of my job that I frequent. Not anymore.
@MrMold:
I worked retail for 10 years, and I also know how to read, thanks.
It doesn't make you any less full of shit.
@4ster: He should absolutely do this. There are several Gay/Lesbian rights groups in the Philadelphia area that are VERY connected and are very agressive with anything resembling gay bigotry.
Post the store number.
Post the store location.
Post the name of the employee.
The public shaming will be swift and brutal.
two words:
Lawyer Up.
They will take care of it for you. Your legal rights were violated by a biggot. There have to be at least 200 laywers in Philly who will take this case for you.
Gee, many stores don't accept coupons..or Food Stamps..or anything that affects their profits. Clerks end up having to tell this to customers all the time. Not a happy moment in retail.
Good service? Sure. Subservience? No. I used Gay Entitled as the writer was self-identified as homosexual/Gay and the writing revealed a rather entitled tone.
I am far too familiar with retail. But not with CVS. Oh, I am not keen on their business practices...but I do not take my wrath out on the clerk who just happens to be earning a living.
Umm..most retail folks take their cue from the customer. Act Entitled and they will be less than enthusiastic. Treat them with respect and common courtesy--I have yet to be mistreated when I have done this.
@Elvisisdead: The pharmacist is responsible for what goes on in the pharmacy. In stores like CVS, the pharmacy is a seperate entity within the same building. If there are non-pharmacists or other health care professionals making HIPAA violations within the pharmacy, it is the pharmacists responsibility to deal with the situation.
That being said, the fact that the employee in question knew what condition the prescription is meant to treat indicates to me that he was not a mere floor manager or clerk.
Pennsylvania's Board of Professional and Occupational Affairs says this about complaints:
"If you believe the practice or the service provided by a licensee or registrant of the above-named boards or commissions to be unethical, immoral, below an acceptable standard of practice or out of the scope of the profession, you are urged to file a Statement of Complaint Form with the Department of State's Legal Office." [www.dos.state.pa.us]
I'd say this counts as unethical and below the acceptable standards of practice.
Sue him? Yeah go ahead...
With no proof and only your word against him and his co workers who will of course be on his side you have ZERO chance.
What happened to you was really bad. But there is no resolution. CVS has no proof this really happened.
This is absolutely horrifying. BBB, escalate the complaint, do everything you can. No one who is a health professional--even if they are only acting as one to fill in--should ever, ever be allowed to act like this.
I would also recommend filing a complaint with the state pharmacy board. If the OP can handle going back to the store, he should ask for or seek out the pharmacist registration number (which should be displayed) and file a consumer complaint. If they won't give or he can't find the number, the name might be sufficient.