They banned my 91 year old uncle for life?

My Mom's brother, and only living sibling, no way no how deserved this. 

He's 91 and I know him to have excellent integrity. A very 
honorable man who was the managing editor of The Fresno Bee  
until his retirement. 

After all, he was raised by the same parents as my Mom.

So last week he sent me, and a few others, this email:
(I've removed his name for his privacy)

Family and friends,
As unsettling as the incident described below was, it has had one happy
outcome: I found a new pharmacy. Outwardly, its a Mom and Pop operation, 
 but Pop is a tall, 30-something named Mohammad. Hes smart, efficient and likable. He and his staff handled three transfers 
from CVS and did it in 24 hours, while smiling. He called me at 7 last night to confirm a med that costs $90 a month. I did. No 
personalized service like that at industrialized CVS. For Fresnans, the store is WellPlus at the southwest corner of Bullard and Marks. 

Heres my letter to CVS. In the unlikely event of a response,
Ill let you know.

________________________________________________



In odd dispute over Rx signing,
                   CVS bans customer, 91, for life 
                                                                  April 4, 2017

CVS Health
1 CVS Drive
Woonsocket RI 02895
     Re: Store No. 9865
Dear Mr. Merlo,
On March 24, 2017, I picked up my wife’s prescription at CVS, 7096 N. West Ave. in Fresno. As a result, I got the “death sentence,” banished from that place forever. Here’s what happened:
The young clerk demanded that I speak with a pharmacist. The pharmacist, however, was at lunch (3 p.m.), to return in 20 minutes. My wife had taken the medication for more than a year and I insisted there was no need for consultation.
But the clerk persisted and was soon joined by another young employee who also loudly demanded that I wait for the pharmacist’s return. I am 91, it was past nap time and in no mood for waiting. The prescription was a refill transferred from another drug store. Since January 1, I have transferred eight other refills to CVS 9865 (lower co-pays) and not once was I referred to a pharmacist — never, until the clamor of March 24. 
There was  no co-pay for that refill. My encounter with your employees took
place away from the registers and signing devices. And the crucial point in this
incident is that no one asked me to sign anything. It’s as if the customer has to know the rules, not the pharmacy workers.
On the following Monday, the 27th, I returned to the pharmacy on my own volition. It was then that I learned I had committed a “crime” — nothing to do with the pharmacist but for not signing out. I would have signed gladly, but the
aides, obsessed about the pharmacist, were silent on that subject. 
When the pharmacy manager refused to consider my appeal, I asked to speak to her supervisor. She said she already had and that they decided to banish me — thus, judge, jury and executioner, with no chance to defend myself. No warning, not a second chance. Nope, an old man who takes 11 prescription drugs was thereafter unwelcome on their premises.
They were unfair, harsh, high-handed. They besmirched my good reputation. It weighs on me. My blood pressure is up, sleep is affected. I want this banishment lifted and I want my reputation back. You can do that, sir, and redeem yours as well.  
                   Sincerely,


cc: California Board of Pharmacy

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's sharp for 91! Well written.
Darlene

Richard said...

Way to go Uncle Don...wish he had been on that United flight!

Scrapally said...

Wow! Great letter! I am so sorry he had to go through that! What is wrong with people these days? The customer is always right, or at least used to be. That is such a sad scenario and I am glad he found a pharmacy he likes.

Look what happened last night

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