Pet Peeves

 


I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation.

Whoopi Goldberg
        Whoopi and I agree on this topic. Most of the time the pet peeves that I have stay nicely in their kennels and don't bother me much. The past few weeks it seems like the things that irritate me are around every corner. I'm grateful for the gift of self control that allows me to handle these things. I'd like to share a few of my pet peeves. Some of them of them are due to technology and one is work related. They in no particular order.
        Pet Peeve number one: Responding to a message that has a question it it with a heart, thumbs up or a hundred points emoji. I don't believe that every message needs to be answered right away so I understand using an emoji of some type to let me know a message has been read. If I send a message with a question in it or something that clearly requires a response, respond. Answer the question, respond to the suggestion or confirm the meeting. Don't just leave the emoji as your answer. That's not an answer.
        Along similar lines is responding to a social media post asking for suggestions or advice with a reaction. If I've posted on social media looking for help, suggestions or advice responding with a like or a heart or care is not helpful. If you have nothing to say then say, don't react. If you have something to say, but don't want to say it publicly, send a message or ask me to contact you. I rarely post things of this sort. When I do it's because it's good to hear from others on certain subjects. You may find a fresh angle or new direction. 
        There is one You Tube channel that I like a lot. It's an orthodox Jewish  woman in Canada who posts videos about cooking, how Jewish holidays are celebrated  and other topics. She used to post every week or so. The last time she posted was over nine months ago. She has posted some non video content. I still subscribe hoping that she'll put up another video sometime. If things have been too hectic or she decided that she had nothing more to say publicly and decided not to post anymore, I wish she would just say so. 
        Last week I loaded a new update to my phone. Most of the time I have no problems. This time one of my messaging apps stopped working. This is the app my dad uses to communicate with me. It meant that I wasn't getting messages from my Dad which would be a problem if he needed to get a hold of me. I looked at several articles telling me what to do to get the app working again. Nothing worked. I finally broke down and messaged the support desk who was able to help me. It worked normally for most of today, but now I see it isn't working again. The new technology is nice, but when it doesn't work it's difficult to repair.
        A few weeks ago a customer did something that angered me.  We received a prescription for Covid medication for his wife. Now that the subsidy for the medication has ended insurances can charge whatever copay they like for this medication or refuse to cover it at all. In his case the copay was pretty high. He decided that he didn't want the medication. That's his right and I have no quarrel with that. As he left the pharmacy he said that he hoped his wife wouldn't die since I refused to give him the needed medication. He said this loudly enough that other customers could hear him. That's what made me mad.
        I do not set the copays on medications covered by insurance. I submit what I believe to a fair price for the product and my services. The insurance company decides what they will pay me and what copay is due if any. The contract we have with the insurance company requires me to collect the copay that is sent to me. I can't waive it or change it.  If the copay on a medication is too high and a customer refuses to take the medication, that is their choice. I am not refusing to dispense. The fact that he chose to make this statement in front of others was out of line. In cases where there is a similar and possibly less expensive medication available, I would have contacted the prescriber to get it changed before the patient comes in. In this case there is no substitute, so I was unable to do this. (As far as I know, his wife is still alive.)
            Hopefully next week all the pet peeves will be back in their kennels again......
            
        

        
       

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