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Retired Teachers AKA Hate Mail Magnet

·2631 words·13 mins

I can deal with old people. I can deal with crackheads. I can deal with the senile, retarded, and the stupid.
I cannot deal with retired school teachers. I’m sorry, it had to be said, I know i’m going to get hate mail up the ass, but sweeping stereotypes are my specialty.

  • Copays: They always /always/ bitch and question about their copay. It doesnt matter if they have been paying the same amount for the last 12 months, they will /always/ complain and make you look it up. Then, when they are proven to be wrong, they bitch! (see Accountability below).
    • Know It All: They think they know everything about everything. Doesn’t matter what drug it is, what class it is, they did research on the int0rweb and know 1000x more than you do. They will sit there and throw around big medical words like they are going out of style. All you can do is try to contain your laughter at this point as they make no sense what so ever.
      • Entitlement: They want trade name. Always. Insurance doesnt cover it? Then I guess its the pharmacists responsibility to make sure that it gets covered with zero copay because I demand trade name. If that doesn’t work they sit there and bitch about it. When the insurance does cover it, they bitch about the $50 copay for that $400 drug!
        You know, I’m sorry that you make crap wages, but just add that onto the list of things that aren’t my problem. You knew going into the job that the pay was crap. For acting so fucking smart you obviously didn’t do your homework to realize that you would be making jack and shit. Furthermore, if you say you teach “for the children” then you should be happy with with you are getting, because you’re doing it “for the children” and not “for the paycheck”
        Anyways….

        • Accountability: They are never in the fault. They call in a wrong Rx number and you filled it, its your fault that you didn’t see that they received that refill 3 weeks ago and they make you RTS it. Even if you sit there, show the medication to them, they will find some reason to return it for something else. Guaranteed. Oh, did I mention that its your fault?
          Just remember this. They teach America’s youth. I think thats enough said right there. Flame on, I just had to get this off of my chest.

Comments #

Comment by Mary Lu on 2007-06-23 01:09:42 -0700 #

Hey Angry…
You expect hate mail? Hell no baby! Flame on Brother! You should see them as patients in the hospital. I love it when they start to tell us how to do a test or treatment.
I just lean over and calmly say… You’re in my classroom now. And I have the license! Lie Still! POKE!

Comment by Mary Lu on 2007-06-23 01:09:50 -0700 #

Hey Angry…
You expect hate mail? Hell no baby! Flame on Brother! You should see them as patients in the hospital. I love it when they start to tell us how to do a test or treatment.
I just lean over and calmly say… You’re in my classroom now. And I have the license! Lie Still! POKE!

Comment by poop sex on 2007-06-23 01:27:53 -0700 #

dude the weird yellow paper idea for this site is dumb.

Comment by canadapharmer on 2007-06-23 07:47:53 -0700 #

I agree! Retired nurses are just as bad. Don’t you think some things may have changed in the 20 years since you retired!?!

Comment by Nikki on 2007-06-23 09:07:46 -0700 #

that is absolutely amazing. my mother is a teacher and i loathe her coming in to the store more than any other customer on the planet.
i especially enjoy when she calls me at work and asks me “can you please just bring me one lunesta home?”
definately mom. i would be more than happy to sacrifice my entire career so you can sleep tonight

Comment by Marty on 2007-06-23 10:10:38 -0700 #

crap wages? in michigan teachers are averaging over 50 grand a year and have the best fringe of anyone.
good teachers(and we have many) work hours beyond the school day. Less than ideal teachers take their summers holidays and weekends as a right and any extra time is probably spent as the union steward for their district. Brand only, 90 day supplies and the lowest copays are expected. I love the guy who stops in and tells me to fill everything on his chart but its not because his copay is going from 50 cents to an incredible 2 dollars. And don’t even start on the subject of tenure!!

Comment by D on 2007-06-23 12:33:27 -0700 #

And thats just retail pharmacy. Nurses in hospitals are worse.

Comment by Count By Five on 2007-06-23 14:38:38 -0700 #

Well, the majority of your comments, as usual, are dead on, but teachers make a ton of money. Including benefits, all the holidays, vacations, ‘teacher prep’ jack off days, and their ridiculously great retirement package, teachers certainly take home more money than nurses, pharmacists, and probably a lot of physicians.
Don’t give them any sympathy. They can afford it just fine. They are just used to having a union to do their whining for them.

Comment by A Bohemian Road Nurse… on 2007-06-24 08:10:19 -0700 #

But….you kind of left your own self open for the flaming.
You rail at the teachers for taking jobs which they “knew ahead of time” had certain downfalls, aka pay, etc.
But that’s my complaint with angry doctors and angry pharmacists.
You knew ahead of time that you would be dealing with ALL types of people, on a daily basis—and I know you were intelligent enough to figure out that not everybody would be “dream customers”.
And this fact irritates me. If there’s anything that bugs me no end, it’s a doctor or pharmacist griping about a client who is difficult.
What? They told you in pharmacy school that everybody would “understand all the rules” and never annoy you? I don’t believe that.
Why don’t you just call it what it is? Ranting and raving because your control freak nature gets mad at people for not being/acting like you want them to.
Jesus, WHY do people who hate certain types of people go into the “helping professions”? I’ll NEVER understand it….
But I have a good suspicion that it is simply the money. It’s good money, let’s face it. And don’t EVEN start on me with any tales of woe about medical school/pharmacy school bills…because you knew about that ahead of time, too.

Comment by Chadwick on 2007-06-24 19:18:56 -0700 #

Teachers in New York State don’t make that much money when they start. It’s not until they’ve been there a long time that they start to make a large sum of money, and even then, pharmacists and doctors make more.
Keep in mind that teachers also have 6-8 years of college under their belt (New york state I know requires at a Master’s to teach…)
Anyways… in my pharmacy, most of the teachers we have are incredibly nice. In fact, I don’t think we’ve really had a problem with any of them. And none of them act as know-it-alls, or anything of that sort.
New York is different maybe?

Comment by Caitie on 2007-06-24 20:00:37 -0700 #

Count by Five must not live in Mississippi.. My mother is a first grade teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience and is still not close to making what a pharmacist makes.. definitely nowhere close to making what a physician makes! She works long hours (usually an hour before the kids get to school and 2 hours after the kids go home) and spends several days during the summer working in her classroom. Teacher’s insurance in Mississippi leaves a lot to be desired (the lowest copay is $13.00 and preferred brands are $30).

Comment by Buzz on 2007-06-25 09:28:49 -0700 #

I’m out of community pharmacy now but I totally agree with you. Most of the teachers complained about their copays – even at $1.00 for brand-name! They were always the most difficult to deal with. My old accounting teacher was the worst. He always had something snotty to say about his refills. He was one of those – “I need all my refills, 90 days, and I’ll come pick them up in an hour”. We would never, never have enough to fill them and he would bitch every time.

Comment by Peggy on 2007-06-25 10:09:26 -0700 #

You know, I’m sorry that you _____, but just add that onto the list of things that aren’t my problem.
Perfect!
Unbelievable the things people want you to accept responsibility for. Especially if you’re known to take responsibility for what you ARE responsible for.

Comment by Lucky on 2007-06-25 19:55:23 -0700 #

There is NO WAY that New York State requires a masters degree to teach. I have done some searching, and I can find nothing to indicate that an advanced degree is necessary. Seriously, there is no way that they could staff the schools with this requirement.

Comment by Chadwick on 2007-06-27 10:11:30 -0700 #

I have friends that went for teaching. In New York state, you need at least a 4 year degree, and then you have a period of 5 years after that to get a masters. So most start teaching at 4 years, and over that period take some night classes/whatever to get their masters degree. Granted, they may have 5 years to do so, but it’s still 6 years of school.

Comment by The Orange Ones Don’t Work on 2007-06-27 19:21:39 -0700 #

It IS for the money. No person would be crazy enough to do this for minor pay. Whenever I need cheering up regarding the soul-sucking profession into which I have fallen, I look at my paycheck and 401k.

Comment by eddie armstrong on 2007-06-28 08:02:08 -0700 #

W O W !!!!
i have found a new site that truly expresses all the
R A G E i have tried to
calmly share w/ others over
the last 20 yrs—only those
behind the counter really
understand—thanks for the site and keep up the GREAT work!!
later!

Comment by Petri on 2007-06-28 10:20:32 -0700 #

Lucky, NY absolutely requires a masters degree to teach. I have several friends engaged in acquiring theirs at this very instant. Usually the state gives you a certain number of years while teaching to complete it. I think it’s ridiculous as well. NY did it to get “better” teachers but unfortunately a masters degree does not a great teacher make. I could have taught high school with my high school diploma. God only knows why people are still willing to get into teaching.

Comment by Dean on 2007-07-10 10:48:06 -0700 #

I agree with several of the posters here. The idea that teachers don’t make any money is a myth. The situation may be different in different states, but back here in Missouri they make more on average than most other professions. And, as several pointed out, they have summers and long holiday breaks, fantastic benefits and decent pensions.
I do agree however, that some teachers can be a real pain in the neck. Apparently they are so used to being in charge of children that they just assume they are in charge everywhere.

Comment by Benylin in the best on 2007-07-23 10:52:37 -0700 #

This is the best site ever.
I too have had to deal with retired teachers. I had one lady scream at me at the top of her lungs “I USED TO BE A TEACHER, YOU KNOW! I USED TO BE A TEACHER, NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU HUSSY!!!” when I wasn’t giving her the answer she wanted to hear about her numbing cream for laser hair removal. I think she had a few screws loose…

Comment by Benylin in the best on 2007-07-23 14:11:46 -0700 #

This is the best site ever.
I too have had to deal with retired teachers. I had one lady scream at me at the top of her lungs “I USED TO BE A TEACHER, YOU KNOW! I USED TO BE A TEACHER, NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU HUSSY!!!” when I wasn’t giving her the answer she wanted to hear about her numbing cream for laser hair removal. I think she had a few screws loose…

Comment by Emperor on 2007-07-27 20:22:07 -0700 #

You supposedly are a professional. When is the last time you saw one of your annoying teachers write foul profanity in a blog commentary? And you have the gall to criticize other professions ! Grow up will you?

Comment by Intern on 2007-09-08 10:28:44 -0700 #

I work in a neighborhood right next the the university, so I have to deal with med school professors and the university hospital doctors all the time. They love letting me know how they give lectures about all these drugs and blah blah blah. “No questions” would have done just fine

Comment by billybob on 2007-10-16 12:55:02 -0700 #

Teachers are amusing to me. Send them all to me and I will laugh while getting rich!
We had 5+ years in school and we never learned how to handle a teacher? Bull!
They do not carry guns. They do not complain effectively to our superiors. They DO speak to us as equals and that irritates us because no one is as smart as we are?
I can take it! I do not need to impress my customer in order to handle him effectively! Teachers are little civil servants longing to be respected. Not unlike pharmacist who deal with them. Huh?

Comment by A Fan on 2008-04-15 14:55:34 -0700 #

You are spot on!!!
I have the misfortune of knowing a couple of retired teachers, and their insufferable know-it-all attitude is annoying beyond belief.
The comments here are quite revelatory. If the “mastery” of English seen here is reprentative of those teaching public school students, then it’s no mystery why Little Johnny can’t read.
The proof is in the pudding. Whatever they’re being paid, it’s too much.

Comment by AHEM! on 2008-05-10 09:56:38 -0700 #

Well, this is just chock full of stereotypes, isn’t it? I live in Arkansas, and just so you know, every English teacher in the public school system that I have ever had taught me something. I intend to go into that profession as soon as I am out of college. It only requires a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate. I graduated high school with a higher English comprehension level than most college graduates who took the same test. I graduated Freshman year in high school with a college junior English comprehension, both of which had a lot to do with caring teachers who were in their job for the students, not the teacher. Teachers get paid pretty well, but not well enough for the good they do, and if you’re going to spend your time ranting and raving, go get a journal. If you’re trying to vent, write a letter and burn it. At the very least, don’t go insulting the surface of something you know nothing about. Not all retired teachers are terrible. Ever stop to think you simply aren’t a very likable person? And as far as only being in the job for the money goes, you seem to fit that category pretty darn well. Remember the ageless virtue “Think about what you’ll say before you say it?” If not, apparently you couldn’t even think hard enough to listen in kindergarten.

Comment by ustandbehindacounterand… on 2009-11-21 19:47:20 -0800 #

Oh thank the heavens… a voice of reason.

Comment by PsychiatryResident on 2014-04-13 07:26:24 -0700 #

So by now you’re out of college and in the work world. Any change in thought about your comment?

The Angry Pharmacist
Author
The Angry Pharmacist
Started this site in 2005 out of frustration that pharmacy school does not prepare you for dealing with the ungrateful unwashed public. Was hugely popular until life called and I had to take a break. Now I try to provide low brow potty humor that applies to the pharmacy population at large. Except you clinical fucks, go play doctor with your white coats and snobby attitude.