How do you cope with people insisting on branded product?

[PinkGlitter]

Today I got called a F****** C*** for dispensing salamol instead of ventolin for a script that asked for salbutamol inhaler. How do you cope with people who insist on a certain brand as they don't want "the cheap crap"? I've got one lady who must have Plendil, Cozaar, Losec etc even though the script is written generically!

[Rafael]

let them discuss it with their GP. tell them you would not give them the branded product unless the GP prescribe by brand.

[happy_bunny]

I think it depends on how valuable the customer is - people who have shedloads of items every month tend to get the brands they want. Others are told they either have to accept the generic or get the prescriber to do a new script for the branded product.

[Fleegle]

The whole issue is about cost of supply. If a business is prepared to take a small hit to keep the custom, but make a lower profit by supplying branded, then so be it. It becomes tricky if supply is made at a net loss, based on profit made on other items on the same script.
Discount on purchasing is key, as always.
Another option for a relatively inexpensive item is to charge the difference directly to the customer. Somehow it makes them feel "special" and in my experience they usually happily pay the difference...e.g. Diazepam against Valium...often an issue..(genuine cases only, if you follow my drift)

[Jeff]

Today I got called a F****** C*** for dispensing salamol instead of ventolin for a script that asked for salbutamol inhaler.

Neither cost a lot so say that you could offer to make a note of their preference on the PMR so that in future they had Ventolin dispensed - however the customer is always right and being a F******* C*** you no longer feel any reason to be helpful.

How do you cope with people who insist on a certain brand as they don't want "the cheap crap"? I've got one lady who must have Plendil, Cozaar, Losec etc even though the script is written generically!

The NHS pays for "the cheap crap" by default - they do have the option to go private and pay the full price, have their GP prescribe the brand if they think it appropriate to do so, or just go elsewhere to have their prescriptions dispensed.

Am am always prepared to accede to rational requests e.g. "Could I have the oval paracetamol please because otherwise I confuse them with my metformin"

Jeff

[jaymags]

I have only ever worked in an independant so I don't know how a big pharmacy works but customers usually tell us that Boots and Lloyds give them brands even though they are prescribed generically. Our usual reply is "go to Boots or Lloyds then" no seriously we would like to tell them that. These are the customers that only use us when the weather is bad even though they only live round the corner from us. The other thing is patients who only want specific manufacturers of generics eg. GUK citalopram. My other half is convinced that some of the metformin he has had upset his stomach "different boxes again" or "these tablets are bigger than last time, are you sure they are the right ones?"

[JonF]

This was quoted on either this forum or another pharmacy one and basically if a customer says that Boots/Lloyds always give me the brand, then just say that they were doing this at a loss as a goodwill gesture to keep your custom, as you have brought your Rx to us that obviously hasn't worked so i am not prepared to lose money either so if you want brand get it prescribed as a brand!

When i first read it i thought it an excellent reply and have since used it on acouple of occasions!

[Defblade]

I would just add tho that salamol seems to be signifcantly less usefull than ventolin..... I worked for a large multiple who decided overnight that we were to give salamol on open sxripts - no ifs, no buts - and we lost quite a few VERY long term customers who simply could not get on with the salamol. These were not picky, troublesome customers and there were too many too be ignored. I was on the verge of putting a comment in to the MHRA.

But as there were 5 more pharmacies within easy reach, all of whom supplied ventolin against generic, these people were not denied ventolin, and other people do get on OK with it, so decided against.

The multiple refusing to allow us judgement in who was pulling a pout, who was clinically genuine, and who we would lose by not supplying ventolin (in one case, an entire family, who brought in over 100 items a month!) was probably the beginning of the end for me working there...

[JonF]

On the flip side we used to give Salamol for all open Rx's, now we've gone to giving Ventolin due to a brand equalisation deal. We've had at least 10 people 'demand' Salamol! You can't win!

[PinkGlitter]

At uni when we tested different salbutamol inhalers, Airomir came out top for most drug deposited in the lung, I think Salamol may have been second and ventolin last. I was a lowly undergrad though so it may not have been an accurate experiment!