I used my pharmacy's automated system to call in two prescription refills on Friday morning. It was before 8:00. Both of them had refills remaining, so I believed the message that told me they would be ready after 11:00. I get a text once they are done and ready for pickup. When I hadn't received that text by 2:00, I called the pharmacy.
"Just checking to see if my prescriptions are ready."
"Let me see... No. We are running behind. Our automatic pill-counting machine is down, so it's taking us extra time. I can have your prescriptions ready in about an hour."
"Yes. That will be fine. It will take me that long before I'm in town. Thank you."
In fact, it was only a speedy 50 minutes before I got the text. I was able to pick up my drugs with no problem at their drive-thru window.
Meanwhile, Hick was having his own drug-seeking issue. He has glaucoma, and had just been to the eye doctor on Wednesday for a regular appointment. Hick came home on Friday evening, and immediately thrust his phone into my face.
"I can't get my eye drops at my pharmacy unless I go to this link and update my payment information."
"That sounds sketchy. I don't know about that..."
"Here. Look at it."
"Is that even their website? Maybe it's a scam."
"The gal in the pharmacy sent it to me. I told her no, I'll just pay for it here when it comes in. She said they cain't do that. I'd have to drive to the city to pick it up if I wanted to pay for it in person. I have to go to this link and update it. They they'll send my eye drops here to my pharmacy."
"That's crazy! Let me see what it looks like. Well. It says it's your pharmacy in the URL. The page looks official. It wants your birthdate. That seems sketchy! I guess I'll put it in. Since you got this from the gal at your pharmacy. Okay. Now it wants a type of payment. I guess we'll use the debit card. Read me your numbers..."
I had all the info entered. Then when I hit the DONE button, the screen stalled.
"Here. Take your phone outside, and maybe it will go."
Hick wandered around on the back porch. Then went to the front porch. Then came back in.
"It got this message at the top, in red."
SOMETHING WENT WRONG. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.
"When do you need this medicine?"
"It's no hurry. Just by Monday."
"Well, since they have to SEND IT FROM THE CITY, I guess we'll have to try this again tomorrow or Sunday. So the info will be in Monday, for them to send your medicine down here."
We tried on Saturday morning before 6:00, and the info went through. Of course we had to enter it all again.
These newfangled ways are almost harder than when an old granny-lady foraged in the woods for roots and herbs to grind with a mortar and pestle.
Egads! A pharmacy that only takes online payment methods? These folks are getting worse and worse. I suppose this way they can deny the drugs if payment does not go through, and not have to deal with angry folks who cannot afford it in person at this location :(
ReplyDeleteThis is why I was suspicious. Hick pays for his regular prescriptions at this pharmacy all the time. For some reason these eye drops were handled differently. It seems odd that he could drive 60 miles and pay for them in person, but to get them at his local branch of the pharmacy chain, he had to update his payment method online.
DeleteThat seems weird to me, why is he suddenly having to update when the Pharmacy already has all his information? I would have gone to the pharmacy and showed them the message and asked what's going on before doing as the screen asked. If it is a phishing scam the pharmacy would tell you "that's not from us", same as my Post Office tells me when there is a message that a parcel is waiting for me and I haven't ordered anything. Usually they are asking me to confirm address and purchase. I haven't had one of those in a very long while, I guess "they" gave up on me.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what Hick asked. He was IN THE PHARMACY, and the gal explained what he had to do, and sent him that link in a text. So he knew it came from her, right then. He could use his debit card as usual on his other medications, but this one had to have his payment info before it could be shipped from the city to this store.
DeleteThat's clear now, he was in the pharmacy, so it's all legit and not a scam.
ReplyDeleteYes. That's why I have to interrogate Hick, to get the details.
DeleteIt seems like everybody is taking only online payments. It is hard to pay anything in cash. Well, not Walmart, they will take money in any form!
ReplyDeleteImagine the anarchy if the grid goes down, and everybody loses access to their digital money! At least Hick has a lot of junk he can barter with. We'd be junk millionaires!
DeleteIt is not really hard to imagine the grid exploding! We have some investments in the market, NOT my idea. I am just shy of becoming a prepper and would be okay with a strong box buried in the yard. My grandfather (the tobacco farmer) put only enough money in the bank to pay casual labor by check. They had a fireplace with some loose bricks, and he put his money in Prince Albert tobacco cans and stuffed them in the cracks. He loaned me the money to buy my first car and dispatched my grandmother to bring him the can of 20's. He peeled out 10 and I was suddenly the owner of a Ford Maverick, stick shift. Dark blue with a black interior and no air conditioning. I was pleased to give that car to The Man, and I got the new candy apple red Road Runner with all the bells and whistles. Chivalry for southern boys!
DeleteWe keep some cash on hand, but we are not that creative. It's in one of the three safes. Which take several men to move, so thieves need to have an organized plan and maybe a forklift!
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