Yesterday's blog entry was a rant about Walgreen's lousy service. I take several prescription drugs for age related ailments, and I thought I had it handled with the power of the internet and by dealing with a nationwide company. I was wrong. But I was correct in that the internet is a very powerful tool.
I've been frequenting internet message boards since Al Gore invented the internets. Through these rudimentary digital social interactions, I've made many, many friends. Good friends, many I've never met in person, and many that I have. I have yet to encounter a psychopath, by the way. Every one of my internet friends has been a delight to meet in person. Here in Annapolis, that includes about a dozen people, including Kate and Chuck.
Kate and Chuck lived in upstate New York, not too far from where I lived, until they cast off the dock lines about ten years ago and cruised up and down the east coast, eventually swallowing the anchor in Annapolis. You regular blog readers will recall that we've been here since the middle of November, intending to stay until Christmas and then head south. Well, Kate and Chuck pretty much adopted us, and we not only spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them and their family, but have borrowed their car to run errands and have generally imposed on them in every way possible. They've been gracious hosts, to say the least. They've also given us some invaluable advice.
Chuck mentioned that if we needed any doctorin', his doctor takes walk-ins and was "cruiser friendly". Well, Pam had bought a blood pressure monitor for me while here, the kind that straps to your wrist. I took my pressure and it read normal (for me). Pam then took hers and it was incredibly high, so high that I thought we should hie ourselves to Chuck's doctor's office, which we did. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a small practice, probably because they don't take insurance. I don't have health insurance so this is fine by me. The doc checked Pam's BP with his machine and it read normal. He then checked mine and it was normal (for me) and agreed with the BP machine Pam had bought. The final diagnosis is that the wrist BP machine simply doesn't work for Pam. The charge? Nothing. They wouldn't take any compensation from us. Nothing, even though I offered. This floored me. We expressed our gratitude and left.
A couple of weeks later, both Pam and I came down with some kind of bug. I was feeling pretty bad on one particular day, so I went to visit Doctor Lee again. The doc checked me over, said it was most likely just a virus, but prescribed some antibiotics as a precaution.
Enter the Walgreen's scenario I wrote about yesterday. No meds, lousy service. What to do? As a cruiser traveling down the eastern seaboard, getting regular deliveries of prescription drugs is a necessity. For us, but not for Walgreens. They simply didn't care. They'd fill my prescriptions promptly, ready for pickup in Stamford Connecticut, when I'd request them for where ever we'd be docked. Or they'd simply not fill them, taking my meds off of their auto-fill status on a whim. When I ordered meds online with expedited shipping, they'd take six days to actually ship them. Simply astounding. What to do?
Well, yesterday I hied myself back to Doctor Lee, the cruiser friendly doctor. I explained my plight. He actually listened. Since Pam and I intend to return to the Chesapeake in the spring (if we EVER GET OUT OF HERE!), he suggested that I enroll in his conciearge service, which entitles me to unlimited doctor's visits and telephone consultations for a year, and also six month presciptions for my drugs. DONE DEAL!
With prescriptions in hand, Chuck drove me to Sam's Club where I filled two out of the three I needed. They were out of one, but Chuck will drive me there again today to get the last one. In return, I promised to buy him and Kate dinner at the Dock Street Pub tonight. Win-win!
Problem solved. So for you wanna-be cruisers, here's a piece of advice. Before you cast off your dock lines, go to your doc and get a script for at least six months worth of your drugs. Looking for a drug store every few weeks just doesn't cut it. If he/she won't do it, contact me and I'll put you in contact with my new best friend in Annapolis, Doctor Lee. Great guy.
No matter what, we're now leaving Annapolis tomorrow (Saturday). I'll have the meds and the perfect weather window. Thank you Chuck and Kate for everything. Goodbye Pat, thanks for the many fine conversations over drinks and dinner (great gumbo!). Bye Gump, John and Gayle, and Hank and Carolyn, see you in April or May. Look out Al, Ed, Ann Marie, DBM, and Rob, here we come!
For those of you who enjoy our critter pics, here is one from yesterday afternoon...
You sit on the floor. We're using the couch.
Yesterday's sunset...
And this morning's sunrise, taken about five minutes ago.
I've been frequenting internet message boards since Al Gore invented the internets. Through these rudimentary digital social interactions, I've made many, many friends. Good friends, many I've never met in person, and many that I have. I have yet to encounter a psychopath, by the way. Every one of my internet friends has been a delight to meet in person. Here in Annapolis, that includes about a dozen people, including Kate and Chuck.
Kate and Chuck lived in upstate New York, not too far from where I lived, until they cast off the dock lines about ten years ago and cruised up and down the east coast, eventually swallowing the anchor in Annapolis. You regular blog readers will recall that we've been here since the middle of November, intending to stay until Christmas and then head south. Well, Kate and Chuck pretty much adopted us, and we not only spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them and their family, but have borrowed their car to run errands and have generally imposed on them in every way possible. They've been gracious hosts, to say the least. They've also given us some invaluable advice.
Chuck mentioned that if we needed any doctorin', his doctor takes walk-ins and was "cruiser friendly". Well, Pam had bought a blood pressure monitor for me while here, the kind that straps to your wrist. I took my pressure and it read normal (for me). Pam then took hers and it was incredibly high, so high that I thought we should hie ourselves to Chuck's doctor's office, which we did. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a small practice, probably because they don't take insurance. I don't have health insurance so this is fine by me. The doc checked Pam's BP with his machine and it read normal. He then checked mine and it was normal (for me) and agreed with the BP machine Pam had bought. The final diagnosis is that the wrist BP machine simply doesn't work for Pam. The charge? Nothing. They wouldn't take any compensation from us. Nothing, even though I offered. This floored me. We expressed our gratitude and left.
A couple of weeks later, both Pam and I came down with some kind of bug. I was feeling pretty bad on one particular day, so I went to visit Doctor Lee again. The doc checked me over, said it was most likely just a virus, but prescribed some antibiotics as a precaution.
Enter the Walgreen's scenario I wrote about yesterday. No meds, lousy service. What to do? As a cruiser traveling down the eastern seaboard, getting regular deliveries of prescription drugs is a necessity. For us, but not for Walgreens. They simply didn't care. They'd fill my prescriptions promptly, ready for pickup in Stamford Connecticut, when I'd request them for where ever we'd be docked. Or they'd simply not fill them, taking my meds off of their auto-fill status on a whim. When I ordered meds online with expedited shipping, they'd take six days to actually ship them. Simply astounding. What to do?
Well, yesterday I hied myself back to Doctor Lee, the cruiser friendly doctor. I explained my plight. He actually listened. Since Pam and I intend to return to the Chesapeake in the spring (if we EVER GET OUT OF HERE!), he suggested that I enroll in his conciearge service, which entitles me to unlimited doctor's visits and telephone consultations for a year, and also six month presciptions for my drugs. DONE DEAL!
With prescriptions in hand, Chuck drove me to Sam's Club where I filled two out of the three I needed. They were out of one, but Chuck will drive me there again today to get the last one. In return, I promised to buy him and Kate dinner at the Dock Street Pub tonight. Win-win!
Problem solved. So for you wanna-be cruisers, here's a piece of advice. Before you cast off your dock lines, go to your doc and get a script for at least six months worth of your drugs. Looking for a drug store every few weeks just doesn't cut it. If he/she won't do it, contact me and I'll put you in contact with my new best friend in Annapolis, Doctor Lee. Great guy.
No matter what, we're now leaving Annapolis tomorrow (Saturday). I'll have the meds and the perfect weather window. Thank you Chuck and Kate for everything. Goodbye Pat, thanks for the many fine conversations over drinks and dinner (great gumbo!). Bye Gump, John and Gayle, and Hank and Carolyn, see you in April or May. Look out Al, Ed, Ann Marie, DBM, and Rob, here we come!
For those of you who enjoy our critter pics, here is one from yesterday afternoon...
You sit on the floor. We're using the couch.
Yesterday's sunset...
And this morning's sunrise, taken about five minutes ago.
Life is wonderful. I can't imagine it being any better. OK, warmer maybe, but not better.
Won't believe you're leaving Annapolis until you actually do it. Aren't you official Maryland residents by now???? Love reading your blog and enjoying the pics!
ReplyDeleteI think he's been in MD 3 months now... time to pay the tax man... LOL
ReplyDelete