CVS customer records from a pharmacist who collapsed after reportedly having to work alone

Footage of a CVS pharmacist going through a meltdown and closing the pharmacy early has been circulating on social media, with many viewers calling the employee “broken” and “unfit to work.”

Although the video shows her yelling at customers, the underlying circumstances that led her to such a rift remain unknown. Some viewers are urging others to show compassion for the pharmacist instead of rushing to judgement.

The video shows a CVS pharmacist yelling at customers and closing the pharmacy early.

Footage of the confrontation between the pharmacist and the customer was filmed by another CVS customer and later posted on TikTok. Although the original video was deleted, it was reposted.

The client on the cell allegedly had cancer and needed to pick up certain medications. However, the pharmacist claimed that, according to the system, the customer already had her medication, so she could not authorize a refill.

The situation quickly escalated, and the pharmacist seemed to have a breakdown, shouting, “I can’t take it anymore!” and closing the pharmacy.

“I’m going home!” the pharmacist shouted. “I can’t be a punching bag anymore.”

To the manager off camera, she added: “Fire me if you want!”

The video had over 2 million views before being taken down.

While some viewers berated the pharmacist, others emphasized the need for compassion.

Some people online insisted that the pharmacist deserved to lose her job and that her reaction proved that she can’t be trusted with people’s medications. Others, however, saw an emaciated man who was clearly on the verge of losing his mind.

“That poor woman. I can hear the pain in her voice,” commented one TikTok user. “I’m happy she kept her composure.”

Frustrated and overworked pharmacist Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock

“I hope she can clear her head and feel better. Let’s not jump to judgement,” wrote another commenter. “She said she was tired of being a punching bag, there’s definitely something else to this story.”

Some of the commenters were former pharmacists themselves who knew all too well how stressful the job can be.

“I worked as a pharmaceutical technician for over 10 years, mostly with CVS. This poor technique breaks my heart,” admitted one user. “You won’t know it until you experience it. I felt like I was drowning almost every day.”

CVS Pharmacy has a track record of overloading its pharmacists and keeping its doors open even when understaffed.

In 2023, CVS pharmacists walked out to protest “unsafe and stressful working conditions associated with a general lack of adequate staffing.” according to NPR. They feel overworked and underappreciated.

When a busy pharmacy like CVS is expected to have just one pharmacist on staff, checking statuses and dispensing medications to patients, it can become overwhelming. As a result, many pharmacists feeling of burning outleading to breakdowns, as the woman in the video experienced.

Low wages and heavy workloads are also big factors in the industry, which is causing more and more pharmacists to quit every day, leaving their former colleagues unsupervised and forced to work overtime.

One former CVS pharmacist passing by Dr. Ashley on TikTokstitched the original video by sharing some idea. She explained that she had worked in a pharmacy for 15 years.

“CVS doesn’t treat its people well in general,” she insisted. — I left in 2018 because my soul was torn from my body (and) my mental health was in the trash. I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Although she enjoyed being a pharmacist and interacting with patients, “the environment that CVS creates in the pharmacy” made her want to quit. She had nightmares about workcould not cause illness and was forced to work for 14 hours without breaks.

“I sympathize with this woman. I hope she’s okay,” she said of the pharmacist in the video. “I hope she has support because she needs it.”

While the pharmacist’s reaction to the video may seem disturbing to those who have never worked in customer service, her reaction is sympathetic to those of us who have had the displeasure of working in a harsh industry.

We’ve all probably had moments when we’ve reached our breaking point and wanted to stomp our feet and scream like little kids. It doesn’t make us crazy. It makes us human.

The original poster, who has since deleted her TikTok account, apologized to the stunned pharmacist after learning she was reportedly suffering from a “mental disability”.

“(To) Pharmacist: I’m so sorry and I really hope you’re doing well,” she said.

The next time you have to go to the pharmacy, try to feel sorry for the pharmacists behind the counter. This may take longer than you would like, so please be patient. Politely ask them for their medicine instead of barking at them. Give them a smile before you leave and remind them that they are doing a great job.

You never know what they are going through. At the end of a long day, it’s the goodwill of select customers that helps them get through the tax changes.

Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love and relationships.