They aren't supposed to run out - they might lose customers

This has been a growing problem in the past few years that is finally receiving some news. At one point late in 2010 there were more than 150 prescription drugs in short supply in the US. This is not surprising. They are a manufactured item just like a lot of other things. Reasons for this were given as:

- source materials no longer available
- quality issues closed manufacturing plants
- no longer profitable to manufacture

Drug companies as we are aware are businesses looking for profits (well duh!). They are just like any other company. The problem goes back to the long development and approval processes to get new drugs to market - or so they claim.

Now the president is stepping in sign an executive order to: "to help reduce a growing number of prescription drug shortages while protecting patients from possible pharmaceutical industry price gouging."

I wish people could play nice in about this and keep their life saving medications available at all times. To all those people who are wishing for smaller government, can some one please explain why the pharmaceutical industry are all about profits and not about the patients who are actually their customers?

Poor customer service - i.e., shortages - will drive away customers. A doctor isn't going to prescribe something that has availability problems. If I am on a life saving medication and they run out, I may switch or I may die. Either way they lose me a s a customer. Hmmm....so maybe its in the manufacturer's best interests not to have shortages.

Lacking the connection between 'Customer' and 'Service'

We are on vacation and having a grand old time doing all the things we shouldn't - buying too much yarn, clothes, shoes, jewelry and other necessities (we are returning the shoes to allow for our other expenses - this is what happens when you travel with an old friend as opposed to a husband who does not allow for the proper amounts of shopping time and expense).

We found a beach yesterday morning, albeit a Great Lakes beach as opposed to the ocean kind I prefer, and went for a long walk to be followed by a brunch at a restaurant we found. We were very excited about our restaurant choice as its the perfect place to have brunch. They only serve breakfast and close at 1pm. After our walk, we headed there for some needed nutrition.

We walked in and assumed we should seat ourselves because there was no one at the door - but no sign and we were ignored by all the staff. So we seated ourselves and waited a good five minutes, eying the credit card slip from the previous diner on the nicely set table. There were a few waitresses around busily waiting on others. Another couple came in and sat at the counter and were greeted instantly. Finally we gave up and moved to the counter next to them and were instantly greeted by a different waitress.

We placed our orders with the cheerful waitress. My friend wanted a bowl of fresh berries and was asked which kind she wanted - blueberries or raspberries. She wanted to have a mixture of both. The reply back was 'No we can't do that'. What do you mean no? Isn't the customer always right? How difficult would it be to mix up two bowls of berries???? But when they arrived, they were quite yummy and we did eat them all.

The couple next to us ordered their food. The husband ordered an egg thing. But the wife asked for just cranberry walnut toast. They had a big note on the white board advertising cranberry walnut French toast. She just wanted toast toast. The answer was 'No, we can't do that.' Again, how hard was this to do? She just had a cup of coffee instead - how's that for a lost sale?

Sitting at the counter, we were right in front of the window to the kitchen where we could see our food come up. We figured out which was ours and it sat, and sat, and sat, and sat, and sat. We looked around for our waitress. She was busy filling little containers of raspberry jam in the back room. When she finished filling them, we thought she might come bring us our food. But then she had to put the lids on. And pulled out more little containers. Now we know where she was when we first came in. Finally, she realized it might be time to bring us our food.

Then there was the waitress who didn't do anything. Seriously, she just stood around behind the counter and watched things. She was young so maybe in training but we didn't see her receive any training either. At one point she washed something in the sink but the rest of the time we were there she didn't do a thing other than stand there. Maybe she could have filled little containers with raspberry jam.

Needless to say we won't be back there for breakfast. We'll find a place which knows that 'customer' and 'service' are connected.