A conversation overheard at the Regional-Third-Party-Call-Center.

One note: This was the Saturday of the “holiday weekend”, so while the Pharmacy was open, Doctor’s Offices were not (I’m looking at you The-Evil-Doctor-Merlin-Channing-Lowe-Jr..)
Also note: Doctor’s provide Prescriptions, Pharmacists fill them. (some people get these two roles confused)

Patient: I would like to get my prescription refilled
Agent: I’m looking at your medication, and it is out of refills.
Patient: When can I get it refilled
Agent: We can contact the doctor, but more than likely they are out of the office, and will not respond until Monday.
Patient: So when can I get it filled?
Agent: I can’t fill it today, until we get a doctor’s authorization or a new Prescription.
Patient: So I can’t get it filled?
Agent:
Patient: Hello?
Agent: No, we are unable to fill your Prescription
Patient: So I cannot get it filled?
Agent:
Patient: Hello?
Agent: No, we cannot fill your Prescription.
Patient: So what are you going to do when I have my next seizure?
Agent:
Patient: Hello?
Agent: Perhaps we can sell tickets?

(Okay, the last line I made up.)

After working my first full Saturday in almost 2 months, I was reminded of my time at the Not-So-Small-Software-Organization, when I was a larval Tech Support Representative.
I quickly noticed that weekend callers were very much unlike “normal” weekday callers.
Working in an accounting program, typically, most users would call during the week when they were using the product with their businesses. The weekend callers were a different kind of culture, as they did other things during the week and only had time to work on the books on the weekends.
And work the books they did, and some of the hairiest payroll issues came late in the evenings on Saturday nights.
Sometimes, it baffled me, as I was often repeating simple instructions to these users, who had very little computer experience, but the problems I was solving were literally needed more advanced skills than what the users were demonstrating. I would ask myself, “How did you make this mistake, I don’t even think you would know where to find this feature to break it like you did…”

So today, that same feeling came over me, but instead of computers, it was Pharmaceuticals.