Pet Peeves (Contd.), or Silence Can Be Golden

I think I'm pretty good at multi-tasking. You have to be, to survive in a retail pharmacy setting. However, when I'm up to my neck in prescriptions to check or just buried under a list of things to do or people to get back to, the one thing I cannot do is keep up a steady stream of chit-chat. I have some great conversations at work with people, but they have to take place in a relatively 'down' time. I've been in pharmacy long enough to know that when I am distracted by someone talking continuously to me I will make a mistake or miss something.
I know this about myself from experience --- I'll check something or go through a process with someone yapping at me, finish it, but something nags at me and I'll go look at it again, and dammit, I did miss something. And it makes me really mad at myself.

So at the risk of being considered somewhat 'quiet' or not a lot of 'fun', this is the way I have to work. When there's nothing going on, I'm glad to chat. But when things are chaotic I get really irritated by people who just won't shut up for a few minutes, put their heads down and get it DONE. I swear there are times when I wish I had one of those air-horns to stop the din. And then there's always the person who insists on talking or laughing really loudly right next to you when you're on the phone. I clamp my hand over my ear and duck down and they still don't get the message.

I don't think customers necessarily want to see the pharmacy staff all talking at once and yukking it up behind the counter, especially about stuff that obviously isn't work related.
There's plenty of time for that when people are out of earshot.

Thank God we don't have the Muzak -- I'd probably go completely crazy.