This featured story for today is totally heartbreaking…
A Walmart pharmacy in Pahrump, Nevada, turned an elderly customer away for trying to pay for his medication with coins he’s been saving so he can afford medication.
Everyone who wasn’t born with a silver spoon in hand has had the experience of trying to pay for something in change. It’s embarrassing more often than not, even if the cashier is understanding and patient with the spectacle. No one wants to pay in pennies, but sometimes, it’s the best you can do.
A TikToker standing in line behind the man captured the incident on video and shared it to his page. It quickly racked up views, quickly becoming the most-viewed video on @thrist101’s page.
“So I can’t get my medication because you won’t take American money,” the man asks at the outset of the video. He is standing at the prescription counter and appears to have already attempted to count out the correct change. He begins scooping it back up as the video progresses.
“This is American money, you give it back in change every day,” the man, identified by @thrist101 as Joseph Murdocks from Brookeville, Florida, says to the pharmacy technician. He goes on to say that he’s been saving up to afford his medication, only to be turned away.
“Not everybody is rich, you know? Not everybody has a credit card,” he says. “This is money. It’s taken at every bank in the United States. It’s taken at every business in the United States except, apparently, Walmart.”
Viewers were heartbroken to see a person refuse their medication because they didn’t have the right form of payment. Some businesses have stopped accepting cash payments of any form during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the virus can cling to surfaces for some time. Walmart has urged customers to use digital payment wherever possible, but it is not refusing cash payments at its stores.
Many people saw the video as yet another example of America’s failings. They flooded the comment section with well-wishes, and many asked if there was an avenue to help the man pay for his meds.
It also prompted a backlash that didn’t end on TikTok. Several Google reviews of the Walmart pharmacy in Pahrump now reference the incident.
Brea DeDeux wrote “Walmart makes millions of dollars everyday… you would think their company has a better policy when dealing with elderly customers that rely on them for prescriptions. You’re too good for change?”
Richard Lawson wrote “Absolutely disgusting. This Walmart refuses medication to elderly people who had to resort to paying with change due to unfortunate financial situations.”
Lauren Stanaland added, “definitely don’t come to this pharmacy because they’re not for the people”.
Source: AWM