We have a customer, an elderly lady, whom has come in our store off and on for months.
And when she's here, she begs other people for either money or for them to buy her food. She bugs everyone. Customers and associates alike.
She would keep trying to pay with random garbage she found on the floor... it's painfully obvious that shes very mentally unstable.
Not sure what it is she has... but clearly shes 'not all there'...
At one time, she'd been there at our store for around 5 hours... and not having her medication and what not... we found her passed out in a scooter/marked cart thing...
Ambulance was called. Seen her a few times since.
Itd been a while, but she came in today. Was there for four hours of my six hour shift.
Multiple times she tried to buy stuff but didn't have enough... though she did manage to get a customer to buy her some cupcakes.
Around the third hour she had me trying to call her nurse... saying she felt tired and woozy... and started to feel hot. That she needed her medication.
i talked to managers and the service desk about what could be done, but the manager said that unless she passes out nothing could be done.
Off and on I tried calling this nurse to no avail. Finally, I'm now off, and she asks for help to get someone to pick her up. Saying she was feeling really tired and woozy and needed her medication.
I got clocked out and tried her nurse again. Nothing.
I finally got fed up and dialed athe non emergency number. Told them what she was doing, what she was complaining about and how she needed her meds. They said they were sending an EMT out.
Not five minutes later an ambulance pulls up. And our new manager comes outside to ask what was going on and who called 911. I said I did and tried to explain what was going on...
I left while they checked her out....
I was mostly worried this lady would pass out again or worse... the supervisor that day had made a big deal about it then.
But on my way out a coworker explained that someone was gonna get billed... and the manager looked none to happy.
Should I be worried at all? Is there possibly a better way to handle this kinda thing? I mean I did call the non emergency but maybe there was something else to be done... or maybe I should have just ignored her and hoped that her nurse or someone else would eventually help her...
I don't even know if she went with them. When the EMTs got there and tried to check her out... she insisted she was fine but just felt woozy. But said she took her medicine last night and she should have been fine... Didn't tell ME this. She just kept repeating that she needed her medication..
I honestly didn't want to cause trouble (which was why I waited till after I got off).
And I hope it isn't at all a big deal. But customers were getting concerned... and it did bother me a little that no one was willing to help her unless it was serious...which it might have or could have turned into...
I dunno. I guess I'm worried if I've done something wrong...
You didn't do anything wrong. Obviously this lady is off in the other dimension because she didn't take her meds. If you didn't call, then just your luck something WOULD happen. Did thy take her away? I wouldn't sweat it. You did what you felt was right. And you can explain that to your manager if he gets upset with you.