A few days ago, I had to go to the pharmacy to get our son’s prescription filled.

I was surprised when the pharmaceutical assistant pointed out the issue date. It had been posted by error for 01 July when the current date was 02 September. She went on to explain she could not fill the prescription as is. Only if I paid in cash, I could take home the medication. I dished out € 469,90, picked up the prescription, and called the doctor’s office.

After I briefly explained the situation and asked for a correct prescription to be sent by mail, I heard the doctor’s assistant saying, “OK.”. I waited two more seconds to hear a simple “Tut mir leid”, but instead she responded with, “Yes, we will mail it to you”. And the receiver was slammed down.

I received the correct prescription in today’s mail and have to return to the pharmacy once more to reclaim the funds.

They must have had some office problems, obviously. But friendly customer service and the usage of a simple apology are not on their maintenance list.

Sorry to have bothered you, Frau Naumann.

Good news for all of us expats, re-pats, global nomads, or just late shoppers.

Supermarket REWE has extended its shopping hours to 24:00. At the moment, this applies to one local store only: Oberursel, Im Zimmermühlenweg. But if this proves to be a smart move, I am sure more will follow suit.

Visit REWE to see the list of local supermarkets and shopping hours. Below Finden Sie Ihren Markt, just type in your location.

Also, for expats being used to delivery service, lebensmittel kurier delivers in towns such as Bad Homburg, Oberursel, Wiesbaden, Schmitten and Kronberg (among others).