pharmacy technician

pharmacist

delivery driver

fulfillment manager

pharmacy technician ii

Alto Pharmacy

If you're looking for a job where you can call out OFTEN at the last minute and not deal with any consequences, PLEASE APPLY.   You can release your shift 48 hours prior yet some of the last minute excuses are just ridiculous.

Management reminds couriers to show up to work on time, yet the fulfillment team don't have the packages ready for the couriers on time.

If packages aren't ready until after the start of the delivery window and it is a route with a lot of packages, EXPECT that the deliveries may not be made within the 3 hour window. This happens all too often and it doesn't feel good delivering so late, especially after 9PM to customers.

Also, the routes are generated using algorithms BUT sometimes, human intervention is needed especially when the packages are ready for the couriers late.
Don't offer VTO. UTILIZE the couriers on standby that are getting paid to do nothing. SPLIT up the routes that have a lot of packages so deliveries aren't completed past 9PM.

It doesn't make sense to have some drivers complete their deliveries within 2 hours and others more than 3 hours.

I am sure some couriers do make an effort to make up for lost time.  However, when the couriers are frequently delayed in starting their routes (and it's almost daily), it is NOT worth the stress we put on ourselves trying to deliver within the 3 hour delivery window especially at night.

And of course, there are probably drivers that will try to get more hours in or they're just slow.   

No deliveries should be made after 9PM.

I think most drivers just want to get their work done as quickly as possible and call it a day.

Some of the notes are contradictory. The delivery note says, "Don't leave deliveries" yet there is a safe place to leave deliveries. The safe place is a place where we can leave deliveries if the patient is not available to receive their meds. Can I leave deliveries or not??   Or....a note that says, "Please  leave in mailbox",  yet supposedly we are not supposed to leave meds in the mailbox.  Ughhh, the dilemma that a courier does not have time for to decipher.  

Some large apartment complexes are the worst when no access code is given for gate entry and/or no clear instructions are given for how to find the unit.  A lot of time is wasted trying to make these deliveries.  

The dispatchers (logistics specialists that provide courier support) are primarily from the Texas region.  They provide support to multiple regions and sometimes their response may not be as quick as couriers would like but we must be understanding and be patient.   Oftentimes, I feel that some couriers really get on their last nerve. They get on my nerves too.  If the dispatchers don't respond promptly, it's  because they're very busy or you're asking something you should already know.  Dispatchers don't have time to  repeatedly remind you of what you're aware of or respond to nonsense so if you're being ignored, it's for good reason IMO.

Some couriers are always asking for something they're clearly aware they're not eligible for then they get upset when they don't get it.  Some couriers blatantly disregard instructions they're given by the dispatchers.  

Recently, a courier was upset because he was given routes to  areas where he had very poor GPS signal.  He requested to not be given those routes or be provided a company cellphone.  Perhaps he should've asked for a satellite phone.   He got upset because his request was not accommodated.  Spewed profanities at the team and the company in the messaging app for all to see and said he quit.  Very professional dude.  Too bad the next company he works for won't know of his tantrum.  At least he quit before asking for a company car too.

Hiring team - Screen your candidates better.  

Management- Get rid of the employees who don't take their jobs seriously.  Clean up and provide clearer delivery notes so deliveries can be made more efficiently.




Leaving Alto was truly disheartening as I really enjoyed working here at first. Initially, my experience was nothing short of fantastic. The onboarding process was smooth, and I was welcomed warmly by my team. The company seemed to genuinely value its employees. It has unfortunately failed to maintain its standards. 

The first blow came when two out of four supervisors were laid off without notice. This sudden change left us feeling unsettled and unsure about the future. Not long after, one of the remaining supervisors moved to a different team, leaving us without strong leadership. This marked the beginning of a downward spiral for our team.

Despite being trained as specialists, we were gradually forced to take on responsibilities outside of our expertise. The company began merging roles and departments, contrary to earlier assurances that our specialist roles would remain intact. This resulted in confusion and frustration as we were suddenly expected to perform tasks we were never trained for.

To make matters worse, the company provided inadequate training for these new responsibilities. Tasks were often assigned without clear instructions or support, leaving us to figure things out on our own. This lack of training and support not only affected our performance but also our morale.

In conclusion, my experience at Alto has been disappointing and disheartening. The lack of communication, the sudden changes in roles, and the inadequate training have made it difficult to thrive in this environment. I hope that the company will take steps to address these issues and restore the supportive and professional work environment that initially attracted me.

If you are a seasoned technician, this job will feel amazing at first but as time goes on and you learn the ropes, you will become stagnate. The pay is very good as it pays higher than the average technician in a retail setting, however that comes at a cost. You are being constantly monitored and your numbers mean everything. Because you are not under supervision of a pharmacist (you will most likely have a manager with no pharmaceutical experience), they only judge you off your numbers. If you have a bad day and your numbers fall, you have to answer for that. If a situation calls for me to step out of my daily role, I have to think about if it is it worth my numbers falling to help this patient or not which is not what healthcare is or should be. Burnout is very easy in this job.
If you do not like to be micromanaged, this job is not for you.
If you need flexibility in your schedule, this job is not for you. You do not get to pick when you work or what hours work best for you. Shifts range from 6:30 AM -10:00 PM Monday through Sunday
Be aware that working here is more of a call center job than a technician position. If you enjoy the pharmacy side of your work moreso than speaking to patient's over the phone, this job is not for you. 

One thing that Alto is good at is that thry hire from a very diverse background, the office spaces are nice (parking is expensive), they handled COVID beautifully, the community is nice (if you are scheduled to attend an event, Frontline workers cannot freely go to company events like HQ or other positions as we are always needed) and they try their best to show their appreciation for you. 

This is an acceptable gig if you just need some quick cash but I would not recommend it as anything long-term. The expenses to your vehicle (gas, oil changes, tires, etc.) are not worth the 12 cents a mile (on top of the hourly rate) they pay you considering the distance you travel. The per-mile part just covers gas. (The average rate [per the IRS] is 17 per mile for medical.) 

It’s a new company, with new staff, that are going through growing pains so they’re still trying to figure things out. I saw an influx of contractors and staff come and go during my time there. There is a lot of in-fighting and negativity by both contractors and employees as a result.  

The vast majority of the patients who receive the deliveries are pleasant - a small handful even tip. You might make deliveries to multi-million dollar estates to run-down, high-crime areas. The latter is VERY scary delivering at night! 

They’re growing so fast and don’t have adequate resources to meet the demand, which puts a strain on employees and contractors. As a result, an evening shift (only option during the week) that is only supposed to be 2.5 hours can turn into 5.5 hours (which is means your shift can end at 11 pm). That schedule is not conducive to those with school-aged children or with full-time jobs as one of those things will inevitably suffer. 

Good concept, just not there yet.  

A huge fan of the concept at sign on: putting a friendly face back into health-care, neighborhood-like feel on an expanding start-up that’s now playing against the big boys on a national level, with competition nipping at their heels. The Anti-Kaiser.
The reality of it, after a lengthy enough tenure to truly guage company culture as displayed on the local level was much different. The machinations of personnel up to the supervisory level speak much louder than cutesy websites to what is tolerated and what is not of the hourly staff. A virtually non-starter of a protected comment was let to run out of control with verifiable retaliatory behavior noted on behalf of dispatch and tolerated (encouraged?) by unit supes. The favouritism isn’t well hidden nor does it appear that they care. The only true bright-side came when a tattling out of state dispatcher inadvertently tipped off someone in area management: the right pair of eyes finally got a good look at a problem that they probably didn’t know the extent of, which  had been let run out of control for over two months. I got the feeling that the company was a frat-house late night drunken success story that had grown quickly (too quickly?) and was now having to put legal, statutory and Human Resource management into the driver seat for simple compliance issues. Beware of who might have your back because it might not be in a supportive way. Sign on at your own risk 

When I first started at Alto, the culture was very welcoming, and the people running it had a clear vision for what they wanted to do as a startup pharmacy. As the company started growing, the pharmacy quickly devolved into just a call center where you spend 8 hours on the phone and don't get to actually do any pharmacy work. Also, if you're honest with your manager about anything, they say they'll keep what you said confidential, but they never do, and they'll stab you in the back at the next opportunity. The only people you can confide in are the people on your same level. Don't bother being honest with people higher up than you because they'll just take what you said to their managers to make you look bad. 

There is absolutely no room for advancement, and they only promote the people with the "best metrics" rather than those who work on projects to actually help the company stand out from the crowd. Worked over a year and a half before getting any kind of raise, and then was passed up for promotion twice. 

This company absolutely does not care for their employees mental health, and the scheduling is terrible as well. You basically don't have a choice what schedule you get at all, and if you start at this company, you'll most likely be working until 10 or 11 at night. 

I’m an experienced CPhT and they “trained” us for a month with no actual hands on training! This is a call center with MANY angry patients. Everyone is timed from the tech intaking Rx to the tech filling your prescription. A LOT of mistakes happen because we are timed for everything and we are all rushing to meet the “metric.” The mistakes I see are due to NO follow through, and everyone rushing to do the next thing. The “phone” role is back to back calls, no time to go to the restroom or just take a breather, especially after an angry patient. We now have daily huddles discussing our inadequacies. My biggest complaint is I’m in the same category as someone who has never worked in pharmacy. Trust me there are many here! My supervisor isn’t even a certified tech. I get the same pay as everyone else. Not fair. They don’t want smart technicians they want ROBOTS! I am looking to leave. I used to be so stressed that I wasn’t meeting their “metrics” but now I don’t care. I do the best job I can. I am not appreciated or respected at all. I honestly have no idea if they promote people, I just see people go from intake team to a billing team to the escalation team. I’m tired of making the same money as someone without my experience. I’m done here!

Management is able to be hostile, talk down to you, belittle you or yell at you and no repercussions even when videos and screenshots of proof are shown. If you ask questions you get yelled at or talked to like you are stupid even though the chat is there to answer any questions you have. It’s a joke of a job. Don’t waste your time. It might have been decent if the management wasn’t as vile but it still would not be worth your time. They make everything complicated and have unrealistic expectations that no one can ever meet on most of the teams then wonder why every month and week when they do evaluations no one is meeting goal. They need to re evaluate their management and the way they operate and track things. Way too stressful. They also laid off all the contractors (what my recruiter told me on why I was getting laid off) because they over hired. Training also is not good at all and you will be stuck not knowing what to do and then get the managers attitudes as mentioned before. Literally everyone in the class I started with quit except for me and they ran off 5 other new ones we had met then they laid off all contractors. Company is definitely declining.

Alto Pharmacy could be a great job, however, they continually hire couriers and the existing couriers cannot get enough hours.  It seems one is lucky to get half of the hours they request.  I'm not sure why they continue to hire when so many are asking to work more.  My guess is high turnover rate.  You are expected to complete your deliveries in a tight delivery window, which unfortunately does not always account for high traffic/road work, etc.  No breaks for your shift so plan accordingly.  Routes can be frustrating as well since you could be delivering anywhere in a 65 mile radius but they always seem to be opposite direction of my home and just less than 65 miles, which means no pay for driving home.  Some delivery areas are a bit sketchy.  I would not want to deliver at night.  This could be a great job, however, I think some things need to be coordinated a little better and quit hiring so many couriers.  

Let's start with an insane amount of interviewing to get the job! I thought I was applying to be the CEO instead of a pharmacist. I was informed that I was accepted after interviewing over 200 pharmacist candidates??? 
After mandatory 4 day training in San Francisco, CA, which was basically filling out the answers to quizzes with corroboration from fellow employees including pharmacists, pharmacy techs, billing people, and software engineers, you are dumped into the job.
There was no formal training on the computer system and you were expected to be "innovative" and find your own way. I was very computer savvy and still struggled.
Every fertility customer that walk through the door had to wait while we called or texted San Francisco for the prescription and also for the processing. By the way, anyone who called the "local" pharmacy number was also routed thru San Francisco and trickled down to us after a huge delay. They also allow the customer to use the only bathroom at the Irvine, CA site and inject their medication; a health violation.
Positives: free lunch, convenient location, and great hours.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pharmacy technician 41 salaries reported	$24.63 per hour
Pharmacist 23 salaries reported	$65.35 per hour
Delivery driver 10 salaries reported	$34.00 per hour
Fulfillment manager 2 salaries reported	$151,200 per year
Pharmacy technician ii 15 salaries reported	$18.80 per hour

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