Confusing language

Usually they ask if I'm waiting if it'll be available. I don't think waiting would have been an option in this scenario so I feel like the question shouldn't have even been a question. He should have just told me I'd get a text when it was ready. But I might be wrong.

I think he probably meant whether you were dropping it off now and coming back later, rather than waiting around while they prepared it. The wording is still odd though. Something like "Are you coming back to collect it later?" would have made more sense as a lot of everyday phrases only seem clear because everyone has heard them used in the same situation before.

Ye it was just a really odd choice of words.

Agreed, surely either stating it wasn't in stock so you will have come back at a later date or asking would you like to wait on it might have made more sense

I don't think he did. I think he meant are you coming back to collect it when it's ready. I highly doubt they had enough in stock for me to wait for it. Usually in that scenario they'd say are you waiting. I asked if I'd get a text, he said I would and as I haven't had a text yet I'm fairly confident he wasn't expecting me to wait.

He may have been asking whether I was collecting or getting it delivered though. I hadn't considered that.

Yes I find instructions for dosage etc difficult to follow sometimes. They often seem to put partial information on them which drives me mad as I then question whether I've fully remembered what the doctor told me.

I assume that's what he meant but it still hurts my brain. Either way I have to wait for it to be ready. Previously they've asked me if I was waiting which makes more sense but I was fairly certain it wasn't something that they would have in stock so I was expecting to come back to collect so I assumed that's what he meant. I clarified by just asking if I would get a text.

Hmm, It confused me at first but I think the alternative is are you waiting for it to be ready or leaving and coming back when it's ready.

I puzzled over,

Expecto_Patronum said:

"is this just to collect when it's ready?".

I think he meant, “are you going to wait here until the prescription is ready for you?”

On the other hand he could have been wanting to know if your medication is to be collected by the the pharmacy driver for delivery to your home. 

On a related subject, the dosage instructions on medication labels go through a change of formatting style every so often. Drugs I have been taking for years at the same set dose come with instructions that are nonsensical. I wish they could go back to being in plain English.

Expecto_Patronum said:

If you tell me to get there just before 8, do you mean 7:59, 7:55, 7:50? Just give a time.

My understanding of "just before" is that you need to arrive before the time and the gap can be anything you are comfortable with. I would typically allow 15 mins if it is a long way from me or 2-3 mins if it is close just to allow for delays in my journey.

I suspect what is happening here is that people use these vague terms so you can choose an option that feels right for you rather than give you hard and fast rules that can be seen as rude and controlling (oddly this is often exactly what we want).

It is just a difference of styles.

With the days of the week thing, I just confirm "so you mean Weds 26th Oct then" so it clarifies  it for me and tells them they are not being clear,

Oh I can't cope with this or next day at all. People seem to use it differently so sometimes next Wednesday is the next Wednesday that comes up and sometimes it's the Wednesday in the week after the next Wednesday that comes up. I don't understand at all. Just give me a date please people. I also hate it when people tell me to get there just before a time. What does just before mean? If you tell me to get there just before 8, do you mean 7:59, 7:55, 7:50? Just give a time.

Expecto_Patronum said:

I just can't understand what the other person actually meant.

I just ask what the alternatives are since it either informs me of options I didn't anticipate or makes the other person realise they are being obscure and hopefully makes them do better next time.

If you can sound puzzled when asking it then it is unlikely to get a negative response in my experience.

I also find there are phrases used in different regions of the country that I don't understand and it is likely that the serving staff have had this experience before so they should know a more generic way of phrasing it.

Things like stating a day for something to happen can be next Wednesday, Wednesday week, the other Wednesday etc. - these confused me until I got clarification.

Language can be a fickle thing.