Archived Stay Target TM or go with CVS Health?

[RXninja]

I am in the process to transfer into pharmacy as a tech in training & have my certificate and fingerprint in the system. I was told I would eventually be full time over there and get the extra $1 an hour to be a tech. I have already recommended a TM to take over one of my responsibilities and now this CVS announcement happened.

So I find myself in the unique position of having to decide whether I want to stay a Target TM and opt out of Pharmacy, but keep all of my same benefits I have accrued over the last 10+ years; or I could go with CVS Health and stay a pharmacy tech and start over with benefits at their company.

I really like the pharmacy team and I have been learning so much, this skill is something I have been wanting to add to my skill set for a while now (the health care industry is growing at an exponential rate), and I like the idea of helping people.

Target TM has been a part of my identity for so long, I am not sure what would happen to me if I just give it up. I enjoyed very much being cross trained and working 4-6 different areas of the store every week depending on store needs. I am worried about being stuck in one work-center and not being able to work elsewhere.

Any input from you, members of the forum, would be greatly appreciated. Even if it is just a vote. I am extremely confused & at this point in my life, I wasn't expecting to jump ship at Target and become employed elsewhere. I know implementation of the CVS decision will take many months, but I feel like I need to figure this out sooner rather than later.

 

[konk]

Did you give up CO? If yes, quit. If no, stay.

 

[RXninja]

No, but I am not the primary TM for that position since I am cross trained. It was a different responsibility I have that I recommended someone for. I don't want to out myself, so I won't say what.

 

[Sickofspot]

I have a friend that is a tech at a CVS. She loves it!

 

[PassinTime]

Do you know for certain that CVS will hire you since you won't be a certified tech? Will they give you enough hours to qualify for health insurance? Just wondering if CVS will have its hands full making the transition and not want someone who isn't certified.
Any research into what CVS's health coverage is and what it costs? Lots to consider

 

[konk]

I see. It gets more complicated. Are your other jobs stand up jobs or sit down jobs?

 

[RXninja]

I see. It gets more complicated. Are your other jobs stand up jobs or sit down jobs?

Both.

But certification shouldn't be a problem, there are a couple other techs who are not certified yet & this process may take upwards of 6 months or more.

 

[squirrely]

I would probably wait until there are more details before deciding. There are so many factors that will be going into your decision. I would probably stay with Target, personally. You have more opportunities with many work centers under your belt than you do with just pharmacy. I also shop more at Target than CVS and really enjoy my discount.

 

[konk]

Does CVS have a credit card?

 

[Retail Girl]

Kissing all of your vacation goodbye could be hard. And losing the discount would suck. And there's no guarantee they will hire you (companies always so they will hire everyone, but it never happens). And who knows why the pay will be. But it may not get approved by the Feds.

But no caring about Redcards is huge....

 

[squirrely]

I just talked to a pharmacy tm and she told me she's going to ask about possibly working for both companies since she's global. Something to consider also.

 

[redeye58]

Having more time at Spot does have a few advantages; variety of depts to move around to for one.
You also know where you stand with benefits.
Starting with CVS means you're at the bottom of the heap, basically a newb.
I'd do research on what their employees get, then see what CVS's offer is to Target techs.

 

[RXninja]

@squirrely, my STL said if I go with CVS, I cannot work for Target.

@Retail Girl , I hope it doesn't get approved by the Feds.

 

[redstripes]

Kissing all of your vacation goodbye could be hard. And losing the discount would suck. And there's no guarantee they will hire you (companies always so they will hire everyone, but it never happens). And who knows why the pay will be. But it may not get approved by the Feds.

But no caring about Redcards is huge....

^^This. CVS runs a much tighter payroll budget than Target Pharmacy, so if they follow their own model you can expect the total budget payroll hours to be cut significantly. Given this, they cannot realistically offer positions to everyone currently employed. One more thing to consider that doesn't seem to be brought up… If your Target is very close to a CVS store, after the acquisition, who is to say they won't simply shut down the in-Target pharmacy and require all patients transfer to they own store?

 

[On6]

This transition will take a while, 6 months to a year. Plus the deal hasn't even been approved yet.

CVS will be paying Target rent for the space in each store in addition to the huge sum they are dropping upfront. I doubt they close down many in store pharmacies. They are going for the customer base in every store to expand their own customer base. You may actually see the opposite, them closing their stand alone locations.

Most of the CVS' in my area are 24 hours. It will be interesting what they set as the in store hours. Seems like store to store each Target has different hours for their pharmacies.

You have some time to make the decision.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Complete your training. Stay calm. Wait & see what happens.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

^^This. CVS runs a much tighter payroll budget than Target Pharmacy, so if they follow their own model you can expect the total budget payroll hours to be cut significantly. Given this, they cannot realistically offer positions to everyone currently employed. One more thing to consider that doesn't seem to be brought up… If your Target is very close to a CVS store, after the acquisition, who is to say they won't simply shut down the in-Target pharmacy and require all patients transfer to they own store?

Probably Target is to say..

Who knows what is in the contract outside of the $$ we already know about. I am "almost" sure that there are "Target brand standards" that CVS must uphold in the contract... Similar to how Starbucks/Pizza Hut operate with Target and how Target must uphold certain Pizza hut/Starbucks standards.

I could honestly see something similar to this happening in Electronics with Apple Stores (which imo, in a town where the closest apple store is and hour and a half away) would be actually pretty awesome.

 

[PassinTime]

^^This. CVS runs a much tighter payroll budget than Target Pharmacy, so if they follow their own model you can expect the total budget payroll hours to be cut significantly. Given this, they cannot realistically offer positions to everyone currently employed. One more thing to consider that doesn't seem to be brought up… If your Target is very close to a CVS store, after the acquisition, who is to say they won't simply shut down the in-Target pharmacy and require all patients transfer to they own store?

It's quite possible the opposite would happen, and the free standing CVS would close. The CVS near my home looks deserted. Ever since they stopped selling carcinogens, um, I mean ciggies, their sales have dropped dramatically. The store manager told me that while the pharmacy volume has greatly increased, sales floor volume has plummeted. So why own a building when you can rent cheaply?

 

[RXninja]

So it's official as of today. I am now a CVS employee and can no longer work any shifts for Target. Thank you to everyone who gave me their opinion on this posting, it really helped me make my decision.

 

[3LetterDevil]

Sorry, I missed this the first time....I just saw it and thought, "well, it's a little late now!" LMAO!!!