Amcal+ Pharmacy Mordialloc

"If I could give less than one star in this review, I would. Growing up in the area, I remember this pharmacy as one of the best in the area. Unfortunately, this reputation has not been encouraged by the appalling service offered by a staff member. Pharmacist Tran has little understanding of providing service to customers in a service-driven industry, is incredibly insolent, arrogant and ill-informed. I took my elderly Aunt to the pharmacy over the weekend to have a Statutory Declaration witnessed by a Pharmacist. My Aunt is very unwell. In addition to having cancer, she is visibly disabled and can't stand or walk upright. When we got there, I guided her to a nearby chair and then waited near the counter for Pharmacist Tran to finish talking to another customer. When she finished, she asked if I was being served and I told her I was hoping someone could act as witness to my Aunt's stat dec. She immediately seemed irritated and told me to wait while she then turned to serve another customer who had only just walked in. I'm not sure why she thought we should wait for another customer to be served even though we were there first, but I said nothing and waited patiently again. When she finished serving the other customer, she asked if my Aunt was going to come over to the counter, ignoring the fact that she presents with visible physical disabilities and that she needed assistance walking into the pharmacy. I had to explain the obvious by stating that my Aunt is very unwell and asked if she wouldn't mind coming over to her instead. Again, she appeared irritated but obliged. When I began explaining that the purpose of the stat dec was to make a declaration that "MARIA" and "MARIJA" are in fact the same name spelt differently in English and Croatian, she told me that my Aunt would need to provide photo ID to have the stat dec witnessed. I explained that my Aunt is elderly and has never driven or held a passport, but in the absence of such photo ID, we could provide her Pension card, Medicare card and bank card as ID. Pharmacist Tran told me that she would not be "comfortable" witnessing a stat dec without photo ID and kept repeating that my Aunt needs to provide photo ID despite me repeatedly telling her that my Aunt does not have any but DID have the required government issued documents to verify her identify for the purposes of the stat dec. This was not enough to make Pharmacist Tran feel "comfortable" about witnessing a stat dec about the spelling of a first name. Apparently, this is the "policy". I'm sorry Pharmacist Tran, but the ONLY "policy" for witnessing stat decs comes directly from our government and the laws which govern the witnessing of them, which you are bound by, and our laws explicitly say that a Medicare card, pensioner concession card, Department of Veterans’ Affairs entitlement card or other entitlement card issued by the Commonwealth or a State Government is an acceptable form of identification. There is NO policy to say that a stat dec cannot be witnessed if no photo ID is provided. If you don't want to offer the service to your customers, just advertise that you don't provide this service. Utter rubbish. On our way home, I noticed the Mordialloc Police station was still open so I stopped to enquire what we should do and recounted my exchange with Pharmacist Tran. The lovely police officer was very surprised by Tran's unwillingness to act as witness. He confirmed that photo ID was not required and immediately and without me requesting, went out to my car where my Aunt was waiting and witnessed the stat dec. Pharmacist Tran, you have lost this pharmacy an entire family of loyal customers who have been coming to this pharmacy for over 30 years with your insolence and arrogance. Your customer service is appalling. One of your other customers who witnessed our exchange followed my Aunt and I out because she too was horrified by what happened and she apologised to US for YOUR behaviour. Absolutely disgraceful. Never again."

"Always helpful and friendly."

"Great pharmacy. Good range and friendly staff. Perfect location for keeping up to date on vaccinations. Lots of good gift ideas too."

"Pharmacist Dan was very empathetic and understanding towards me tonight. He magically compounded my medicine in an hour so I could start treatment right away. Dan has also looked after my husband who agrees that he is the best pharmacist his ever met. Thank you Dan, we appreciate how you’ve looked after us."

"Such a shame it just takes a couple of ignorant, unprofessional and discourteous staff members to spoil the reputation of a business. I understand these are trying times for everyone, however the behaviour is not warranted and you should be embarrassed. After leaving the obnoxious and abrupt pharmacist with her sidekick, I attended another local pharmacy where my prescription was filled by a proficient and respectful pharmacist."