At a pharmacy in a suburb of a major US city, a customer went to pick up a prescription refill. She had been taking the prescription for years and had used this particular pharmacy for a few months. 

When she was handed the prescription, she noticed that the bottle held 90 fewer pills than usual (it was a prescription meant to last a few months).  She questioned the pharmacist about it and was told in a very curt manner that regardless of how things had been done in the past, he was in charge now and this was how things would be done from now on.  The customer had not requested fewer pills, the price was the same as it had always been, and her doctor had not changed or authorized a change of the prescription. 

The pharmacist was taking it upon himself to fill prescriptions as he wished, not as ordered by a doctor, which was bad enough and possibly malpractice, but he began to scream at her in front of other customers.  So much for HIPAA laws.  

Even if he disagreed with the customer about the number of pills, he could have calmly discussed the matter with her, called her doctor, or at least showed empathy while asking her to be patient with the store while they figured out the discrepancy.  There was no need to yell at her in front of other customers, violating HIPAA laws, and making the customer feel as though she was doing something wrong when she only wanted to pick up a routine prescription.

Disagreements happen, and the customer isn’t always right, but they can be treated with respect as you get to the bottom of an issue.