Walgreens Continues to Suck

I forgot to tell you about the most fun part of yesterday's lovely diagnosis day: the trip to Walgreens! I've mentioned before that the only reason I get prescriptions filled at Walgreens is that it's the closest pharmacy to my house. I hate Walgreens. This particular one feels dirty, and the cashiers don't seem to have ten IQ points (or teeth) among them all. Oh, and the manager is a jerk. But—and this is a big but—the pharmacy staff has always impressed me by being helpful, cooperative, and smart. Up until yesterday.

After my appointment with Doogie Howser, I went to Walgreens to drop off my prescription. I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes, so I said I was going to run across the street to Whole Foods and would come back to pick it up. So I did. I came back more like 25–30 minutes later, and surprise! My prescription was not ready. The guy at the counter said, "It'll be ready in 15 minutes." He was messing with the wrong shingle-lady that day; I shot back, "No. That's what I was told 30 minutes ago." He got flustered and did some random keystrokes on the computer and came back to say that it wasn't ready and he was sorry. Instead of walking away, I just stood there the whole time, while he waited on other customers. I couldn't help noticing that he was sneezing every 30 seconds and not washing his hands or anything. Finally my prescription was ready, I paid ($45 after insurance!), and I left.

I got home and went to take my first pill. Wow, but these are enormous pills! I have no idea why, but I like taking pills, so this isn't a problem, but hoo-ee. I don't think Andy would be able to take these (he has a bit of a pill-swallowing issue). So I start wondering how they fit 21 pills in that little bottle. (At the doctor's office, I went over the prescription with him, confirming that I would be taking 1 pill 3 times a day for 7 days, for a total of 21 pills.) Well, they didn't. There were only 15. I looked at the info sheet, and sure enough, it said, "15/21" and said I could get a "partial refill." I stomped over to the phone and called Walgreens. I explained that I'd just been there to get my prescription and was surprised to find that I wasn't given my full amount. The pharmacist looked up my records and said that they had run out and were expecting more to come in today. I said that they should have told me that I was given only a partial amount. What if I didn't know I was supposed to have 7 days' worth? I would've finished the bottle and gone on my merry way. She said that the guy who rang it up was in training and didn't know. I said that he should be supervised if he doesn't know, and I added that he should use Purell every single time he sneezes.

I waited all day today for a call to tell me that the rest of my prescription was in, but of course it didn't come. Which means that if I didn't already know I was owed 6 more pills, I still wouldn't know. Boy are they going to get a(nother) piece of my mind when I go in there tomorrow. And I think this might very well be the last prescription I fill there, convenient location or no. CVS, here I come. (But not that CVS, of course.)

Update (2/6/09): I've decided to close off comments for this blog post. A whole bunch of nasty folks from AOL (who all happen to display a stunning gap in their knowledge of basic spelling and punctuation rules) keep writing in to suggest that I'm a bad person because I expect decent customer service. It's getting tedious to continue replying to them. As you know, I never shy away from a well-reasoned debate, but these folks just want to snipe and run (some even leave phony email addresses). Oh, and for the record, I picked up the remainder of my prescription today, but I won't go back to Walgreens again. Not ever.

Comments

[James]

I've been worried not to see you tweet today. Now I see you're back at it. Ugh - what a pain having to deal with all of this.

[Elena]

We are so lucky to have a wonderful independent pharmacy in our town. They know us by name (unfortunately--we must have too many regular prescriptions!). And they always help us out if we have insurance issues--they'll give us a few pills to tide us over, make phone calls, etc. Every other business in that shopping center is going under and I dread finding out one day that they're going out of business too. Perish the thought!

[Liz]

I guffawed at your description. I have been you at Rite Aid in Wayland. I received a partial-fill in December and had a endless-loop conversation with the tech that resulted in me saying: "you know what I don't understand your logic, so I will not pick the rest of the pills up." I think she had 11 teeth.

[amy]

Hate Walgreens. Love CVS. They wear white coats and are quite professional!

The pharmacy in our previous town of residence was a little too local; the pharmacist would call out your order throughout the store so you'd know who was taking what for what!

[Sharon]

Sounds like the Walgreens in our town. It's new and it seems dirty when you go in there. Unfortunately, we've had similar issues with partial prescription fills at CVS. But it's still better than Walgreens.

[steve]

I infuriated just hearing about that!

We have a 24-hour CVS right across the street from our house. It's convenient, and the pharmacy folks are usually pretty good.

But no matter how many customers are in the store - even if there is a ratio of 4-employees-to-1-customer - one has to wait in line.

Every. Single. Time.

But the manager is cute and they carry Blue Bell ice cream. Blue.. Bell... Arghhgllll.....

[Alissa]

Feel better! Shingles is the worst - I thought that I was dying the first time I had it. The pharamcy assistant should be reported - that could be dangerous, giving out a partial prescription without telling you! Luckily, I finally found the perfect pharmacy, and it's right at my grocery store.

[Kelly]

I cannot stand Walgreens either. My experience with them echoes yours - the prescriptions were never ready at the right time and the pill count was invariably wrong.

Hope the medicine is working and you are improving.

[derrick]

No reason to stomp into any place and think you are the only one that matters. Pharmacies have many things to deal with, many of them pertain to customer who cant or wont think for themselves, yet they blame everyone else. They are never educated to what there insurance covers and everyone wants things done yesterday. Have some patience and quit demanding things at your pace. The pharmacy wants to do things right; not fast. You are a wicked customer.

[Karen]

Then we agree: The pharmacy should do things right. In this case, I was not told that I was given a partial prescription, and it's a good thing I noticed or my health could be compromised. And as far as being impatient, I'm not. All I ask is that if someone says 15 minutes, they mean 15 minutes. If they mean 40 minutes, they should say 40 minutes. It shows a disrespect for my time to make me stand around for nothing. I never asked for anything done yesterday -- I asked for it to be done in the amount of time I was told it would be done. Wicked? Nope. Just consistently disappointed by Walgreens' service.

[bill]

1)this was a funny story
2)Stop complaining. I know its hard to believe but your not the only one who matters.
3)im glad you got screwed a walgreens.
4)Remember always read all information about medication before you take them...see you read the paper work and it said there wasn't 21 pills so your stupid because walgreens did tell you.

[Karen]

1) Glad you enjoyed it. 2) I'm most definitely not the only person who matters -- I never thought I was. 3) I'm sorry I got screwed at Walgreens; can't imagine why anyone is ever glad when someone else gets screwed. You sound mean. 4) I did read all the information, but only after I got home. I had to wait so long that I was in a rush to go pick up my kids. 5) It's "you're" not "your," but I'm not stupid. 6) You left the same comment 3 times, so I deleted 2 of them. Next time click "Post" only once.

[Jeananne]

Maybe you have a couple of pharmasists who read your blog, Karen. Y'know ... it's okay to disagree but they didn't have to get mean.

I had a friend who used to work as a pharmacy clerk at Walgreens. The "walk-ins" get told the abbreviated wait time in order to encourage impulse buying. Might as well see what's on the sale shelves while waiting for your name to be called over the PA system. Now, they won't call your name unless you specifically tell them you're waiting.

I really hope the partial fill info was an oversite. To assume that everyone reads the drug information is absurd. Sure glad you do!

I've written Walgreens off some time ago, for the very same reasons. Now I use the pharmacy in my grocery store.

Hope you feel better soon.

[jim]

Customers like this make the health system a nightmare. On any given day a pharmacist fills hundreds of prescriptions each of which he checks, for your safety: drug interactions, proper dosing, appropriate therapy, drug disease interactions, allergies, and whether the tech entered/filled/labeled/prepared the correct medicine,directions for use,quantity, refills according to doctors orders, and to make sure all of this stuff follows strict federal/state laws. I do not know why you would want a pharmacist to rush your order when any slight move in the wrong direction he/she makes could be detrimental to your health and well being. Its not the pharmacy people, its that a pharmacist has to be perfect on every RX he dispenses, and actually wants to take his/her time to make sure you get the medicine in the safest manor possible. Chill out lady, the world does not revolve around you. Your lack of impatience and comments screams lack of education.

[Karen]

These angry comments are very puzzling to me. Nowhere did I say I was in a rush. I was told to come back in 15 minutes, I came back in 30 minutes, and I was told to wait another 15 minutes. I don't care how long it takes; I just care that I'm told the truth up front. If the pharmacist did not feel that s/he could fill my prescription properly in 15 minutes, s/he should have said 40 minutes. I don't know where you're getting the idea that I'm undereducated or that I think the world revolves around me.

[Martha]

I agree with you completely Karen. Walgreen's is AWFUL, no matter what town they're in! Hope you feel better soon.

[Wendy]

Well, Karen, at least the people who think you're "wicked" and that you feel you're the only person who matters and so forth all appear to be, at best, semi-literate. Me, I find it hard to take people seriously who can't differentiate between its/it's and there/their and, um, manner/manor. This last one is a new one on me. And yes, the pharmacist should tell you when only part of your order has been filled.

[Susan]

Wow, sure looks like you struck some nerve. Or some people just have a lot of nerve. They sure didn't read the same post I did or they would have seen that all you asked for was for the store to be up front about the wait time and then to inform you about the unfilled portion of your script. When I go to the pharmacy, I get that courtesy plus I get told how to use the medication.

I think the mean comments are really all from the same person.

[Margaret]

I think it's interesting (and telling) that none of these snarky commenters left a link. If they aren't brave enough to show themselves, I discount what they have to say. I have an interesting parallel story to yours. It happened to my daughter at a Walgreens in Seattle. She had to fill her anti-malarial prescription before she left for Senegal. When she got the pills, she left--then looked at the bottle and thought"Surely that's not enough for 5 months." So, she went back to ask and they told her (in a very unpleasant tone) that it was only enough for 2 months because it was all our insurance would pay for.(even though the doctor had written out the prescription for the full 5 months!) It is LUCKY that she checked it out or she would have been 3 months short on a medication that could save or cost her life!!(she ended up paying out of pocket for the other 3 months--about $40) She agrees with you that they should have told her that it wasn't her full prescription; it was incompetent and potentially dangerous.

[Mike]

You are scum and its people
(like you) that have no respect for people in the service industry that suck...

[Karen]

No, in fact, I am not scum. But the awkward way you wrote your sentence is hilarious; you make it sound as though I have no respect for "people in the service industry that suck" -- which is exactly true! Thanks.

I have worked in the service industry and I was damn good. I never promised my customers anything I couldn't deliver, and I was always sure to let them know when something was different than what they might have expected. That's all I ask from those serving me.

P.S. No big surprise: When I emailed this response to "Mike," it came back as undeliverable, as so many of these AOL nasties do. Instead of daring to engage in a reasonable discussion about anything (gasp!), they snipe and run. Cowards.

[AntiWalgreens]

I agree with you about Walgreens - I can't put my finger on it, but there's something off about every Walgreens I've been to, and I've been to many different ones in the area. They always feel dirty, the help usually seems miserable, etc.

I like the local pharmacy in my neighborhood (W. Roxbury Pharmacy) but CVS isn't too bad - they will page you over the intercom when your prescription is ready.

[michelle]

I know this Walgreen. I could tell by the description of the cretins that work there (they can't all be like this? Can they?). They did the same thing to me. I didn't know I was only given a partial Rx and they didn't tell me or call when the rest was in. My antibiotic ran out and I re-lapsed. I was sick for a long time (with a newborn) thanks to Walgreens. My Dr was the one to realize there was a miscount. I was given a 2 week Rx but called saying I was sick again in 1 week. I took the drug until it was finished like it said on the bottle. I was sleep deprived, sick and didn't count days.
I will inconvenience myself and go someplace else to make any purchase. I will never give Walgreens my money again.

Hope you are feeling better.

Michelle

[Liz]

I say to the pharmacists and and his/her ilk - choose a different career if you don't like sick people Sick people are often cranky - we need help, not obstacles when picking up medications. Who is doing who a favor here?

[Sharon]

Hey Mike and Bill, learn how to write.

[derrick]

Chill out impatient people. And Karen, quit thinking you are gods gift to earth. If the traffic light does not turn green as you like; do you just take off on the red. Seems like you need to be a little more patient and give these hard working pharmacy employees some slack. They are trying to handle multiple situations because people do not take responsibility for their own selves. If your doctors appointment is at 9am and you dont get seen til 930am, do you through a fit also because they told you 9am? You are a jerk!

[David]

Wow! I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with you in any form. You are miserable and want to make everyone just as miserable as you are. They probably saw you coming and wanted to get rid of your poor angry business anyway.

[Karen]

Derrick, you are barking up the wrong tree. I hardly think I'm god's (not "gods" as you wrote) gift to anything. I am not impatient. I don't (not "dont" as you wrote) go through red lights. I don't throw (not "through" as you wrote) a fit because of a late doctor's (not "doctors" as you wrote) appointment. I wonder where you're getting these ideas. If you knew me, or even tried to get to know me, you'd see this right away. But you just leave nasty emails and then run away. (Oh, also, I wonder if you got the last email I sent you; there was a typo in your email address, so it kept bouncing back.)

For the record, my beloved brother-in-law is a hard-working pharmacist, and I greatly appreciate him and all other hard-working pharmacists out there. It is possibly the pharmacy staff (not pharmacists) at this particular Walgreens who messed up; I don't know.

This much I do know: The one who calls names to those he doesn't know is the true jerk.

[Karen]

That's where you're wrong, David. I am not even remotely miserable!

Anyone who leaves a nasty message and then hides behind a phony email address clearly has some issues. I wonder where all these grouchy AOLers are coming from.