Very unhappy with my local walgreens pharmacy !

It isn't just the Walgreen store by you. I have had bad situations
come up with my local Walgreens here in Taylorsville, Utah about 2
years ago. They had actually given my daughter who was a minor at the
time a completely wrong perscription. It was a serious problem
because my daughter almost took the medicine and it could've made her
seriously ill, if not killed her.

More recently I have a friend in Southern California who filled two
prescriptions at her local Walgreens store and they put the wrong
medication in the each prescription bottle. She became ill and
extremely drugged up for over 2 days. She was unable to work or care
for her daughter and whats worse was she took the medicine while she
was driving. I have urged her to seek out legal advice because of
this situation. Not only was the mistake they made shocking, but the
way the employees dealt with her after she contacted them concerning
this issue. They have been completely unprofessional, uncooperative
and have purposely mislead her regarding who the District Manager was.
I know that people make mistakes, but when you are responsible for
handling medications that people depend on to keep them alive, I would
think that alot more caution would be their number one priority.

I too moved all my prescriptions to Walgreens when they opened up near
my home. At first they were great. The pharmacist and the associates
all spoke English as a primary language and they were open 24 Hours a
day, which was nice for when I needed to pick up my scripts late just
as a convenience to me. Now most people may or may not know this, but
when any store chain opens a new store, they bring in the brightest
and the best to start the store and that is why you usually experience
top knotch service and check out speed. Over a course of months the
"new store starters" replace themselves with other people and they
move on to open another store. Well that is what I experienced at my
Walgreens. After a year my pharmacist left and long before that all
the help that could help me or even care to help me had long left,
leaving 1 or 2 employees who would shuffle along and not care about
helping me. I sluffed it off since that seems to be the way of most
stores in my area. (All these multi million dollar stores run by 16
year old kids who don't even hide the fact that they hate their job or
that they hate helping you. It truly astounds me.) Well, back to my
story--After my pharmacist left, pretty much over the course of a
couple months people who spoke English for a second language were put
in place. I placed many orders over the internet and had no problems
until about a year later. I put up with the pharmacist staff no
longer caring about my business. Since the store built up their
customer base of pharmacy customers I was now just a straw in a
haystack. Then it began. Pharmacy screw ups. Delays. Orders filled
improperly. And I could no longer understand some of the staff due to
their heavy accents. I felt that since I did not live in India or a
Latin country that I was entitled to have someone work in the pharmacy
area who knew my language or could speak it clearly...that being
ENGLISH! So after that I left and went to Target. Now Target I find
to be awesome. The stores in my area are not overwhelmed with
customers. The pharmacists are congenial. The staff speaks English
fluently (this includes non-Caucasion people who work there and speak
2 or more languages). Just as long as I can understand someone
without me having to ask again I am happy. Target always has my pills
in stock. Now that they know I need a special, rarely asked for brand
of medication they always make sure to have it in stock. In a way, my
Target reminds me of a local pharmacy and I will never leave them. In
closing, I in no way wish to offend the 16 year olds who DO care and
who DO provide good service. I have run into many of you and you are
great. I also mean no ill will towards people who are multi cultural
and who speak many languages or just 2, but I do not have patience for
stores that hire people who clearly cannot speak English clearly or
speak it with a heavy accent. It is the stores fault, not the person
they hired.

I had that same problem with a needed prescription -- told that their
printer was down and it was out of his hands. I was helped the next
day when I went to a different Walgreens pharmacy, however, but I
still had to wait a day and go out of my way.

ok, i normally try to find the valid complaint in a person complaint,
but im having trouble finding it here.

first, you complained that you put in a prescription online and it
wasn't supposed to be filled until Sept 1, and you got it on Aug 29.
did you go in there to purposely find them at fault for something? why
did you go get it if it wasn't supposed to be filled yet? maybe the
pharmacy saw it this way, you may have put it in at a later date, but
you are now there in person to pick it up. they would assume that you
ran out sooner than previously thought, and were doing a favor to
you.


when a printer is out of paper, what do you expect them to print on?
they need to print things out for prescriptions, and if they can't
print out because they have no paper, it would be "out of service"
which is just like being broken.

and why didn't you try to get the insurance thing solved that day? if
i really need medicine, and for some reason, the pharmacy isn't giving
it to me, i am going to find out right then and there why not. if i
have to call my insurance company or whatever, i will do it.

Hold on a minute. I know there are problems sometimes but sheesh!!!
Don't get the entire neighborhood to switch because YOU had problems.
You started out by saying your Walgreens is NEW. Well, sometimes NEW
pharmacies need a few months to get up to speed before they can WOW
their customers. I just hope you didn't switch to CVS. I am getting
ready to go back to Walgreens because I fell for one of those
switch-a-thons where CVS pays you $25.00 to move your perscriptions to
them. Boy, what a mistake that has turned out to be. Now I remember
why I left CVS in the first place. They are IDIOTS!!! They couldn't
find me in there computer so it turns out they had my name switched
around. Then, they would not let me pick up my perscription the next
day because I had 2 pills left. We are talking about blood pressure
meds here not some high powered narcotic. I AM THROUGH WITH CVS. I'M
GOING BACK TO WALGREENS!
C. Clearwater, FL

I use walgreens occasionally when I get coupons for them, but their
service is so bad, just in the pharmacy, that I always transfer my
scripts back out.

1) Always have long lines - mostly because of mistakes by staff.

2) The make assumptions they have no right to make. I transfered a
script for zocor, and they automatically switched it to the generic
without asking my approval. My insurance doesn't cover the generic.
This delayed me 20 minutes while they corrected this error.

3) The lack of english speaking staff in their pharmacies.

4) After all that, they could not even validate the $20 gift
certificate coupon right. When I got to the retail checkout, I was
told the coupon wasn't valid, and I'd have to go back to the pharmacy.
I told the retail manager that I refused to deal with those retards in
the pharmacy again. The manager seem completly unsurprised by this,
and validated the coupon herself. The retail staff I could tell was
ttying really hard not to giggle when I call the pharmacy staff
retards. It seems they had the same opinion.

All chain pharmacies are staffed to some extent by people who are
dumber then average. But Walgreen's always find the worst of the
worst. My guess is that they have the lowest pay rates for pharmacists
and techs and only retards who can't get jobs at walmart or CVS work
for walgreens.

You complained about Walgreens pharmacy two months ago.

http://www.planetfeedback.com/index.php?level2=blog_viewpost&topic_id=
287484

Why not just switch your prescriptions to another place? However, I'm
going to take a wild guess and assume that you'll have problems there
as well. Not because of anything the pharmacy does wrong, mind you,
but you seem to have an attitude problem.

Just look at the complaint letters that she has written, they all say
poor customer service. I will say again what I said before either
there is a huge conspiracy out there amongst a wide range of
industries against you or as I said before YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!!!

I'm a Walgreens tech at a 24 hour store. I typically work the swing
shift, so part of my job once the overnight pharmacist shows up is to
fill the next day or two's worth of scripts ahead of time. This way,
we can spend more time getting people's emergency scripts done faster
when they come, and spend less time filling refills during the busy
part of the day. Typically, we keep stuff ready on the shelf for you
for a full week, so you were well within your pick up window. Would
you have preferred that they didn't have the thing ready when you came
to pick it up?

As far as the paper, probably they'd sent a runner to go get another
box from another store, but until they got back, there was precious
little that they could do. Who knows? Perhaps they didn't get the
correct paper order from the warehouse, or perhaps their supply was
damaged. For whatever reason, they couldn't print anything up for
you.
We've had our printers break before too, although thank goodness it's
usually just one or two of them, not all three, but still, it slows us
down and takes a a day, sometimes 2 to get a service technician to
come and replace whatever part went bad on it. Our printers get a lot
of mileage on them, and everything breaks sometimes.
How do you mean that your lacking of insurance was the store's fault?
Always keep your card with you, so we can make sure we have the
correct information on file for you. A lot of companies changed over
to alpha-numeric ID #'s this new fiscal year, and are no longer
allowing me to use social security numbers. Also, I can't count how
many people go on COBRA, don't get their payment in on time, and get
booted off of coverage. The techs can call for you if there's any
question as to what's going on with the rejection. I resolve a lot of
problems over the phone. You can also call the customer care number on
the back of your insurance card, if there's something odd going on,
like getting the insurance company your correct date of birth.

especially since you had a similar issue before

http://www.planetfeedback.com/index.php?level2=blog_viewpost&topic_id=
287484

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE--my job is hard enough without unreasonable patients
who do not understand how insurance companies work. If you think the
job is so easy you apply for a job at Walgreens and deal with
unreasonable people screaming at you --bet you would not last one day.
Instead of complaining go to another pharmacy they are EVERYWHERE.
But I think that you may find out that you are going to have issues
almost anywhere because I think that YOU are the problem.

If you have a Target near you, I recommend their pharmacy. I've never
had a single problem, unless it was with my insurance company. I can
call in refills, which I find very convenient.

Although they haven't done anything dangerous yet (that we know of)
hopefully their incompetence won't lead them to give anyone an
incorrect prescription. A few months back there was a story about a
CVS in Columbus whose pharmacist gave a woman with breast cancer an
incorrect prescription, which if she and her husband had not noticed,
would have been very dangerous to her - I can't remember the exact
details of what it would've done, but it was the third incidence from
this pharmacist! Hope nothing like this happens at your local
Walgreen's.

First of all , I went to pick up a med that was just called in that
day after seeing my doctor, Also I know that all these people will be
moving to a new pharmacy if they don't do something because I am the
one that takes care of my parents meds & help to make sure their
elderly neighbors & my neighbors have their meds that are needed. I am
not a very hard person to please.This is not the first time I have had
problems with this pharmacy & they have messed up getting a
perscription filled because they tried filling it to early with my
insuance co. I'm sorry if I came across as some crazed person.I just
want coustomer service & to at least have them all telling the same
story when asked a question.
Thank you, Deb

Anyway--How did you come to pick up a prescription early? I would
call this "efficient", not a lie.

If my printer is out of paper, it's "down". My kids are horrible
about not filling it, and I've got 3 unopened reams plus an open one
here. At work, I try to keep ahead of it as well. Nobody else uses
my printer, so I can't blame it on anybody but myself.

Walgreen's prescription papers are quite complex. There are at least
4 labels that peel off, plus the stickers warning about interactions
or special instructions. Each prescription comes with a specific
description of the drug, usage, interactions, warnings, etc., with the
patient's name and info on top. Not something Walgreen's has sitting
around in stacks to staple onto your bag. The printers require quite
specialized paper so that everything comes out properly.

While checking the paper seems like an obvious problem with a quick
solution, not everyone thinks to check the simple things. For
example, check the troubleshooting section of your washer or computer
manual. Step one: Be sure it's plugged in. Maybe the person didn't
know how to load the paper.

Walgreen's cannot give you a prescription without a label. It may be
that the pharmacists and techs don't have the means to write labels by
hand.

"No insurance". Are you sure you heard correctly? Perhaps the
pharmacist said that your insurance wouldn't allow it yet, or there's
a problem with the insurance. When my daughter was in first grade,
she was prescribed an asthma inhaler to be used four times per day.
No problem, I thought. I'll just get two right away so she can use one
at school. The doctor wrote 3 refills on the prescription, so I asked
for two at the pharmacy. When I went to pick up, I was told that the
insurer would allow only one.

Now, this was a generic, inexpensive medication. It's not like I was
asking them to pay for two Advairs(about $200 each these days). I
called the insurance company and explained the situation--elementary
school kids in my city were not allowed to carry inhalers at the
time(that's since changed). My daughter would have to take her
inhaler to the office, then remember to get it at the end of the day.
The insurance lady told me that that's what she'd need to do. I
remember saying, "But she's only in first grade!" Insurance lady was
adamant.

Insurers also limit the number of narcotic meds you can get at a time
and how often you can refill.

Did you call your insurer to ask about this?

Good luck at your new pharmacy.

I've had similar situations at my pharmacy too. I was purturbed beyond
description and I made it known through PFB and a few talks to
management who got corporate to call me. Guess what happened?
Corporate sent in a few very competent and with it pharmacists and
re-did how the entire store operates. I too was upset to the point of
taking my business to another pharmacy. I was going to take mine to
Eckerds. But gave them a few chances and they did improve so I've
stayed.
All pharmacies are basically the same price wise....it's customer
service that makes or breaks the deal. I'd give them a chance after
getting this letter and maybe calling the number on the receipt and
registering your opinions. Who knows, your boycott may end up not
being needed and wherever you go may actually be the same or worse and
you're back at square one.
Anyway I wish you luck and do keep us posted. Sometimes a little time
and patience, even after so many flubs, is all it takes and you can
get your convenience shopping done while getting your pharmacy orders
filled.

Someone sure does think an awful lot of themselves.

"I am taking all my
business to another pharmacy. That means my family ..my neighbors & my
parents &
their neighbors will be moving also!"

Wow, you must be pretty powerful if you dictate what your neighbors,
your parents, and their neighbors do with their lives. I can imagine
they will just think, 'Deb didn't get her way again, just pretend to
care and hang up. Hey! Let's go to Walgreens! We know Deb won't be
there!'

It does sound like you need your meds. Oh I didn't mean it that way
lol.
We have one being built here soon. I find we have the same issues
with our rite aid here so if you need it NOW you have to find a
different pharmacy. Pretty difficult if you have sick children.
Well it's interesting to hear feedback as I await the arrival of this
new pharmacy here.

I just don't even know where to begin with this.

You strike me as someone who would not be satisfied if Walgreen's gold
plated each bottle before issuing it to you!

As the other commenters pointed out, you got the one script early -
WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING?? That is a GOOD thing, not a cause to
boycott the place!

As for the other issues, if the printer is out of paper and they can't
get more, then THE PRINTER IS NOT WORKING! Now, granted, Walgreen's
is supposed to have a system where you can go to any other store to
fill your prescription, so I am shocked they didn't suggest you go to
another site.

As for the insurance coverage, who is to say that the problem wasn't
with your carrier? My husband takes migraine meds that we have had to
fight tooth and nail with our insurer to get even a few dispensed
because they are not a formulary medicine and they are very expensive.


If he shows up ONE DAY before the 30 days is up to refill them, the
insurance refuses to accept the charge and he has to come back, even
if he is in excruciating pain. But that is not the Pharmacy's fault
and it doesn't mean they lied to him.

But I am a bit surprised that they made you wait 3 days, esp if the
pharmacy staff had seen you before and had filled that particular
medicine for you. I do have to wonder if they really made you wait
that long or did it just take you that long to get around to going
back? Clearly it could not have been a life-threatening condition if
you were able to wait that long, so again, why the drama?

You fail to show anywhere that they have truly done anything negligent
other than failing to live up to your extremely lofty expectations and
since you have now sworn all your friends and relatives away from
them, I really don't understand what you hope to gain by writing this
letter.

I fail to understand what the big deal is about a prescription being
ready early? So they said it wouldn't be available until x date, but
it turns it out it was filled early. How is that relevant? Maybe the
pharmacy had some down-time and was trying to think ahead and get
orders filled early? I would hardly call it a 'lie'.

Also, maybe the printers in the pharmacy require special paper. I have
some printers in my office that require special invoice paper. If I'm
out of it, guess what? My printer is down. If someone asks me, that's
my response. It doesn't mean I'm a liar, it just means the printer is
not working.

You seem to be a bit hung up on this 'lie' issue. At the most, these
are misunderstandings that could likely be easily cleared up, if given
the chance.

You need to get the pharmacy to take your med off of auto order.

If you didn't think it would be ready until the first, why did you go
on the 29th to pick it up?

I'm sorry, but I sincerely doubt you have the power to make so many
others change their pharmacy; the fact that you're unhappy with it
doesn't mean they are - and, really, how on EARTH would you have any
idea where your parents' neighbors go for pharmacy services?

I'm sniffing shenanigans, here.

Your neighbors and you parents neighbors? Wow, you must have alot of
power!