I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with the Walgreens Pharmacy for over two years now, on at least a monthly basis, but unfortunately it’s usually more. I have multiple, complex and annoying health problems, which makes me a slave to the rule-reciting minions at the pharmacy counter, who don’t know shit about shit. Don’t worry, I understand there are rules and strict guidelines that have to be followed. Afterall, it’s the idiots who abuse many medicines which have made it exceedingly difficult for the rest of us sickleys to get our DAMN PILLS.
The problem I have with them is the problem people have with the DMV and many other American chain institutions. I don’t like when people treat you as a policy, instead of a person. You’ll ask them a basic question and they respond with a script that someone else wrote, something memorized for the job. And sometimes, that’s what you have to do. But sometimes, it’s good to look people in the eye, listen to what they are saying, and, I dont know, possibly…help them?
Walgreens is genius because they hired a great advertising agency which created a bunch of commercials noting that we don’t live in a perfect world, so for everything else, there’s Walgreens. I threw my shoe at the TV last time I saw that commercial. We don’t live in a perfect world, true, and Walgreens is a first rate offender.
There’s a couple things Walgreens is wonderful for. Like shampoo. And all the shit people try to sell on infomercials that didn’t do well, because, well, they’re shit. There is an entire aisle dedicated to “As Seen On TV Products”, and that’s cool and everything, if you have twenty bucks you’d like to lose and are in desperate need of “pajama jeans.” They also have a great post seasonal aisle, which has a bunch of cheap chocolate and ugly decorations that are half the price, and could save you some dough for next year. But the buck stops there. Most people need Walgreens because they are suffering, and unfortunately, it’s the DMV of medication distribution.
Sadly I don’t see Walgreens going out of business any time soon. For one thing, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. I’m currently in New York City, and I passed 6 in a 2 block radius yesterday. That could be an exaggeration, but they’re like starbucks, only the people handling your coffee are usually 10 times more intelligent than the people handling your pills. Does this strike anyone else as a problem? I feel like I’m on CRAZY PILLS!! Then again if I were, it’s not like I could get the refill when needed, in which case I’d be having a psychotic break right now. Sometimes I think that’s what’s going on with Charlie Sheen. I know everyone is sort of having a boner for him right now, which is cool and everything, because the guy is pretty funny and such a spectacle to watch. But I can’t help but wonder if he’s just been waiting for his schizophrenia medication to be re-filled this whole time, and Walgreens is to blame. (In that case, thanks Walgreens! love, everyone)
Anyway, I know deep in my soul, this blog isn’t gong to do much. All I am is a sick kid with a computer. I lack the strength, manpower, and money to go after Walgreen’s. You’d know who’d be great to get on my side? Charlie Sheen. I think some tigers blood could really help this issue. Then when the person behind the pharmacy counter tells me they can’t fill my prescription because, I dunno, it’s Wednesday and it’s raining, or something equally irrelevant, Charlie Sheen could just punch them in the face. We’d high five and walk out. WINNING! The problem is there is such little accountability for institutions like this, and such little oversight. I could complain to the manager, which I have before, but then I’m just that girl that complains to the manager, and everyone flips off when I walk out the door. I know how it works. They probably aren’t paid enough, they probably aren’t trained enough, and most importantly, they are not taught to treat people like people, they’re taught to read rules, and that’s where our system fails. We’ve lost our humanity.
The worst part is, I’m totally at their mercy. I need my pills. And every time I need a refill, I take a deep breath and begin the process. Tears, screams, and six thrown boxes later, I usually get it. But by that time the damage is done. I’ve probably eliminated years from my already sickly life. Being at the mercy of someone unintelligent and more importantly, non compassionate about your situation, is a very, scary thing. It’s terrible. Walgreens is like the douchey cop that threatens to bring you to jail for failure to use a blinker, and you have to turn on the charm, hard. I don’t know how to fix this problem. I don’t even know if it’s possible to fix it. I googled “Walgreens Sucks” and saw a lot of things flying around on the inter-web. I’m know I’m not alone, but I just don’t know if they’ll ever HAVE to change their ways.
I think the only thing I can do is switch pharmacies, I just don’t foresee it being much better, and frankly I shouldn’t have to. Although my mom recently switched to CVS and said it was a little better. So I’m going to try that. In the meantime, I just needed to put down in words, that Walgreens has failed me, and many others. Over. and over. and over. and over. and over. and over again. When I get better, I’m going to do a parody commercial for Walgreens. It’s going to play that same tinker-bell dingy sweet music in the background, but instead of a general tone of happiness, it will show what REALLY goes on at the pharmacy counter. (You know, cursing, freak-outs, general loss of humanity by genuinely nice people) Last week I watched a 40 year old man cry, because they would not administer the prescription for his child who was having an allergic reaction. They kept insisting that the childs policy ended on July 9, 2009. He kept saying back, “No, that’s her birthday. I’ve been filling prescriptions here for a year.” “Sorry sir, I just can’t.” And THAT shit, pisses me off. It is clearly a typo. ANYONE WITH A BRAIN, could see that it’s a typo. But there’s NO effort, they see what they see and say no way too easily. He freaked out, I shook my head. How long will this go on? I’m going to do some thinking on how to get things to change. I’m also going to call them again and see if my prescription that was called in 3 days ago, is ready. You can go ahead and guess how THAT conversation is going to go. Anyway, health and happiness.
If you are just a”sick kid” then you have more issues than Walgreens. You have no idea how insurance companies work. You definitely have no clue about laws that govern CII prescriptions. And if you have that little faith in the people that handle your medication, then you are definitely in worse shape than just being a sick kid. Those people that you tell at and call stupid have your life in their hands! It’s not food that somebody might spit on…..this is medication that could kill you. CAN YOU SAY IDIOT!
As a Walgreens employee for over 5 years now, I hate as much my dumb customers as much as dumb district managers and the CEO. we have to put up with this shit and get paid shit. no overtime, constant cuts in hours, oh and the best part, there is no one to even cover your shifts when you need vacation time. for all you bitching about the service you get in the pharmacy, it isn’t up to us when to fill your meds but to state and federal regulation no matter what your doctor or insurance says. believe me, i know how you feel. not everyone in my store is as bright as me and yes I have to work for two, because other co-workers can’t do half of what I can do in a fraction of the time. I hate my job, I hate WALGREENS but show some respect because a lot of people there work harder than you think! don’t like it there go somewhere else, and I will do the same as an employee.
Walgreens is ‘ok’. I have no beef with pharmacists in general, or techs. Just as with any profession there are some power-tripping people or people who make it their mission to go out of their way to try and make your life hard.
Many of the issues with prescriptions are due to people refilling “early”. Here are my thoughts on this.
Go by the law in your state, and by the insurance. Period. Don’t flag peoples accounts who repetitively refill early to make their lives harder. It is just going to make your life harder when they have to wait even longer than everyone else. I mean if it falls within the appropriate time frame, (legally), then let it go.
I know my insurance Blue Cross specifically states in it’s terms that at 60% or greater of a substance it is eligible to be covered. Ok, that is more than fair imo.
Walgreens on the other hand , in my experience, has let the same prescription go early at 24 days out of 30 (which is 80%) — and other times for no apparent reason to me the online system says refill submitted to early, ‘insurance will not cover refill at this time, we will re-submit the order (usually 2 days later).’ — Why two days? Why not the next day? Further, why does insurance not cover it at 80% if the policy states 60%?
The same prescriptions I have had refilled 6 days early, and also had Walgreens hold them until the maximum day they can possibly wait (until all of the prescription would be gone).
I’m not a rude person, I am no confrontational, and have never caused any problems with the staff of any walgreens,..
I simply order the refill online (easier) and if it says too early (we will resubmit in X Days, OR you can call and inquire about paying cash.) — I do NOT call, I do not hassle anyone, make up stories, ever.
I just let it go until they eventually decide to fill it.
I refilled a 10 day supply of a pain medication today — Today is day 8. Online it said Refill “Too Soon.”, we will re-submit in 2 days. So in essence they are going to resubmit the prescription on the 10th day of a 10 day prescription? Gee, I wonder if it will go through? (Sarcasm). I mean what is the problem with getting an 10 day supply at 8 days? Why wait 2 more days, why not resubmit on the 9th day?
I can understand people trying to get their Rx filled at 50% ie: 5 days out of a 10 day supply, or 10 days out of 20 day supply, 15 days out of a 30 day supply and so on. But 2 days?
Yeah, it upsets me.. but only as an annoyance. I’ll live – I don’t call my doctor to get him to authorize it 2 days early.. why? Cause I don’t want to bother him, he is busy.. I don’t call the pharmacy to ask about paying cash,.. or otherwise demand my prescription as it falls within a ‘reasonable timeframe’ — Cause I know they are busy and don’t want to bother them.
Ultimately – I know calling and inquiring whether you are nice or not is just going to draw attention to your account and if you get someone having a bad day they can make your life (which if you need this type of medication is hard enough already) alot more difficult. Same goes for some doctors — if you call them about getting a refill a few days early because the pharmacy is being a bit bullheaded they can get annoyed.
I get it —
My doctor has told me that HE writes the prescriptions, and he dictates my care. If I ever have problems with refills to call him and he will straighten the situation out with the pharmacy. I appreciate a doctor that is willing to CARE about you and not let the rules and regulation of a dispensery (pharmacy) dictate your pain, or your anxiety levels, or whatever type of Scheduled medication you obtain.
Technically — what a doctor writes if HE or SHE approves can be filled through insurance initially and EVERY refill be bought with cash at the same time For Schedule III and below. (Schedule II you cannot refill obviously, but I have none.) Would walgreens ‘allow’ this — no. Is it legal? In most states yes.
The refills and medication are yours.. and why is it that pharmacists and techs feel the need to ‘police’ adults? Responsible, tax paying, businessmen, scientists, and other professions?
Why? Because they can. I’ve run across some pharmacists who were very laid back and would bend over backwards as long as it fell within the law. That is how it should be. I don’t want anyone to lose their license, or be in jeopardy– but I do know the laws and most people just don’t for their states. The Tech’s generally don’t — some pharmacists have forgotten or just don’t care.
Walgreens is convenience — but often slow, and often rude. It is the Walmart of pharmacies.
People need to be treated as people – not numbers. If someone is on the verge of pushing their refills too soon too often — then the staff should go to a confidential area and quietly , and nicely,.. say “Look, mr or mrs. x,.. you have been refilling this and that medication X days early. This is really an issue because of Y. (A real reason, not because they want to power-trip) So please try to limit your refill requests to no sooner than X days before the prescription is due. ”
So they make it clear,.. right now with my and many others experience it is just a roll of dice. Some fills will go through without any issue, no delays, at about 80% (which is very reasonable to me.) — other times it doesn’t get filled till 100%.. Same medication, same pharmacy.
Some people get things done early to avoid issues. Others ‘forget’ and end up
running out and then are busy with work and can’t possibly make it to the pharmacy, the pharmacy has closed, etc. They are out of luck and with some medications you simply cannot be without them — it is deadly to be without them.
Point is just because a person regularly refills a prescription at 80% usage doesn’t mean they are stockpiling them and redistributing them (selling) them on the streets. Many people just want to have a weeks supply or so at all times.. they feel uncomfortable not having this ‘backup’. Why is that not smart?
I and others I know personally have had Walgreens hold an Rx till the 100% mark and then on that day regretfully inform them that they are ‘out’ of the medication and would have to order it. (Keep in mind these are incredibly common medications). Ack! There is little you can do in that situation.
I have had a seizure from this happening, taking clonazepam for 14 years for seizures and Walgreens holding it till the 30th day, then to find out they were ‘out of it and would take a few days to get it in from the order.’ — There weren’t any other sister stores anywhere close.
So I had to just wait.. after about 36 hours of not having the clonazepam I ended up having a seizure. Wasn’t pleasant.
It is precisely this type of scenario that scares me to death to not have a bit of a backup/stockpile of all my medications. I would prefer to have a month or two (and in an ideal world you would have 6 months of all necessary medications.)
Why? The same reason you need 6 months of liquid cash in your savings in case you lose your job, get laid off. Same reason you should have other preparations for mother nature , natural disasters, fire, and other things that DO happen in the world from time to time.
Don’t take my tone the wrong way, I am not mad or upset with this posting — I just wish the policies would be the same for everyone, reasonable, and never change from pharmacist to pharmacist. Further, I wish technicians didn’t have any power to deny refills and were instructed NOT to conduct investigations on customers to try and see if they needed to be ‘flagged’.
Nothing upsets me more than hearing of people that the Tech at a pharmacy took it upon themselves to call their one and only doctor about a prescription that is to be filled early. This can absolutely RUIN the relationship of decades with the doctor because a Tech thought they were accomplishing what?
It is not the place of the pharmacy to police people — to determine if Sally is an Addict but Jane is just undermedicated. They should only call the doctors if A) They see a conflict and dangerous mixture of medications being prescribed that could hurt the customer/patient. B) To get authorization at the request of the customer for a refill on a medication (could be an antibiotic). C) Any other matter that just needs clarification — ie: Prescription is not clear and need to confirm the amount and how many refills. etc.
They shouldn’t be calling busy doctors for the sole purpose of trying to ‘report’ their refill activity.
Doctors aren’t stupid. If a patient is refilling early — then the patient will run out early. Guess what happens when a patient runs out early? They will call the doctor and request an early refill. OR they will go see the doctor, EARLY, and the doctor has in his or her notes exactly when the RX was written and how long it should have lasted. THIS is the appropriate time to discuss any issues with being under-medicated and why the patient went through so many refills in a shorter period of time than was intended.
Doctors aren’t just idiots who can’t put 2 and 2 together with patients history/charts.
I realize Pharmacists have graduate degree’s.. and this is respected. However, this is for knowledge of medications, interactions, and so forth. They aren’t *medical doctors*, nor are they *law enforcement*. They are there to fill prescriptions. It all boils down to putting pills in a bottle, syrup in a bottle, or any other form of medication.
I think sometimes the mundaneness of the job for the techs and pharmacists gives them a bit of a motivation to make it a little more ‘exciting’ which sometimes turns out to hurt really good people — often really good people who have been dealt a bad hand in life and are in chronic pain, anxiety, and other illness.
Just like I love a good, caring, intelligent doctor — I also love a good, caring, respectful pharmacist. Not a corrupt one,.. but one who’s motivation is to help people and keeps their staff (techs) in line with helping people and not trying to play detective smith.
So tech’s and pharmacists reading this — You know how you act and think on your job. If you are of good character and care for people and aren’t judgmental — then you are doing your job well and I applaud you. I realize you guys take alot of flack from people who have tempers and demand things you just can’t do. It is stressful, but those of you who can still keep your integrity and not become cynical over this environment are shining examples.
I’m definitely not a fan of Walgreens. I’ve had more issues with them then any other pharmacy. However, it is convenient for my husband to swing by on his way home, so we put up with some of their inadequacies. My issue is not in them having prescriptions ready before the due date, though I’ve had their automated system try to do that and got a notice that it was too early. Thanks, that’s why I didn’t order it myself. I’ve had them tell me when the prescription would be ready, show up later then the time and have them tell me that it wasn’t even started. I get that they are busy, I use to work in customer service, still, don’t tell me something is going to be ready when it won’t be. Also, have the pills ready. I have heart medicine that I take monthly. I don’t want to be told they ran out of it. It should be on hand if you know that people come in at certain times of the month. That’s an inventory problem and someone is slacking there.
I know enough of customer service to know there are whack jobs out there. Still you don’t treat everyone like they are one. Especially in the scenario where people are sick and often feeling at their most vulnerable.
Like I said, I would go elsewhere where I’ve seen more compassionate clerks, but going out of my way isn’t worth it. I know, I tried when I had enough of Walgreen’s antics. Convenience, at least right now, is the most important since my illness is more then inconvenient. Of course, it isn’t convenient if they don’t have the meds ready or in stock. Sigh.
I hate Walgreens worse than you possibly could imagine. As a former employee I could tell you stories that would make you gasp in horror and also pass out laughing.
But, your rant about not being able to get your meds early is usually (99.9999%) a sign of an individual taking their meds to fast or abusing them. Then these morons are out of their meds and want more. But, the doctor and the insurance companies both say, “NO” that the abuser can’t get them until the date that they should run out.
We have had people coming in at exactly midnight to get their refills when they are due. Then being mad when they aren’t sitting there waiting for them. They are to dense and don’t care that these scripts can’t be ran through the system until they are able to be filled. Then because its midnight most computer systems (including insurance companies computers) are rebooting and it takes until usually 1:30AM or so for these scripts to be processed.
CVS is in the same boat with early scripts that Walgreens is. I have changed all my scripts out of Walgreens. CVS is actually worse. But, I refuse to set foot in a Walgreens ever again.
As far as going out of business, I can tell you that Walgreens sales aren’t keeping pace with inflation and that their costs are going up due to what the government is willing to pay. So I could see them bitting the dust. Plus Walgreens has 6 legions (12,000) of corporate employees and only about 8,000 stores. Nepotism and waste at the corporate level is going to tip them over and sink a once great company. I give Walgreens 4 maybe 5 years under the new health care laws and they will be bought out or close.
Aww it’s so heart warming to hear people complain about things they know nothing about. Im sorry that you had to listen to the robots Walgreens has created and they didn’t explain things to you in English. I try to dumb things down as much as possible for my customers. But there’s probably a reason that you can’t get your meds early. And I’m willing to bet it has nothing to do with the pharmacy and everything to do with your insurance.
So how about you just pay out of pocket? Then you don’t have to deal with the insurance company and you get what you want.
So basically if you want them to pay for your stuff, you have to follow their rules.
They own you.
*manical laugh*
I hate Walgreens too! They are no better in south Florida. I feel your pain sister. The one I go to near my house, there usually the same guy there every time. I hate him too. He is a tall skinny black kid that is queer as a 3 dollar bill and thinks he/she knows everything. One of these days I’m gonna snap his gay little neck.
I used to live in Chicago and going to Walgreens was an act that required a sort of devine intervention. I had to get myself in the frame of mind to even walk thru those automated doors. The smell of the store, even though it wasn’t a bad smell, would instantly get my heart racing (unlike the smell of an Ace Hardware, which should be a Yankee Candle scent). Then there was the 45 minute wait, just to drop off your prescription. But then the fun part began; having to stand and wait next to the condom wall where there was plenty of standing room, and people watching. Thank goodness people had problems, pharmacists would stare at their computer screen pretending to care about resolving an issue; even asking co-workers who had their own “I-will-not-pick-up-the-phone-and-get-this-resolved” look on their face too.
I would never want to go after work because that was everyone else’s time to go. And forget going on my lunch hour; it was more of asking the boss if I can take a 1/2 of a sick day because I have to go to the pharmacy.
Now, I’m in a small town. One pharmacist and one assistant for the entire town of 4500. Knows you by your first name, and all 17 medications your grandmother takes as well as which ones are brand name and which ones are generic. Knows that you always use a debit card and has the information ready for your to sign. Knows that the buy one, get one free vitamin sale was over yesterday and still gives you the sale price today. Can only fill 16 of the 17 meds, but will drop the 17th off at your house on his way home.
Yes, I know, it’s only 4500. But, WOW!
I’m a pharmacy tech at Walgreens, and this incident where they “refused” to fill the child’s rx is completely out of context. The policy end date is not a Walgreens “typo” (in fact it wasn’t a typo at all) but it was an error on the insurance’s company’s part, and Walgreens sincerely can do nothing about it. They could however fill the rx and have the man pay cash, call his insurance company and get it straightened out, then give him a refund if it’s within 10 days. I hate that you feel that the employees at your local Walgreens don’t care, but it is an extremely stressful job in which you get dozens of people just like you yelling and cursing about things that are out of our control. Most techs are far from “unintelligent.” But you become numb to people’s sob stories when you see pill heads every day make stuff up. Maybe you should talk with your doctor about coming off of some of your meds, because it sounds like your crazy with or without your pills.
WOW! I was going to say the exact same thing! I hear tons of made up sob stories everyday I am at work! Yes, I work at WALGREENS! I say to myself that some people feel like they are special and we should just give them anything they ask for and forget that it is our job and we have rules and we could and would get fiered.
oopse.. fired!
I wish they would fire all of idiots and go out of buisness. That would be awesome! Then you could go work at McDonalds and make up some shit why you can’t give someone they’re french fries.
Maybe that would be better. Then we wouldn’t need Walgreens and all that cholesterol medicine if I could just keep you away from that bucket of fries.
DO NOT SHOP AT CVS——-THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A MATTER OF TWO WEEKS WHERE CVS PHARMACY HAS CAUSED ME PROBLEMS. SINCE THE LAST MIX UP A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHERE MY CHILD’S PROFILE DISAPPEARED FROM YOUR SYSTEM ALONG WITH HIS PRESCRIPTIONS I TRANSFERRED MY PRESCRIPTIONS TO WALGREENS. TODAY MY PHYSICIAN MISTAKENLY SENT A NEW PRESCRIPTION TO CVS AND ULTIMATELY ENDING UP RESENDING IT TO WALGREENS PER MY REQUEST. UNFORTUNATELY CVS DECIDED TO FILL THE RX AND SUBMIT A CLAIM TO MY INSURANCE ALTHOUGH I DID NOT COME IN AND PICK UP THE RX. AMAZING HOW CVS MANAGES TO FRAUDULANTLY SUBMIT A CLAIM TO MY INSURANCE FOR A RX I DIDN’T PICK UP. SO HERE I AM FORCED TO GO INTO CVS TO GET THE RX OR WAIT FOR THEM TO REVERSE THE CLAIM SO THAT I CAN GET THE RX FILLED AT WALGREENS. UNFORTUNATELY I CAN NOT TAKE A CHANCE THAT CVS WILL MANAGE TO GET THAT RIGHT.
In order to have your prescription ready and waiting for you techs HAVE to bill your insurance. If not wait times would be terrible having to bill the insurance for every patient that walks in the door. It is as simple as deleting the prescription to have it reversed.