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.
I had been ging to my local Walgreens in Modesto, CA for over 14 years..about 10years ago I got diagnosed with End stage Renal Failure….after the ten years of dealing with med and more meds at the time I had insurance, my kidneys finally gave out in 9/2008…I went on dialysis and no longer able to work…I went on SSI and had MEdicare and Medi-Cal coverage….getting my meds was no problem at all at Walgreens……bill Medicare..they do secondary billing to Medi-Cal…..my background is in Medicare and state Insurance…I was blessed on July 8, 2009 with a kidney donation from a friend of mine….after a little bit of a rough go …my kidney has been working wonderful with my list of meds I take…the most important being my IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS….THEY KNOCK OUT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM SO THAT YOUR BODY DOENS’T ATTACK THE KIDNEY AND KILL IT…..occasionally my Walgreens would not have my immunosuppressive pills…send me to another Walgreens or make me wait a day ….which of course a DAY can mean REJECTION FROM MY BODY AND i CAN LOOSE MY KIDNEY….well after 36 MONTHS OF TRANSPLANT …..( I WENT BACK TO WORK WHERE THEY DO NOT HAVE HEALTH COVERAGE)….MEDICARE DECIDED TO CUT OFF MY HEALTH COVERAGE BECAUSE MY KIDNEY IS DOING SO WELL?????!!!!! DUE TO MY MEDICATIONS….. SO AS OF July 2012 I just have Healthnet…they are an HMO….since 8/2012……I have been fighting with walgreens Pharmacy staff…when I went to get my Immuno pills they said I had no INSURANCE…i said yes I do….I no longer have MEdicare but I DO have Healthnet..bill them…..they said Healthnet said the medications are too expensive…I was in shock…I can only get a 30 day supply and I was out…I started crying…I said what can I doo….the Pharmacy told me well you can purchase them…..One weelk for one presciption is 300.00….the other is 150.00….Healthnet is not covering any of your meds……they said you are not eligible….I asked did you call them… walgreens replied…NO WE DONT DO THAT WE E-FILE……YOU NEED TO CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR…I WAS IN TEARS…I STATED I HAVE TO HAVE MY MEDS FOR MY TRANSPLANT….I AM A SINGLE PARENT…NOT ALOT OF MONEY…WHAT CAN I DO…..SO I BORRWED SOME MONEY TO GET ONE WEEKS WIRTH,,,WALGREENS SAID BY THEN MAYBE IT WILL BE RESOLVED…I CALLED HEALTHNET…..THEY TOLD ME THAT WALGREENS NEEDS A PREAUTH FROM MY DRS IN SF,CA…AND THEY WILL COVER THEM……I WENT BACK TO WALGREENS TOLD THEM WHAT HEALTHNET SAID…THEY SAID WELL SEND THIS TO OUR RESOLUTION CENTER…BY THAT TIMEIT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS AND I HAD NO MEDS… AND NO MONEY TO BUY THEM….SO I DECDED NOT TO PAY MY CAR INSURANCE AND PRCHASE ANOTHER WEEKS WORTH….4 WEEKS LATER AND 10 VISITS TO WALGREENS PHONE HOURS WITH MY INTERNIST…I FINALLY ENDED UP AT THE ER ….SICK, DEHYDRATED…DIZZY…AND MY KIDNEY WAS NOT FEELING GOOD….NO MEDS FOR 5 DAYS…..AT CPMC IN SF, CA WHERE I HAD MY TRANSPLANT…..THEY HAVE A WALGREENS IN THE HOSPITAL…..AFTER MY STAY IN ER AND 4 PINTS OF FLUIDS..AND BLOOD WORK….THE ER DR SAID YOU CANNOT GO ONE DAY WITHOUT YOUR MEDS…I TOLD HIM THE TORY AND HE WAS APALLED…HE SAID ALL YOU NEED IS FOR YOUR WALGREENS TO CALL HEALTHNET AND GET IT APPROVED WITH YOUR DX…ANDDRS NAME…..HE LEFT, CAME BACK IN 5 MIN AND SAID THE WALGREENS HERE HAS YOURS MEDS READY FOR YOU…..GO GET THEM..THEY WILL BILL YOUR INSURANCE….I GO TO THE PHARMACY…SHE HANDS ME A BAG WITH ONE MNTHS WORTH OF MEDS AND SAYS MY WALGREENS WAS IN THE WONG…THEY DID NOT DO THEIR JOB..ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PICK UP THE PHONE…GET THE PRE-AUTH AND BILL……NEEDLESS TO SAY…THE FOLLOWING DAY I FILED TWO COMPLAINTS WITH WALGREENS AND AM WAITING FOR THEIR LEGAL DEPT TO CALL ME…THE MANAGER ADMITTED THEIR PHARMACY DID NOT MAKE THE CALL AND IN THE MEANTIME MY HEALTH SUFFERED BECAUSE OF IT……I AM SUING WALGREENS …..I AM GOING TO SUE THEIR BUTTS OFF!!!!… THEY LIED, THEY ARE LAZY….AND PUT PEOPLES LIVES IN DANGER!!!!
It is not the pharmacy’s responsibility to obtain a prior authorization (PA) for your medicines. Do you realize that the main factor preventing you from getting your medicine was your insurance? When a PA is required the pharmacy sends a fax to the MD notifying them a PA is required. Then the MD contacts the insurance and provides information why the medicine is necessary in order to override the PA. Based on the information provided by the MD the insurance can either approve or deny the PA.
It sounds like your anger has been improperly directed at your local Walgreens. The pharmacy would have filled your script and you could have purchased it right there for cash with no questions asked. Pharmacies NEVER contact the insurance on PA’s. So your ASSUMPTION that all the pharmacy had to do was call for the PA is completely incorrect.
And as far as your supposed lawsuit, good luck with that. If you needed the medicine and going without it truly put your life in danger, why didn’t YOU call the insurance about it? Why were YOU lazy and expect others to take care of your own health???
umm.. why didn’t you ever take it upon yourself to call the insurance to see if there was anything you could do?
i hate wallgreens
everytime i need a script they will say in a smart ass response your insurance wont cover it till tomorrow.
im like its 1 day give me a break! can i pay for it without my insurance knowing i can.. smart ass no reply
or we dont have those instock
of course you dont
im fed up with them your better off going to the pharmacy at the hospital
CVS sucks. I happen to love my Walgreens, but I only go to this one by my house so I don’t know how the other ones are. Except for the one time my Walgreens did not have my migraine medicine and they called another store a few miles away. When I walked to the counter, they had my medicine waiting on me and were very pleasant.
Where I live we ONLY have Walgreens and Walmart Pharmacy. I have a 2″ spike (like a bone spur) growing out of my elbow area that is tearing into my muscle. My specialist called in a script to Walgreens for a mild paid killer and some better medication for the swelling in my arm and when I arrived at Walgreens to pick it up they informed me I had no medical coverage…… hmmmm thats weird I just paid for a BONE SPECIALIST with this damn card and your telling me I cant get some damn pain killers!?
Medical coverage and rx insurance are different thinhgs friend.
Medical coverage and rx insurance are different things friend.
Walgreens is all about kiss your ass.try to sell you shit on your way out the door.If the person at the front reg does not sell so many in a day they get a wright up.Fuck that ..I could care less about costumer service leave me alone ….I know walgreens does not care about any emp 27 years..the 1st 25 was great last 2 suck
Tell that to my friends in fla that are about to lose there job…Because walgreens had to get so top heave…..All asst and exa will be gone in 90 days..I sure would love to see some fat ass mang and dem go 1st….And that power they had to get and alot of people in the phar lost there job…..Go to winn dixie still have one on one phar
U r all fucking idiots for not knowing that big business make the most money by staffing as little as possible. You want/demand service? Go to a private business. They have more than enough help to get ur bitching ass on ur way. And I m certain that u will still go to a chain pharmacy. Oh yah Cvs is better until ur bitching on a Cvs blog u dumb fucks.
Dear idiot.
There are many towns in the midwest who have access to chain pharmacies only. That does not make them “dumb fucks”, as you say. Chill the f*** out,
Love the way you put that AMEN
Check this out: I stayed and argued with a store manager and two pharmacists at the Walgreen’s by my house, because they were not busy there at all. After chewing their ASSES about why they gave me such HELL to get my meds when CLEARLY I NEED them and am not just screwing around, I FINALLY got them to admit that if you TRULY need a certain medication and have no other way of paying for it, the hospital CAN give you vouchers for them. I chewed the butts about not telling me that in the first place, and then I left, NEVER to return. CVS friggin loves me now!!!
I agree. I’ll never go to Walgreens for anything beyond those last minute groceries that I don’t wanna wait in line for.
Actually loved this text thanks.
yea get a text go there .wow they do not have it WTF
OMG the nerve of anonymous, Maybe if you had Hepatitis C for 34 yrs and rheumatoid arthritis for 38 yrs and osteo and fibro and chronic fatigue and high blood pressure+10 other chronic illnesses you would have compassion for human beings. I dislike Walgreens and CVS. Point of interest a pharmacist was fired at Walgreens due to the fact he stole my husbands meds./ went into the computer changed the script and gave my husband asprin. The pharmacist had decided he needed the prescribed meds. My husband didn’t die but he could have. He had just been discharged after having 2 operations. Walgreens gave us proof and told us what was done. Oh and a $25.00 gift card. Anonymous you do NOT live in our bodies. You have no idea how we feel. Do you pay $1,500 a month for 60/40 medical insurance? How about waiting a year for treatment only to be told everything is pre-exsisting? What a lousy inhumane way to treat anyone! Let us enjoy this blog please.
I recently graduated from ASU, and now I’m making the transition to pharmacy school. Right now I work as tech at walgreens. Before I’m crucified, I’d like to share a bit about my pharmacy, how it works, and how it doesn’t. We average 500+ new scripts/day and average 700+ transactions/day. We’re thought of as one of the busiest pharmacies in AZ, and I would consider us a high volume store. Now that you know some of my background, I’d like to lay the cards on the table. This system of retail pharmacy is not perfect, and it becomes more apparent at the start of every new year. Our computers are on overload from fax and electronic scripts coming and going, insurance claims are timing out and overloading, and our budget constraints cause us to work with the bare minimum of resources which results in an overworked staff struggling to balance large volume and customer service.
So why isn’t everything perfect? There are too many variables on both sides that contribute to your frustration and mine. These internal/external factors have caused us to hate each other, but we’re all force to go along with this pony act while corporate and insurance companies make money off of all of us. So the process begins with a new prescription, you come to the drive thru, you drop it off, and the tech tells you 15 minutes (that’s my store’s policy). And you seem happy at first, but I always feel like Murphy’s Law hits the patients that need the meds the most. The tech doesn’t bother checking to see if we have at med in stock cause it’s not worth the time unless it’s a CII. We don’t check cause even if we do have it or not, your insurance might not cover it. The process to type and submit a claim to insurance can take 5-10 minutes, even longer if day supply issues or generic preferences come up on the reject claim. So after your insurance clears it, we can then check the stock. So now I wait for your leaflet info to print, find the correct med, scan it into the computer, count it, weigh it, have the pharmacist double check it, sell it, and counsel you on it, and that’s assuming that your doctor wrote out the correct med, strength, quantity, refill, and signed it. If not, cause chances are s/he didn’t even write it themselves, then we fax and your 15 minute wait just turned into an all day experience. Refill requests in theory should be easier, but if your script is expired, has no refills on it, or a new generic/sub is available anything can go wrong, in which case I get to fax your doctor or call the insurance, making your wait time endless to you. Why do we fax? A call is faster, right? Problem with that is, doctors tell pharmacies the method of communication preferred by their office, and it’s almost always by fax, plus if I made a phone call for every fax sent in the pharmacy, I’d be making over a hundreds of calls a day, and nothing would get done. Here comes the worse part, patients who need their CII meds suffer the worse when any of the above variables hit them. I can not call the doctor for a refill or new script, a physical in person script needs to be placed in my hands every time, that’s how federal, state, and pharmacy board mandate this process. If there is an insurance issue, we can not get the insurance to budge even a day early on a refill to soon, and if your paying cash, no pharmacist I’ve seen will risk losing their license to fill an early script. If there’s a therapy change, please please please tell your doctor you need new scripts, the longer you wait the worse it is for everyone to go back and fix day supplies along with insurance claims. CII stocks are also difficult to predict and order, and they a minimum of 3 -4 business days to order, so if it’s the weekend, you’re looking at 5-6 days of waiting.
Now for more bad news, there is constant race between pharmacies to get your scripts processed and filled as fast as possible. Drive thrus have been put in place for the convenience of disabled individuals, but in turn have created the impression of a fast food service, and if you think the drive thru is put there for a quick grab n run, you are perpetuating the dangerous notion that medications should come as easily as french fries. If someone can’t walk, I will spend as long as it takes with them at drive, even if you’re stuck between cars or honking at me. With this racers edge at my neck, I am always stressed and feel rushed to do everything at once. Because of this environment I skip lunch on my 10hr shift, never get a chance to go to the bathroom, and find myself multitasking beyond my control. At any given point I maybe ringing up two customers while scanning in new scripts and talking on the phone with insurance, this is typical multitasking for pharmacists and techs. We’re usually doing 4 or 5 things at once and thinking about a dozen other things at the same time. Why can’t I just focus on one thing at a time or why can’t I give you the individual attention you deserve? Cause all the dominos would topple and though you would be happy with me for treating you like a person the first minutes we meet, you would hate me even more if I didn’t deliver that medication in 15 minutes. That’s why I can’t be a person in the pharmacy, and I can’t treat anyone else like a person either. I’ve been yelled at, cursed at, threatened, to the point where I don’t have emotions anymore. I sit there and take it, and continue the job. I don’t hate any of my patients for it, in fact I understand them. Its crap that some patients get stuck in the cracks and find themselves running around in circles with no results. I’ve shared but a small fraction of this system and it’s process, if you have any constructive suggestions, and they are effective and legal, I would be happy to bring them up with my pharmacist.
“you do NOT live in our bodies”
well said
change your turn around policy to a more realistic and real time set number of minutes; refills 20 min, new scripts 45-60. at least you would be being honest and have less frustration on this.
put big signs at the drive thru saying for disabled, with small children, or sick; all others pls come inside and this will help move lines quicker.
Is it possible for you to go to a small, locally owned pharmacy? I found a little place right next to my doctor – by only my 2nd trip in, the guy remembered my name, remembered I homeschool my daughter, asked about my life… he’s amazing. I haven’t needed anything for awhile and I actually miss going in to see him! That’s what I’d recommend for you, if you can find one.
LOVE THEM SMALL STORES
You had me at “rule-reciting minions”—no wait, you had me at “hate walgreens”
It has nothing to do with the pharmacy and everything to do with the people who work there. I recommend you find a pharmacy that has a caring pharmacist and good employees and you shouldn’t have a problem. I also think that when you approach people looking for an argument…you’re likely to get one.
-Pharmacist….not at walgreens.
I’ve been on ridiculous #s of meds for fibromyalgia & a psychiatric condition for a number of years now and have been through my share of pharmacies. My system has been almost foolproof, and I hate that it sounds preachy, but here it goes. I a) meet and learn the name of the actual pharmacist(s) in addition to as many of the techs’ names as I can, and b) I treat them really, really nicely. Like, nicer than I am to my friends. Because I know I’ll be seeing them and needing them to help me every two to four weeks, and because I know that most of their clients treat them just like they treat someone at a fast-food counter. I remember that I’m in a long-term relationship with them and I don’t have a damn thing to be ashamed about when it comes to getting the drugs I need when I need them and am legally able to request them. Plus, if I have a good rapport with the pharmacist, then when I call my doctor’s office and they have to call the pharm. for me, I can say, “Ask for Stephen, he’s been really helpful” or something like that–which in turn sets up my doctor’s staff for having an easy call to make, since they’re already kind of “primed” for having a good encounter.
It’s kind of hard to do this especially when it’s 10 p.m. and I obviously haven’t gotten out of my PJs in two days and I really, really need _______ (fill in the blank), but it’s a good investment in a relationship with someone who has a lot of control over how easy or how hard your life can be!
Having worked for a pharmacy benefits company at one time, I can tell you it’s NOT Walgreens that’s making the rules, it’s your insurance company. Whatever their rules are on your policy, that’s what Walgreens has to do. Plus, when controlled meds are involved, there are federal policies on them.
Aggrivating? Yeah probably, but call your insurance company. I don’t care about Walgreens one way or the other. I’ve used them before without any issues, and now don’t live anywhere near one, but it’s truly not their fault.
wow…I’ve had so many issues with the Walgreen’s pharmacy. I have to say…and I AM proactive about trying to get my meds filled in an appropriate time frame–but with the ‘controlled’ meds–they truly seem to make me grind down to my last 2 pills before they fill a refill…so yeah, that is NOT my fault. I would prefer to get my meds filled with a little cushion room. And wow. If you need your meds filled EARLY for a vacation or a study abroad thing (in college, I studied abroad for 6 weeks–needed extra meds for the trip–what a freaking nightmare!!!)…
I’m sorry for the pharmacy. I know they have a lot of crap to deal with–a ton of regulations, etc. But I’ve met few pharmacists who treat clients as anything more than junkies. I hate getting treated like a junkie when I simply need my meds to function. Believe me–there is no high when you take your recommended dose! I’d be having to take quadruple my dose…so yeah…I’m a junkie…you got me! lol!!
more than likely the reason you have to wait to fill a controlled med with only 2 pills left is because of state law. (im a pharmacy tech in TN, and the state will not allow you to fill a controlled med early.) and yes, with vacations etc, its a nightmare. 1. the insurance sometimes wont pay for it, and 2. if its a control, the pharmacist can make an exception if you are going somewhere that doesnt have a WAG. BUT, we have to look at history of early filling etc and make sure its not some drug addict trying to pull one over. its basically the stupid acts of a few that we all have to pay for!
I was one of the minions behind the counter, and I totally agree. That’s why I no longer work there haha. (they don’t like it when you don’t recite your lines at the counter)
I have a few medical issues, including an Adrenal deficiency with a high fatality rate that causes me to pass out and have seizures and causes organ (including pancreatic) damage, joint damage and lots of nice little other things, so I take steriods to keep that in check. If I don’t have them, or I don’t have them FAST ENOUGH, when I have a drop in cortisol, I will die. Period.
I also have very low blood pressure (80/40-ish) and an unrealistically high heart rate (between 120 & 130 RESTING), I have the Epstein–Barr virus, which caused my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, degenerative osteoarthritis, 3 herniated disks in my Cervical spine (and 2 failed corrective surgeries to go along with those), asthma, actue Fibromyalgia (originally diagnosed in 1994), and my left knee likes to dislocate at will, often and accompanied by excruciating pain, I have TMJ and my jaw often locks when I yawn – sometimes in the middle of the night – and I’ve actually had to go to the ER in order to have my mouth shut. I’ve had more surgeries than most people three times my age and have listened to my two rheumotologists, orthopedist, primary care (DO – and a personal friend), and two endocrinologists argue a double knee/hip replacement for 3 years now. *sigh*
I take Savella, Celebrex, MS Contin, Oxycodone, Limbrel, Midodrine (to raise my blood pressure), oral Hydrocortisone, Promethazine, Alprazolam, Meloxicam (when my Dr. is out of Celebrex samples), Potassium, Vitamin D, Flexaril and a litany of Omega-3s and similar supplements for joint disorders. Now…ready? Really, are you ready for this?
I HAVE NO HEALTH INSURANCE.
Can’t afford it. Haven’t had it since going on permanent, long-term disability (private insurance, well….I was a paralegal & compliance officer for a pseudo-state agency, so it’s through our state’s retirement program), until the year 2030, at which time I will be eligible for retirement. I make too much to qualify for Medicaid, I’m still going through the Social Security Disability process and I simply cannot afford the $1,368/month premiums. Can’t do it. I was hospitalized for over a week in late August and they kicked me out because I had JUST been awarded disability, had JUST got my first payment and had been on state Medicaid for a month when they termed me. They told me they were keeping me for another 3 – 5 days and the next morning, they literally told me my insurance termed that day (9/1), and that despite having two new herniations in my lumbar spine (and an “old one”?? that I hadn’t previously known about), and still recieving IV steroids to regulate my Cortisol levels, that I was “stable” enough to go home. HAHHAAAA.
So…pharmacies: I started out using a specialty pharmacy, because when I was working and had health insurance, I took a relatively new, and REALLY expensive (nearly $900/month) time-released pain med that was hard to find. They were great….until my doctor added the morphine and they refused to fill it because I have allergies to Codiene, hydrocodone and Demerol.
/ They were out of my way by two cities, I had to leave work early to get my meds every month and although they were nice enough, I decided that they just weren’t working out. I tried CVS. That lasted a month when the following month, after lengthy conversations the week prior, they’d run out of my Midorine and “forgot to order it”. *sigh* I used a local grocery-store pharmacy for everything but my “specialty” medicine, because they refused to stock it, as did Target and a few other grocery store pharmacies, and I started using Walgreens for the one med I couldn’t find anywhere else. At the time they had two Pharmacists. Both were older gentlemen, one Nigerian and the other an older Caucasion man. They both moved at the speed of snails – I’m SO not exaggerating here. They had lines through the drive through winding through the parking lot and in-store lines wound down all the way past the dental products (half the length of the store).
After about a year of continuing this routine, I REALLY got tired of the wait at Walgreens and the constant errors at the grocery-store pharmacy. (They once gave me Proxac instead of Floxin, birth control pills instead of alprazolam, and then once insisted I’d been in 2 days earlier to fill my morphine…helllooo, I have a VERY unique name and I’m somewhat memorable. It took three calls to my doctor’s office and them consulting with their tech support department to find out it was an error.) THANKFULLY, about this time, Walgreens got a NEW Pharmacist. Now, old Caucasion guy was still there, but THANK GOD, a girl we’ll call Susie (close enough), took over and RAN that place. We actually developed a friendship and I IMMEDIATELY switched. I’ve occasionally had to go to another Walgreens because it’s after-hours or they’re out of stock of something or another (Lord knows, mine isn’t an easy order to keep up with all the time), and there is a 24-hour store also not far from me and their Pharmacist is not only good friends with “Susie” – they both went to Princeton together and I live in the southwest…cool beans – but he’s also a friend of a DPT of mine that I dated casually for a few years before moving on romantically. We’re still friends, and the guy at the 24 hour Walgreens, we’ll call him Charles, is friendly enough that we found out about all of these shared friendships just through casual conversation. I’m pretty outgoing – a little windy (CAN YOU TELL??? LOL), and end up talking to people I deal with on a regular basis.
So, now I’ve got not one, but TWO Walgreens that give me GREAT customer service (“Susie” even calls me to wish me happy birthday, and I her, etc.), have really wonderful staff and I am thankful to say that I can trust them with my life…which I literally do. They’ve gone above and beyond for almost over a year now and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
I have to agree with the person who posted that what we ALL hate is just poor service. It’s really hard to remember sometimes that our doctors, pharmacists, therapists, etc. are people, too, with lives, some as complicated as ours, and while that’s no excuse for consistent BAD service, it does help when there’s the odd bad day or two. I’m now the one who can walk in and the entire staff stops to come say hi and chat (if they have time), especially, “Susie”, and now when she’s having a bad day, it only takes a few minutes of laughing and cracking jokes to hear her thank me and say she can get through the next few hours.
I just happened to get lucky and hit the jackpot with a caring Pharmacy….WALGREENS!
If ANYONE has taken the time to read this entire post, I’ve gotta say you’re an exceptional human being for hangin in with my winding story! LOL Happy holidays to everyone.
I read it….
Merry Christmas <3
I did! My heart sank with all you’ve had to go through but I’m happy to hear it went uphill. I haven’t had bad service with wallgreens but have been working for a retailer the last 13 years and oh my…can’t imagine if I were a customer.
I did work at walgreens 27 years and so happy not to be there..My rx go to winn dixie they care…They just did more lay offs this week and hr cuts …move your rx now before it is to late and they kill you with no help
If you want to blackout from anger and frustration, use Walmart pharmacy. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! LAZIEST SUNZA BITCHES IN THE WORLD!! But that’s just their policy.
Greetings and sympathy for your miniseries…
While not as ill as you, I, like many others, have struggled with allergies my whole life. I take about half the pills you do, although a lot of them are over the counter now… before Allegra became OTC, my whole family got our pills from a mail order pharmacy. SO much faster than Walgreens, nicer than Walmart, and even/especially cheaper.
My dad has dealt with asthma his whole life (he’s 50+ now). He has less than 2% of total lung capacity. The inhaler medicine that helps him most, Primatine Mist, has now been discontinued, so he tries to find it everywhere he can. My mom was looking at the WALGREEENS pharmacies in and around Joplin MO a couple of weeks ago, only to be told it’s illegal to be sell it there because it’s a steroid or something. WTF?! Active ingredient: epinephrine, 0.22mg. Puh-leeze.
That aside, I’ve dealt with Walmart, Walgreens, and Target pharmacies. Go Target. All the way. The employees will actually HELP you. I stopped liking Walgreens after the thyroid meds they filled screwed me over a couple of years ago.
P.S. Anonymous, I hope I never meet you in person, especially in a dark alley somewhere. Just my luck, you work at the local Walgreens.
My W-Gr’s has a drive through drug pick up option and that little bit of help at the end of a long day at work keeps me going there for everything except one little prescription. They decided, without any input from my doc, that I was taking too much of it, so they shut me down. My doc had a cow (love that old phrase) and told me they just want power and control. I was in tears … they made me feel like a drug addict even though I was doing exactly what my doc wanted me to do. No problems with the new pharmacy … they leave things to my doc … the one with the medical degree.
LOVE, love your writing and humor. I’m a fangirl. So much so that my football team is marching down the field in the last freakin’ minute of the game and I’m in another room writing this. OK, now I gotta go …
SO hear you!! W-Gr’s did the same to me on one of my meds…they ‘decided’ out of the blue that the SAME script my doc has had me on for well over a year was no longer cool with them. I had to go all the way downtown on the El–just to pop into her office for 10 minutes so she could write a script they would fill…we sat there between the two of us working out the wording…ridiculous!
Firstly, you are flippin hysterical!!!!
Secondly, I feel your pain after having resided in the city for 25 years. Walgreens is one of the reasons I moved. My depression has almost completely subsided since then.
Thanks for sharing
Sorry to hear you hate them so much…my Walgreens I go to is 90 percent of the time, awesome possum. But then I only go there or used to go there(I have since qualified for prescription assistance from pfizer, so I get my meds filled at the doctor’s)
I do remember once having a slight issue with percocet for a surgical procedure…because I had a history of going there for opioids due to a seriously painful fungal sinus infection with polyps, they were all cagey about filling it.
You really do need to switch elsewhere. Ive gone to Rite Aid my whole life and would never go elsewhere since it is impossible for them to be topped. I would never go to their store (seeing theres CVS and Walgreens both a street away) if it wasn’t for their pharmacy. They know me by name, are ridiculously friendly, never seem annoyed or hating their job or customers, and answer all of my questions without sounding it’s from a script. They also have a guaranteed fifteen minute prescription fill time, and a fantastic online management site for customers to manage all their pills and such. That all also includes automatic refills when they run out, and theyll get a new script when yours runs out for you! It’s all so marvelous! Did I mention all of their pharmacies have ridiculously long hours of operation including weekends? Yep! Best pharmacy ever!