Wanna see the sloths at the CVS pharmacy scramble? Return in a huff, hand them the prescription they just sold you, and say “This Is Not My Prescription.”
What is it with these people? Ever since CVS took over the Osco at 75th and Wornall, service has spiraled into the dark abyss. They are horribly slow, but always in a state of chaos. I never see the same crew twice, even though I pick up Rx there two or three times a month. They close the drive-thru window during prime-time because they are understaffed (and I only use the drive-thru, and I refuse to buy anything BUT Rx there because of their stupid not-really-on-sale-unless-you-have-a-loyalty-card sale policy). They don’t always have some of my prescriptions in stock, even though they are common generics. And today, they gave me someone else’s pills, in a bottle with someone else’s name on it.
I was already annoyed that the drive-thru was closed at 6:30 p.m. when I dropped off the Rx. I went back at 9 p.m. to pick it up, but didn’t actually look at the bottle until I got home. When I discovered they had given me someone else’s Rx, I was furious. I went back, and I told them so.
To their credit, they made it right. The pharmacy manager took responsibility for the mistake, admitting that she has processed two prescriptions at the same time. The bottles were labeled correctly and contained the correct pills, but she mismatched the bottles and their paperwork. So the clerk had pulled the hanging bag with my paperwork in it, processed the transaction, put the bottle in a paper bag, stapled it, and sent me on my way — without confirming that the bottle matched the paperwork. The pharmacy manager found my correct Rx, allowed me to confirm that it contained the correct pills, refunded my co-pay, and issued me a $25 gift card. Thanks for playing. Have a nice day.
It is such a huge hassle to transfer my prescriptions across the street to Walgreens, but I think this may be time to suck it up and make the move.
kalimeg
May 16, 2007 at 3:41amI’m giving all of them up in favor of CostCo. The prices make it worth my while to go in there for them.
allisonstein
May 16, 2007 at 2:27pmCostco does have great prices, but they aren’t on my insurance plan.
robinbailey
May 16, 2007 at 6:05amSince I’ve been doing work for Digital Simplistics (a pharmacy software company), I’ve learned a lot about the various chain pharmacies and stores. CVS is the largest chain pharmacy in the country with over 1,600. As you note, they recently bought out the Osco chain. As you may not know, CVS also purchased Caremark, the largest mail-order drug provider in the country. Does this mean that, being so large, they pay the highest salaries to their staffs? By no means. So many of the stores have a large and rapid turn-over.
allisonstein
May 16, 2007 at 2:25pmYes, I know CVS has become the bully on the playground. It’s incredibly obvious that they churn their employees. I suspect last night’s error has been noted in someone’s personnel file and will be noted on her next performance review. At least I hope it would.
Oddly enough, when I dropped the Rx off earlier in the evening, I had a brief conversation with one of the employees. I was muttering aloud about the drive-thru being closed and my general dissatisfaction with CVS while I looked for the prescription. In the same calm helpful voice he would probably use to tell me that cough drops are located on aisle three, he told me that if he were me, he’d take his business across the street.
I miss my friendly neighborhood pharmacist(s) from the old Osco. I knew their names. They knew mine. One of them even knew my regular prescriptions off the top of his head. I hope they found good places to work after CVS showed them the door.
ehs347
May 17, 2007 at 8:15pmI had a huge falling out with the Walmart pharmacy about 5 years ago after I showed up to pick up meds that were supposed to be ready at a certain time (according to their automated telephone refill system) only to discover that they were out of the drug. This happened 3 months in a row. The third time, I made a scene, informed them that I was taking all of my pharmacy business next door to Target, and I walked out, never to return to that Walmart. I walked into Target, told them to call Walmart and get all my prescriptions transferred over. I’ve never looked back. I love my Target pharmacist. She even assembles my birth control pill packet and puts the little day reminder sticker on the dispenser. Switch. It’s way easier to deal with the BS once than every time you have to get meds filled.