This is by far, the best-stocked Walgreens of the local Peninsula Walgreens that I have visited…read more The store is huge, well laid-out (easily shop-able), with wide aisles, easy to view shelving, and plenty of inventory. Every other Walgreens that I visit locally are often out of essential toiletries, health & beauty products, and household necessities such as cleaning products, toilet paper, and batteries, but this one has it all. It also has a lot of employees covering the floor, which is helpful to find products or retrieve the locked-up high-theft items such as toothpaste and hair care. They have a very active & centrally located photo counter, which doubles as a customer service counter right by the front entrance facing the El Camino Real. The employees that work at this particular store are plentiful, polite, professional, and helpful (when you ask for help). The store is clean, bright, spacious, and easy to navigate, every section is clearly marked, well-stocked, and organized like a pharmacy should be.
Checking out is a different story. The only cashier's/cash register are at the rear of the store facing the parking lot. There is usually only one cashier, despite it getting pretty busy here. I'm not sure why they planned the store with only 1-2 registers that are away from all the action (main entrance, pharmacy, customer service/photo desk), but it's fairly awkward to have to walk all the way to the back of the store to pay, then walk back to the front of the store to exit, it's alot of walking around back & forth, lol. I guess that's one way to get your exercise in, as well as to tempt the customer to make impulse & spontaneous purchases, or so I think. Anyways, the checking out process is perhaps the worst part of this store & its layout. The cashier's never seem well-trained, motivated, or as helpful as the rest of the employees in this store. Maybe it's a hierarchy, seniority, experience thing? I think the overall shopping experience would be better improved with more trained, energetic, and knowledgeable cashiers, that is you last point of contact in this store and it leaves the final impression as you exit this store. The lines get long and sloooow!
As to the pharmacy, the line moves along. It is well-staffed, and the support staff is friendly and professional. The lines tend to swell during peak hours (morning, lunchtime, after work) but it moves fairly quickly as there are alot of people working it to move the customers along. The pharmacists are approachable and open to offer help as well as information about your prescriptions. The pharmacy at this branch is very good and I don't mind coming here at all after stopping at the local hospitals & medical clinics found along El Camino Real and San Mateo Drive.
Parking is easy in the back with a big, metered parking lot (but you have to pay and it's not cheap). Street parking at the front of the store is a bit more difficult and sparse. Overall, it's a good experience here, I just wish the cashier/checkout/exit line was a bit more efficient and expedient!
