This review is specifically for the pharmacy department. I don't usually have a positive enough experience with a pharmacy to actually be driven to write a review, but this one stood out to me. I had been looking to get Novavax for the newest version of the COVID vaccine and after calling numerous CVS locations near me, I found out from the automated phone system message that this CVS carried it. However, to be on the safe side, I called and left a voicemail (it takes a lot of time navigating the phone tree to get to that option and I could not find a way to have it connect me directly on the phone to the pharmacist). For my first voicemail, the pharmacist called back to let me know it wasn't in stock yet and they didn't know exactly when it'd arrive and that the automated system isn't always accurate. I decided to book a vaccine appointment further out and then called back again the day before my appointment to double check, and fortunately they did have Novavax in stock and the pharmacist told me to make sure that when I check in at the pharmacy counter, I ask to have Novavax specifically, or else by default they would use Pfizer. The pharmacist was also quite timely and generally called me back within an hour of me leaving a voicemail each time. When I got there 30 mins early for my appointment, the wait was short (it was a weekday afternoon) for the vaccine check-in line. I was pleasantly surprised that the pharmacist remembered me when I checked in and recalled that I had talked to them over the phone and that I wanted Novavax. No inappropriate questioning about whether/how I was immunocompromised which I've encountered at other CVS locations in the east bay. They had at least 4 chairs in the waiting area and I didn't find it too noisy or overstimulating, which is what I typically encounter at local CVS and Walgreens pharmacies that are high traffic. It was very quick and I just had to wait no more than 5 minutes to get my actual vaccination, which happened in one of the little cubicles/booths (has an open ceiling) that they have for vaccinations. A different pharmacist was the one who administered my vaccine but they were efficient and let me know I just needed to wait at the pharmacy for 15 minutes in case of adverse side effects and then I was free to go. Both the pharmacists I interacted with were wearing surgical masks which I appreciate given the current COVID surge. It was a very smooth experience getting vaccination here and I appreciate how the pharmacist was courteous and timely in returning my calls and remembered who I was since I imagine they talk to many different people. It was a good enough experience that I'd seriously consider coming here for any further vaccinations even though this isn't the closest CVS to where I live. read more

Everything is locked up and the skeleton crew staff doesn't have time/doesn't care to let you look at what you are buying. What should be a simple fifteen minute trip turns into an errand that takes two to three times what it should. Honestly I just left, there's no point in overpaying on a partial errand if I'm going to have to shop around anyways. read more

This is the face of a respectable 58 year old woman who just shat her pants in CVS. She was waiting for a prescription to be filled, and after 10 minutes, had a dire emergency. She walked calmly to the pharmacist who was filling her prescription and whispered "Can I really not use your restroom? It's an emergency. " After being told "We have no public restroom" this brave soldier attempted to run to her car and did not make it. As the blitzkrieg raged, she received a text from the pharmacy saying "Your prescription is ready." She henceforth shall be taking her business elsewhere. P.S. Be prepared to call for Customer Service if you need some TP after you poop your pants in the store read more

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Small parking lot. I got super lucky someone left right as I pulled into the parking lot, and I was able to snatch up their spot. Service is super slow. Had to get medications and pain relievers among other items, and had to press the service button more than once in each aisle. Even a lady who came in with her dog went in line to the pharmacy (and believe me, there was a LINE), and when she was done and turned to leave, she saw me and remarked, "omg, still waiting???? Gosh!" Needless to say, I've been at better CVS spots. read more

Staff is rude and unfriendly. Horrible stock selection. Half the store is locked up so more of a hassle to shop since they have to pull everything from the cabinets for you and bring to the register. Long lines. Very limited parking. High prices. And again...very rude employees. I am willing to pay more for good friendly service. But take good service out of the equation (which CVS has done quite successfully). Thought I would give them another shot after many years, but seems as though the store is worse than ever. I hate supporting Amazon but experiences like this turn me to online shopping for my basics. read more

Man. This place makes me feel unwanted. They are so distrustful of their customers that it is a pain in the neck to buy anything. Never going here again. What a waste of valuable downtown real estate. Went down there. No baskets. No problem, I'll grab a cart. Where are the carts? Locked up. Gotta ask for one. Where's all the stuff? Locked up. Gotta flag someone down. read more

Don't even bother. Everything is locked behind glass and they ignore it when you push the button for help. Unless you're ready to spend upwards of 20mins to purchase 1 small item, go elsewhere. read more

Don't come if you don't have to. Slow and everything requires a person to unlock the item. Including water. I come here if there's no other options. After today, even less. read more

I placed an online order for photo printouts and came here to pick them up. When I got to the counter, I showed the lady my email confirmation with the order number, and her response was "We don't do it by order number. What size are your photos?" Excuse me, what?? Why would customers remember the photo dimensions and how would you be able to tell which photos are mine based off standard photo sizes? Only then, did she ask for my name. She found my order in a bin full of other orders, and of course my name and order number were at the top. I'm sure there are much more qualified and hardworking individuals out there who deserve this job more than that incompetent woman smh. read more

Is it just me or are all the CVS stores over-priced and under-staffed. I've tried 3 different location in 3 different cities over the last 3 months and they were all the same. read more

Great experience getting photos with lots of assistance and help from the employees there especially Van. The extra attention was very helpful. Excellent service and recommend it :) read more

Shut this place down. I am a proud carepass member and this is the worst CVS in the United States. Everything is locked up, and they are understaffed so there is no assistance to open the gates to the sensodyne. If you're gonna lock up everything, you should have staff on hand to open the locked up items. I saw 5 people give up and walk out. I'm writing this review in line, about 15 people in line. Tragic experience, will remain carepass holder but not returning to this location. read more

These people are rude and don't want to help you. I'm moving my prescription back to Walgreens. Good riddance.

CVS is always a terrible experience but this location takes the cake. Literally EVERYTHING is locked up. The policy is inconsistent and stupid- you lock the sodas in the main cooler in the back but the one up front is unlocked? Most candy is locked except for the entire endcap, so obviously they're not that worried about theft, it's just stupid corporate policies. You're stuck waiting for literally every single thing while the poor staff run around because you don't staff the store enough to keep up. By the way while all this is happening the manager is walking around seemingly doing nothing to help. read more

Although parking is hard, this is a super cool CVS and the customer service is great. I didn't have my receipt and needed to return an item that I bought in SoCal. I was given a credit gift card with no problem. Great job! read more

CVS Pharmacy - Drugstores Near Me - Alameda, California

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This store is my favorite- Great deals, clean atmosphere and friendly service! The only thing I dislike is that a lot of there products are enclosed due to thieves which makes it hard to shop for customers, because you have to wait for an employee to open the sliding door (the good guys suffer because of the bad guys) but its understandable, i mean what store wants to have a loss of products? Hopefully our society improves. Because this store is a diamond in the rough. I would definitely still recommend for anyone to shop here! read more

A SHITHOLE. No shopping carts or baskets. You have to walk around and gather up your purchases and carry them around in your arms. Extremely limited, sparse inventory on the shelves, and most of it is under lock and key. So you have to summon a staff member to open up nearly every cabinet to get your toothpaste, deodorant, you name it. And given the chronic understaffing at the store, you could be waiting quite a while for some hapless employee to come and unlock your precious groceries. After tonight, I made up my mind never to return to this store. From now on, I will be shopping at Nob Hill or Safeway or Lucky. I recommend that you do the same. read more

Over priced and only dumbasses work there. I tried to exchange a bag of chip for a dif flavor that I bought one 2 mins beforehand. He tells me he can't and that he has to refund it and it should go to my account in 10 mins, annoying but whatever. Then this dumbass tell me it could actually take up to a week and he could have just exchanged it. Left without the thing I even came in there for thanks to his incompetence. Train you staff better and a bag of chips should not cost 10 dollars tf. read more

I'm getting really sick and f@cking tired of the service I receive when ordering photos!! I get a text and e-mails saying my order is ready. When I get to CVS either my photos are not ready or in today's case my order couldn't even be found. I already paid for the photos!! I'm a loyal 10+ year customer. I'm truly upset that Ipaid for photos ans did not receive them. The order number I did not receive is in the photo listed below read more

CVS Pharmacy - The e-mail saying my order is ready. - Drugstores Near Me - Alameda, California

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This CVS doesn't have shit compared to all of the other CVS's I've ever been to in my life and also the line was incredibly long - always at least ten people in line and no self checkout. Go to any other CVS!!! read more

Pharmacy line is always backed up and it doesn't seem to matter if you do their "express pick up" someone still points you to the back of the regular pick up line. Tech staff are rude and unprofessional. Several times I have had to stand there and wait for them to stop playing with each other and notice that a customer is in line. They are mostly super young and immature. The pharmacists however are the only redeeming part of using this location; they are very helpful, polite and professional. The only reason I use this location is because the pharmacy is open later. Also, they can't hear past their COVID shield. You have to practically yell your name, birthday and sometimes what the med is for is super frustrating and could be viewed as a HIPPA issue. read more

I would like to Thank CVS Phamacy Staff for taking good care of us!!! Answering the telephone - always kind and professional!!! And a huge thank you for sending our 2023 total by mail!!! Wendy&Mario Mariani read more

What we say about the CVS Drugstore on Santa Clara in Alameda? Well, I like it better than the CVS in Marina Village. It only has a single row of aisles, so you can get to the coolers faster. I usually like to visit and see what's on sale. On Saturday, there were no hand sanitizers or paper goods. Otherwise, they had plenty of everything else. A sign on the door encouraged customers to wear masks. Staff was friendly and attentive. Free parking in their lot. On this day, plenty of parking everywhere! (This review was written during the Covid-19 health emergency) read more

CVS Pharmacy - Santa Clara x Oak St, Alameda - Drugstores Near Me - Alameda, California

As a retail supervisor at this location, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience of having to push a button and waiting for one of our representatives to help you with your daily tasks. We do the best we can to reach you within a reasonable amount of time. There are times when the lines could be longer than expected or even the wait time as we tend to help our customers as the calls come in. In regards to photo pick up the reason for us asking for the size it's to determine in which section we have your order in order for us to reduce the amount of wait time it would take for you to receive your photos. What doesn't help, would be when we as customer service representatives do our part to try and help our customers and we receive entitled behavior when we are only trying our best to help you with your needs and wants. We are understaffed at times but hope that with your help we can increase the amount of staff we have in order to better serve you. My sincere apologies to everyone and hope that we can provide you with a rewarding shopping experience. Thank you for your understanding. read more

GHETTO for Alameda. Extremely disappointed. The manager of this CVS is extremely unprofessional. I have went in there before to retrieve medicine for a bad cold I had this year and wasn't ID. I'm 20 mind you. She was extremely rude and raised her voice at me because I only had a photo of my ID. Then she talked about me in her native language to her coworkers and I knew she was because she was looking at me then turning to her coworker. I wish I knew CVS HR phone number to get this woman fired. It's thanksgiving for gods sake. Sucks for her to be working today, she shouldn't take it out on customers for her sad depressing life. I could go off on her because not only is she ugly on the inside but she ugly on the outside. But I choose peace today. Anyways, would not recommend going here. read more

This place now has everything locked up even the candy and coffee is locked. Locking up food is ridiculous. Lock only things that's over $15 not something that is $3. read more

I get very good service at the Pharmacy and the store. I get all of my of my medical supplies here and I find all the staff very helpful. This is my go to CVS store and I appreciate all of them. read more

My pcp approved a perscrition on a Wednesday. CVS did I not fill it until I called them 2 days later! They just didn't . No reason? !? This is not the first time this has happened. It is the 4th. read more

They have a great pharmacy team. I came a minute before closing and they accommodated me without making me feel rushed. They answer my multiple questions thoroughly and in detail. Thumbs way up! read more

I was in Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda CA on Sept 20 2024 trying to buy a product that was locked due to shoplifters. I rang for help to open the cabinet and waited for 15 min by the clock with no response. I rang for help at least 10 times during that time and no one came. Meanwhile a shoplifter was filling a very large bag with products. The entitleness of the guy amused me, so I kept an eye on him until he passed by the two cashiers and went out the door with the bag loaded in his right hand and a large box with an electrical appliance on his left hand. The cashiers just looked at him and did nothing. When I got tired of waiting I complained to the manager about my wait time and she just said "there are just two of us". To CVS: how strained your employees are is none of the customers' business. It's a management issue you need to take care of. The shoplifter had a much better shopping experience than I had, and you lost his business and mine. How does this make business sense to you??? read more

I wish I could leave zero stars. Regular, long-time pharmacy customer at this CVS and tonight, after waiting on hold for over 30 minutes regarding a prescription I needed tonight, I walked into this CVS while still on hold with them. I was then told that the pharmacist 'chose' to not fill the prescription because she wouldn't be able to complete other closing tasks. Too bad she didn't fill it when it was sent in, 40 minutes earlier. I am disabled and have limited mobility and would not have physically gone to this stupid CVS to get my prescription, had they answered the phone at all during this interval to state the prescription wouldn't be ready until tomorrow. Terrible customer service and people. Shame on you. This is discriminatory. read more

The hours online said 11pm and the store was locked at 9:51pm with customers still shopping. They need more cashiers and to adhere to the hpurs posted. read more

I have been a customer at the Santa Clara Avenue CVS Pharmacy for 15 years. CVS is conveniently located about half-way in between Alameda Free Library, and Peet's Coffee. The pharmacy is always clean inside, and there are always parking spots available in front of the store. The decor inside changes slightly over the course of the year, depending on whether it is Valentine's Day, Halloween, or Christmas. PHARMACY COUNTER. The pharmacy counter is located at the southwest corner of CVS and, at the opposite corner, is the area for women's make-up. In all my years at CVS, I never encountered a long line. For the convenience of customers, a row of several chairs is situated in front of the pharmacy counter. My favorite pharmacist is named, Dimple. How could anyone resist liking a person with this name? Once I told her that I published a pharmacology book called, FDA's Drug Review Process, Elsevier Press. On my next visit she reminded me that I am the author of this book, which created a happy moment for me. At an earlier time, my favorite pharmacy technician was Michael Torigan. Before getting pharmacy training, he published a book called, Every Factory a Fortress. It is about politics in France. We used to do the happy chit-chat thing about our careers. SHOPPING. My shopping experiences have always been positive, and my shopping list is predictable: (1) At CVS pharmacy, every three months I pick up a bottle of pills containing an inhibitor of beta-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA reductase. These pills are almost free for me, because I have insurance. This type of inhibitor is described in my book, Nutritional Biochemistry, 2nd ed., Elsevier Press (pages 368-370). (2) Once every few of years, I buy a pair of inexpensive glasses for reading. Sometimes one of the fold-out part of the frame breaks off from the glasses, and so I repair it with epoxy, but eventually it always breaks off again. When that happens, it is time to buy another pair of glasses. CVS provides glasses at various different magnifications. Also, from CVS I buy things like shoe laces, men's shampoo, envelopes, birthday cards, and Cheerios. (3) Guilty pleasures. Yes, I admit that once or twice a year, I become enchanted by the variety of candies in the candy aisle at CVS, and wind up buying a bag of TROLLI candies, or gummy peach rings, or red licorice, or gourmet chocolate. (4) Blank audio compact discs. Every ten years, I buy a pack of 50 blank compact discs. I use these for burning compilations of music. My compilations include, New Wave rock'n'roll, psychedelic rock'n'roll, power ballads-style rock'n'roll, Motown, country and western music, classical music, and jazz (jazz such as, Sonny Stitt, Anthony Braxton, McCoy Tyner, John Ellis' Double Wide, and Gary Burton's Duster). On every disc, I make an enamel painting, usually with an unusual paisley design, and sometimes with a realistic portrait of Joni Mitchell, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, James Brown (Soul Brother No. 1), Franz Liszt, Piotr Tschaikovsky, or John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service. read more

They were OK for a while but now they're back to pandemonium and endless lines. Any recommendations for a decent pharmacy.

I came in today to get some photos developed... the lady was rude and did not greet me, instead she stared me down. I greeted her and said "hello, how are you?". She acted like she really don't want to be there and hated her job. The only person that was nice was the senior Caucasian women. This CVS went downhill. read more

Is there a corporate number for CVS pharmacy ? They literally hired kids from the street to work here . No manners , the kid in the picture is rude . I walked by and saw him just messing around with other kids working behind the counter . The Indian pharmacist is supposed to be the grown up but she's just as bad . She joins him in messing around . This place is so unprofessional, I would love to call to report all of them so If you have a number let me know . read more

CVS Pharmacy - Drugstores Near Me - Alameda, California

Super rude cashiers, no concern for customers. Every time I come in the experience isn't pleasant. We are never greeted our made to feel welcomed. read more

If I could give them negative stars I would. CVS in general is not a great pharmacy, but the service at this location is by far the absolute worst. They will do literally nothing to get your prescription filled other than check your insurance and take your money. They won't call your doctor to request a refill and they won't tell you when a pre-authorization is required, they'll just sit on your prescription with no communication or action whatsoever. They wouldn't even tell me what was included in my insurance formulary for AN INHALER. That's hardly a schedule 1 drug you'd think a pharmacist would know what the generic is for Albuterol. At that point, why even have a staff or a pharmacist, just put in a Pyxis so at least if I'm doing all the work to get my prescription filled anyway, I don't have to put up with the horrible service. read more

Very run down CVS with rude staff. Pharmacy is understaffed and closes daily between 1:30p and 2:15p even if you're waiting in line. Absolute worst!! read more

Lost prescriptions, seems like everyone in there is running around with their head cut off. Had to switch a script from another pharmacy and that was as if I had asked them to solve the bay areas homeless problem with a $100 dollar budget. read more