Lesson one: use Google Maps' Street View when trying to locate a new building, especially at rush hour. Don't come down Twelve Mile looking for a standalone CVS like I did or else you might end up looking for a non-existent building at rush hour. This particular one is tucked into a strip mall and only by grace of its sign lurking over a number of idling SUVs was I able to dodge into the middle lane. The parking lot is rather potholed too, and I think I might need a realignment after a bumpy ride.
For a CVS, the organization and cleanliness standards are above average. The makeup section is not missing large swathes of eyeshadow or overrun by the graffiti of aspiring artists using eyeliner as their chosen medium. Ubiquitous yellow sticky labels scream out the latest BOGO or 50% discount on certain items for all who dare wander their way to the back to visit the pharmacy.
I placed a prescription refill over the phone, and I was bemused and mildly approving of the pharmacist's brusque manner. She got the information without need for dithering, and then told me my scrip would be filled and ready in half an hour. The call took all of 75 seconds whereas I am used to repeating myself ad nauseum after being on hold for 10 minutes at the Ferndale CVS. Would that my work day schedule agreed with her perfunctory timetable, but I didn't get there until after work.
What immediately demoted the CVS down two stars was the unnecessarily long wait at the pick up counter. Once I got there, the friendly pharmacist (not the one I had on the phone) picked up my prescription and proceeded to stand in front of a computer terminal for several minutes. She took my insurance card and waited on the hamsters powering the waterwheels in sub-basement C to fire up the mainframe to search for information. I waited patiently. A line formed behind me; the brusque pharmacist started helping them until her coworker came back with my insurance card and promptly ignored me for a good 10 minutes. I tapped my toe. I checked out the tabloid magazines in the front. I stayed out of the way, feeling more awkward and tired by the minute. It's not like anything had to be measured or cleared through the Department of Homeland Security via attack squirrel ninjas who double as pharmacy security.
I think I was debating whether it was worth locking myself in the cooler and sobbing into a bottle of Faygo or trying to get a sugar high off of Redpop when the lady who had taken my order hours ago made eye contact and said, "Hey, check her out already."
The girl at the counter couldn't have forgotten me (I was standing right there, out of the line). She blinked, picked up my bag and rang me through like I hadn't been cooling my heels and falling prey to boredom. Yes, honey, you're working with medicine. That doesn't mean EAT it. I wasn't thrilled at all with the wait, and the real adjusted score should be 2.5 stars since, for some reason, the prescription was cheaper here than Ferndale.
But there's something to be said for getting things right off the bat, and I don't like waiting. read more
