As CVS's go, this one is pretty bad (and I am not a fan of CVS in general). Reasons I hate walking into this CVS: 1) Slow lines 2) Self-checkout almost never works correctly and requires waiting for incompetent staff to override the system. 3) Prices are never the same as they're marked. I am charged, on average $2 more at checkout than what he price is marked at . I never get the purported sales price despite using my CVS card (and don't even get me started on how much I hate clubcards). I could make a stink about this at the register, but usually there are people behind me and I don't feel like wasting their time because they've been waiting so long (because, as mentioned above, the staff is so slow and the self-checkout machines always malfunction), so I grit my teeth and swear to never shop there again. I usually keep this promise for a month of so (despite living less than 5 minutes away) until the next time I need 1 item so I stop in, grab the sales item, and then get overcharged and the cycle starts again. 4) Not really their fault, but some of the customers that shop here are beyond obnoxious. I've been bumped into without an apology, yelled at (when a clerk chose to give me service and apparently another customer who'd been waiting in a different line felt slighted - although I'm not sure why he took out his anger on me and not on the clerk). I don't know why the clientele here is of such low caliber when the rest of Takoma Park is generally laid back and friendly. I can only conjecture that the smart people won't shop at this CVS for the above-mentioned reasons, thus the shoppers here are generally stupid and/or lazy people who dont know enough to shop elsewhere. Until the next time I convince myself to give this CVS another chance... read more

This CVS needs an overhaul. They rarely have what I need when I come here. The drive thru pharmacy is usually very slow and it's not much faster inside. Bring patience and expect to visit another CVS because you won't find what you need....it's been this way for years. You would think they would get it together given the fact that the neighborhood is changing. read more

Oh. My. GOSH! That's how I felt as I waited in line for my pack of gum and Dawn to be rung up. I don't know why but this CVS is ridiculously slow.... every time. But if you have the patience of the Dalai Lama and don't mind wasting time while Cecil (...I don't know if that's the man's name, but it should be) takes 25min to pull a pack of cigarettes from the wall for the person in front of you... this is the CVS for you. read more

It's hard to imagine that service at this CVS could have gotten worse from its already bottom of the barrel spot but apparently I was wrong. The service behind the pharmacy counter is at best rude; but, better descriptors include rudely dismissive, uninformed, uncaring, lazy, slow, slovenly, and error prone. These people should have to stand in their own line to experience being ignored and mumbled at and shrugged at. But, it's so convenient so they have going for them. Also... they don't have common drugs in stock and have no idea when they might be in stock. Terrific. read more

First time in the store in a long time. Just walked out after trying to scan my purchases at two different self-checkout stations, each time getting a "help is on the way" siren for some unknown reason, which was ignored by the one employee I saw in the store. Finally gave up. Will revert to just buying online from someone else and avoiding the aggravation. read more

THROW THE WHOLE PHARMACY AWAY MAKE IT CVS SNACKS that's all they're good for . Like most people who call I was on hold for about 20 minutes until I'd had it and was willing to speak to anyone who would at least answer the phone to figure out if there was anyone working back there . The woman who ( was pretty nice ) answered anproceeded to tell me it's their peak time of the month and that they were pretty backed up. While this is understandable it seems like everyday they're open is peak for them considering this isn't the first time I've been on hold for an extended period of time or just plain hung up on . This pharmacy has always been kind of bad but it seems to have only gotten worse since the area changed . If you're a patient person and aren't in a rush then this is the pharmacy for you. You're better off at Wal-Mart . read more

Honestly, I've had to deal with this pharmacy for over a decade, and I cannot express how awful it is. Everytime I try to change, my insurance seems to pull me back in, but I would go out of my way to avoid this location. They have gotten medications wrong (including one for my baby), given me incorrect dosages, failed to communicate with my doctors, and have some of the worst customer service imaginable (I have been yelled at repeatedly, and ALWAYS know to give myself at least an hour to wait in line). Terrible, no good, very bad pharmacy. read more

Horrible service. They will say whatever to get rid of you - never answer phones. They just don't care. Incompetent, unprofessional and unfriendly. read more

Every time my doctor submits a prescription this pharmacy has no record of it. It usually takes several tries. Yesterday the doctor submitted two at the same time, one to Express-Scripts and the other to CVS. I received a notice immediately from Express-Scripts that they were processing the order; two attempts and one day later CVS says they don't see she order. I'm going to find a new pharmacy further away to save myself and my physician this aggravation. read more

It's a shame we can't give this Pharmacy zero stars. I was transferring subscriptions to a new pharmacy, and the new pharmacy basically said this CVS was completely non-responsive to all of their calls. I suppose that if you don't return calls when people are trying to change pharmacies, then you get to keep your customers because they can't leave. Do yourself a favor - go someplace else. read more

They will have what you are looking for, but don't expect customer service EVER! Get in and get out... Oh and the self check out always messes up. I paid with my card, it processed but didn't give me a receipt. They told me I needed to re-ring my items and pay again smh. Yeah right! I have been to better, but if it's close then knock yourself out ;-) read more

This CVS store seems to carry less and less useful drugstore merchandise -- and good luck if you need help finding a specific item. This store has eliminated most of its human cashiers, forcing all customers to use the automated checkouts. A token employee stands up front to keep an eye on the checkouts and help with the numerous automated purchases that go awry. The two employees who are usually on duty at a given time are polite, but there are too few of them to help find items in the store aisles. And they clearly are under orders to avoid staffing the human checkout counters. Meanwhile, the lines of people waiting for an available automated checkout are typically a couple of minutes long; one or two checkout machines are usually out of order. Simple matters like buying shaver cartridge refills from the locked display are a hassle, due to the short-staffing. And many useful items aren't sold here at all. If you're shopping for common drugstore items such as Alli or Lamisil, don't shop here. The bandage selection also is limited. And if you seek decent lightbulbs, scissors, or flashlights, you'll be disappointed by this store's selection; shop instead at the nearby Ace Hardware store. What this store does have -- too much of, perhaps -- is junk food: the same junk food that is available at the nearby 7-Eleven. I used to be a big fan of CVS, but in its effort to automate and compete against minimarts, the chain seems to be selling its soul as a full-service drugstore. No, this CVS isn't terrible. I shop here frequently because I live a few blocks away and the store sells the basics. The store employees do their best under the circumstances. But Walgreen's and RiteAid offer more true drugstore products and faster, better service. I find myself looking for ways to reorganize my errands so that I can swing by other drugstores instead. This CVS could and should be much better than it is. read more

My of my what's up with the low reviews? Maybe others haven't been to the CVS in Columbia Heights or the ones near SS Metro. I personally think this is the best CVS near downtown Silver Spring. Let me represent for my fav CVS right now... Lemme just say I drive an extra 5 minutes to this place just because its soooo easy for me to get in and out of the store. 1) Parking!!!!! Never have to work about pulling up & running in and out of the store. 2) Drive-Thru Pharmacy- many its because Im from the north but the drive thrus are a way of life that doesn't seem to be existent in the DC Metro area 3) Pharmacy Service- The guys at this pharmacy are so sweet.Whether at the counter or in the drive-thru, they are always polite, ask to scan my CVS card, give coupons and make sure I don't have any questions. 3) Check-out- Okay yes, like other reviewers said, there's a lot of self service checkouts BUT every time I am there a CVS employee is there to help. A few times they scanned my items at the self-serve. IF that's not service, I have no idea what is. For the record, there are traditional cashiers as well 4) Shelves are always STOCKED! I've never not been able to pick up what I am looking for and they have a good variety of products. 5) No riff-raff---at other CVS locations near me they are always PACKED. There's always a line. And of course there's always some kind of outlandish conversation going on between other customers that I can hear the next aisle over. While I've never spent more than 5 minutes in this particular CVS I chalk that up to good organization and fully stocked shelves. No complaints from me about this place. read more

I'm usually a fan of the pharmacy at CVS, but this one is the worst. Every time I pick up a prescription, the wait is unbelievable. Choose another location if you can. read more

I've had one good experience at the pharmacy with a very professional and helpful pharmacist who had my prescription ready, but even that was after a long wait. Most often they've lost the prescription or have no record of it. They let the phone ring forever before answering it, even if there are three people working and no one is talking with a customer. The overall attitude of "please go away". If you just need to stop in and by something at a drug store other on the way home, have no interaction with the pharmacy, and are fine with using the self-check out, it's good. read more

CVS should be ashamed as not having enough help there. The people are overworked and as a result it impacts your health care. Trying to get information correctly with cost, pick up time, transfer Rx....is awful. They even hung up on my Dr. when he called about my Rx. I will always avoid this pharmacy. read more

This place is so bad. Avoid it if you can. Have had the same experience as other reviewers. Picked up prescriptions only to realize that I was given the wrong medications. Have called to confirm prescriptions were ready only to get there and be told it hasn't been filled yet. Have gone in circles between the drop off and pick up counters. I really gave this place a fair shot but had to stop going altogether. Even if I have to drive clear across town it's still faster to go anywhere else but here. read more

I was crossing town and thought I could kill some time and get a prescription filled; I see now from the poor reviews left by other users that this was a major error. I stopped in before 10 and was told it would take an hour, so I left and returned to find that not only had the prescription not been filled, but that they were having trouble finding it. Eventually they found it and filled it just before noon, but sitting in the dismal ambiance of what would be generously called a third-rate pharmacy was hardly pleasant. Two stars because it was my fault for going in without checking Yelp first; lesson learned. read more

A Handy Guide to Dealing with the Carroll Ave. CVS Pharmacy Step 1: Dig a hole 10 to 15 feet deep. Drop in any and all expectations you have for pharmacy customer service, accuracy, and basic job competence. Bury them -- these will be of no use to you here. Step 2: Gather up all the patience you possess -- ALL OF IT. Scour the couch cushions, ask friends if they have any extra they can lend you. You will need every last bit you can muster. Step 3 (optional): If you have access to any sedatives or tranquilizers, take 2. If you cannot take these medications because you have run out and are trying to get them refilled here, just give up. There is no hope for you, I'm afraid. Step 4: Go to pharmacy, wait approximately 35 minutes in line behind 2 people as one staff member works the counter while 3 or 4 mosey around catatonically in the background. Finally get to counter, give and spell your full name, wait as the technician spends 4 minutes searching for your prescription, shuffling through every bin except the one that corresponds to the first 3 letters of your last name -- you know, the ones you just spelled out for her. "Q-R-G, you said?" she will ask. "Uh, no. Anderson. A-N-D," you reply, letting the question of whether anyone in human history has ever had a last name that starts with "Qrg" just hang in the air like a stale fart. Step 5: After finally checking the correct bin, the tech will still be unable to find your prescription. She will then approach 2 other staff members, each of whom will be unable and/or unwilling to help. She will "check the computer," which will be equally evasive and unhelpful. After you've spent a grand total of 45 minutes waiting, it will become apparent that your prescription, dropped off nary 2 hours earlier (they said it would be about an hour, but you've been here before, so you knew to give it 2), has vanished, much like your will to live, which also was fully intact when you entered the pharmacy. Step 6: Stand there dumbfounded until your eyes happen to fall upon a spot on the counter a mere 3 feet away -- the exact spot, in fact, where another technician had placed your prescription so he could read it as he ostensibly keyed in the necessary information for it to be filled when you dropped it off a mere 120 minutes prior. Lo and behold, it is still sitting there. Step 7: Hang your head, defeated, as the technician shrugs in a cruel parody of an apology. She promises to put it in the computer right now. "It should be ready in about an hour," she intones flatly. "I think I'll just wait," you reply, as at this moment you'd rather take a long bath in sulfuric acid than have to do this dance again tonight. Wait 25 minutes until your name is called to the counter and the technician hands you your pre-packaged bottle of medicine plucked straight from the shelf. You'll want to cry, but resist this urge! It is well-established that the Work Ethic Poltergeist haunting this pharmacy feeds on misery and despair. Walk out trying to fathom how a world that has wrought such joy in the form of puppies and cotton candy also allows for the continued existence of this place, this nexus of soul-crushing incompetence and callous indifference. Peer out into the Takoma Park night, and notice that you actually feel a little lighter, but not in a good way. You sense a dull but penetrating feeling of emptiness and loss, like someone has just mugged your soul. Step 8: Repeat every 30 days or as needed, for all eternity. read more

Worst service ever. Absolutely criminal-- have given incorrect scrips multiple times, lost scrips, and are always slow and rude. Wish I could give zero stars. read more

If only there were an equivalent, but with decent service, that was as close to my house. I am speaking about the pharmacy part. Often there is a line to pick up your drugs. They are not fast or efficient. If you want to call in to talk to a pharmacist, my most recent wait was 11 minutes, 29 sec., and yours may be similar-- that's about par for the course. At least they have a drive-through so that's one way to pick up without having to go inside. I'd rather wait in my car. Ugh. Wish there were another pharmacy close by. read more

This review is for the pharmacy which is by far the worst I've ever used. 90% of the time the staff is rude and makes you feel like you are a total bother when you simply ask for your prescription. This is a serious job, you are in charge of medicine for sick people(!!) this isn't some obnoxious trendy new restaurant. I have given them multiple chances thinking we all have bad days and it is the most convenient location so maybe convenience has a price but not this high. I almost always have to return a 2nd or 3rd time to get my prescription so this last time I called ahead and they said it was ready. I go in 2 days later and they tell me they have nothing for me, turns out they put it back on the shelf so it's no longer "ready". Terrible service- zero stars. On the other hand, I have found the checkout clerks to be perfectly friendly--wish I could give them a separate rating! read more

everyone on the pharm staff here is disrespectful, unhappy, unfriendly, and gets the script wrong more often than not. They have 'forgotten" to put my insurance in more than once and usually get my dosage or count wrong. The actual pharmacist that is in charge of the pharmacy is a real pill and seems to think its hilarious when a costumed gets mad. If you say you'll come back for your order they don't even fill it and you end up waiting the next time you come in. I love Takoma park but this cvs is awful. read more

Awful. Just awful. Even with the low standard of service that we have all sadly come to expect from CVS, this pharmacy is even more disappointing. Bad service is about the only thing I've seen scale as CVS has grown. read more

Sooooo incredibly slow!! I ordered a prescription online and it was supposed to be ready at 1:00. I waited until 2:15.

DO NOT USE THIS PHARMACY. This is the fourth prescription of mine they've lost in the past couple months and somehow the service just gets worse. Today I left my doctors office after watching my doctor call an urgent prescription in for an emergency pick up. I arrived at CVS an hour and a half later, waited in line for over an hour, and had an incredibly rude pharmacist tell me there was nothing in the system for me. She then blatantly lied ro me and told me my doctor had not called it in and when I told her I had actually heard him call, she informed me that the pharmacist was on the phone checking voicemails and my prescription may have been called in and then just had not bothered listening to the voicemails to fill it. She then rudely yelled at us to leave and get back in line and told us the pharmacist was busy and we could not speak to him. She also let us know that the three people ahead of us in line had the same issue and we're going to the back of the line again as if that should make it okay. After waiting in line again for another hour, they still had not found the prescription and continued to insist it was not sent in although my doctor verified he had sent it in previously and even a second time. Rude, terrible service and this CVS might as well not even have a pharmacy for how poorly it functions. They don't answer phone lines for actual days, lose predictions, berate and yell at customers for CVS internal problems, and simply do not do their job! 0 stars!!! read more

I would give this location a rating of zero if it were possible. Some of the slowest, most incompetent customer service I have ever received in a store. read more

I started using this pharmacy for prescriptions about 5 years ago (after previously using the Giant on Arliss), and the first couple of years they were great--quick and convenient. However, the quality of service has plummeted in the past few years, and they have screwed up our prescriptions in ways you couldn't even imagine--our family has about 5 scripts a month, and they mess one up every couple of months, in addition to having become extremely slow, and routinely give out wrong information. read more

Uniformly bad experience with prescriptions. Not filled, lost from Doctor (even if transmitted electronically) filled incorrectly, drive thru closed, pharmacy closed (no pharmacist came to work). Nice people - just ineffective. Unfortunately the next closest CVS Pharmacy at 6514 GA avenue is only slightly better.... read more

When your hours of operation are 8AM - 10PM, and I arrive at 9:20 PM to pick up my antibiotics, and you tell me the registers are already closed for the night, don't expect anything but 1 star. read more

This is the worst cvs around. Do not go here unless you absolutely can't find another. Be sure to make sure they don't mix up your prescription. They are understaffed and overworked. read more

Worst pharmacy around! They are so slow and dismissive of their customers. Avoid.

The pharmacist Sirak is unprofessional and rude on numerous occasions. He yells out in front of other paying customers. Medications is not due when promised. The staff seems unmotivated. The actual store itself if ok. I complained to the store manager. read more

I now understand why this particular CVS has such low ratings. I recently moved and have been getting prescriptions at this location. Today I picked up what was supposed to be 60 capsules (I take 2/daily) and I just opened the package. Although the package and the label say they provided 60 capsules, there are in fact only 30! They gave me HALF of my prescription but lied on the label and charged me for 60. I have never seen anything like this. This is the very last time I will go to the pharmacy at this CVS location. Incompetent crooks! read more

I frequent this CVS location on my way home from work regularly. I've stopped in for a variety of things, from Tylenol to snacks. I can usually find what I am looking for here, if I can't there is usually a staff member to help me out. My only issue I ever had at this location is I wanted to pick up some money from the Money Gram and the machine was down for like a week, at least. This is the most convenient location for me so it was an inconvenience but most likely no fault of the store employees. The location is convenient and the employees are always very helpful, I will definitely be a repeat customer. read more

Went in looking for allergy medicine & I was out of luck but Rite Aide had it.

It has the average stuff you would expect in a chain pharmacy. There are only self-checkouts, discrete but annoying.

The only good thing about this place is the nice gentleman that works as the greeter in the front of the store. The pharmacy staff, is not only rude but have shown signs of incompetency at times. The pharmacists are over worked, as there is always only one working at a time and their staff (with the exception of one) is rude and shove solvable issues onto the pharmacist. There is one staff member in particular who should not be working with people in my opinion, because no matter how nice you are to her she always gives customers attitude. read more

Less than helpful. The clerk J___ reached in my wallet to grab a bill as I was gathering exact change. Just not professional.

When I first moved to Takoma, I was horrified by their bad service and transferred my prescriptions to another pharmacy. But, lately there has been a complete 180 for this place. I transferred my prescriptions back and for the past 4 months or so they have had stellar service. They haven't lost any of my requests, they have had my prescriptions on time, there is little wait and they are very accommodating. Bravo Takoma CVS. Way improved! read more