I am not typically inclined to writing negative reviews, but unfortunately, I had an interaction…read morewith the pharmacist of this location that was downright disrespectful.
Having taken a controlled substance since I was 16, I am no stranger to the red tape associated with my medication. After a handful of bad experiences with pharmacies in my neighborhood -- I'm talking medication delayed for weeks with little to no communication from the pharmacy -- I decided that making a short hike down to South BK would be worth the peace of mind for timely refills. My psychiatrist agreed, and I proceeded to get my medication from this pharmacy every month for the next year and a half with zero issues. If you had asked me just a month ago about my experience at this location, I would have emphatically recommended them: they were organized, helpful, friendly, and almost always had my meds in stock (with the exception of one time, during which there was a nationwide shortage). Unfortunately, that all changed today.
When I texted the Walgreens number to get an RX status update, the automated response said that there were no med orders in the system for me. Weird, because the text above confirmed that they had received the script from my psychiatrist two weeks prior. I called the pharmacy to clarify what had happened, and the pharmacist told me that I lived too far away to refill the controlled substance, and that my location raised red flags for her. According to her, company policy prohibited her from refilling controlled substances for those outside of a 10-mile radius. There seemed to be some confusion about where I lived -- part of this was a technical fluke, as I still have my childhood address attached to my Walgreens account, and have not been able to modify it -- so I voiced that my correct address was in Brooklyn, not upstate NY, and that I actually lived 5 miles away. The pharmacist responded -- and I quote -- by saying that she "didn't want to talk about how many inches, feet, miles, or whatever," but that I simply lived "too far" and explicitly stated that I should no longer call that pharmacy location. Despite my frustration, I began to calmly ask what policy had changed -- I was genuinely curious to know, as this was all news to me -- and the pharmacist cut me off to restate her company's policy at least two times and to exasperatedly scoff at me for "travelling through half of Brooklyn" (another direct quote) to get my medication that I need. I have no doubt that her job is stressful, and I know that the closure of another pharmacy in the neighborhood has caused strain on this one, but I don't believe that the right way to treat anyone who is confused -- whether friend, family member, customer, or even stranger -- is with disdain and bad faith, especially when something as urgent as a necessary medication is on the line. Fortunately, I was raised to treat others with compassion, so I calmly responded by affirming that I was not questioning her nor company policy, but simply wondering what had changed -- not only had there been zero communication about this, but I had also been successfully obtaining prescriptions from this pharmacy for at least 18 months. She told me that the previous pharmacist was "less diligent" than she was, and that she doesn't want to raise any eyebrows were the FDA to see that she had authorized a refill for me. This part is actually fine -- we are all just trying to do our jobs and do them well, right? -- but to have to sit through half an hour of unhelpful information delivered in a disrespectful and borderline insulting manner is simply not acceptable.
It is probably a blessing in disguise that I cannot get my medication here as I no longer have to bear the personal gripes of this pharmacist. That said, I worry for the customers who may also need urgent refills and suddenly may not be able to get them despite receiving no communication about these updates. All in all, if you live more than a 30-minute train ride away from this pharmacy location, BEWARE -- and consider looking into another location. What was once reliable may be changed at the drop of a hat, and without keeping you in the loop.