Look, all chain pharmacies are rough on the customer service, especially these days. I get it; I'm not expecting a lot. But this particular Walgreens location is hands down THE WORST. I'm talking particularly about the Pharmacy (the people at the front register are doing their best and probably trying to compensate for the full on incompetence at the back of the store). The pharmacists are rude and combative, do not care about any information you might gave that would help them, and seem generally not interested in helping you get your meds in any way. As a result, the line is always long and slow. Over the years I have left many times without getting the Rx i cam in for. Also, the shelves are largely empty. What's on them is disorganized. The place is not clean. My advice, find a locally owned pharmacy, but at least avoid this Walgreens location. read more

Helpful clerks, I purchased some propane and I was helped immediately. Fun store with a lot of variety.

People have been giving this location terrible reviews so I thought I'd balance it out with a few thoughts. My original pharmacy was the Walgreens at 51st and Telegraph. But with the rampant car break-ins, a couple of armed robberies, and armed carjackings at that location, I refused to go there. So I switched to the Walgreens on Gilman in Berkeley. On a few visits (spaced months apart) the storefront was boarded up because someone rammed a car through the front doors to steal their ATM machine. But I kept going there until prescriptions started being delayed due to lack of pharmacists. Their phone recording stated that they weren't sure if/when the pharmacists would return. It wasn't just for a day or two, it was weeks. So I was forced to switch pharmacies once again. I have no idea if they even have pharmacists at that location anymore, to this day. Thankfully, I found the Adeline location, and they regularly have pharmacists. Yes, you always have to wait on line for 20-45 min, which sucks. The hours are short because, apparently, the pharmacists' union declared that there always needs to be a minimum number of pharmacists on duty because they've been held up at gunpoint too many times, and the minimum number is to assure their safety and peace of mind. We should not begrudge them that, it is not their fault. Why they can't hire more pharmacists is a bigger area-wide, societal question. Despite the long lines, every time I've spoken to a pharmacist in person or on the phone, they've all, always, been extremely patient, courteous, and thoughtfully answer all my questions. Which is kind of remarkable given how busy they are. Sure, people can write bad reviews. But I hope you'll all take a look at what's going on with all the pharmacies in the area before you bash this one. It's the best of what's left and I, for one, am grateful they're still hanging in there. read more

always super difficult to fill prescriptions here. have to call several times and argue with the pharmacist and they always rt something wrong read more

Went in to pick up my prescription this morning. Got there at 8am which was the time their pharmacy opened which was listed on their website, only to find out the pharmacy opens at 9am, which was posted up in the pharmacy dept. I decided to wait until 9am. 9am comes around nobody opens the pharmacy. Asked another employee out on the floor if the pharmacy going to open, she told me she doesn't know, pharmacy staff haven't arrived yet. All 3 Pharmacy employees didn't show up to open the pharmacy until 915am. Hispanic lady helped me at the window. I asked what time do they open and why they opened so late. Explained I'd been there since 8am waiting, so I was expecting them to promptly open at 9am. She unapologetically responds back with "Things happen, some employees were stuck in traffic." At the least, one of the pharmacy staff or the store manager of this store should have had the decency to have came out at some point to apologize to the 15 people that were waiting in line since before 9am for the pharmacy to open and to at least let us all know they were running late but would be opening soon. Store manager was present and never bothered to come out once. There were also people waiting for them to open because they had scheduled vaccinations at 830am and the pharmacy told them to be there at 815am. Why are they scheduling appointments that early if the pharmacy doesn't open until 9am?! Plus, when the lady tells them her scheduled appointment time was at 830am, the pharmacist that is helping her responds back nonchalantly with "Oh Really?" No apology or explanation at all. Every time I pickup prescriptions here there's always long lines with only one employee working one window. Or I've stood in line for an hour just for them to tell me my prescription isn't filled yet, and I have to wait more time, but I know for a fact that my Dr called it in the day before. They never answer their phones, and when they finally do your put on hold and then the system just hangs up on you because they never come back on the line. This has Happened to me literally 5-6 times in a day while trying to get through to check to see if my prescription is ready before I get there. Horrible customer service in this store, ESPECIALLY the pharmacy! They need to update pharmacy hours on their website, and train employees with professional standards and better customer service skills. read more

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They cut down the hours at the pharmacy and they are under staffed. So I'm standing in a line of more than ten people and the manager can't fix the problem. CVS might be easier next time! read more

HOW DO I DO NEGATIVE STARS??? I've been on hold for 3 years or 3 hours I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE. I've never ever written a yelp review but these people getting paid as pharmacists is a scam. I thought this was just during COVID when everyone was dealing with bs constantly. But now we're in the middle of 2023, there's no excuses to be short and rude with customers. It is YOUR responsibility to do your job (especially with respect if you're in public service). Just like it's my responsibility to be nice and serve the racist white ladies at my job. BE MAD AFTER YOUR HOURS. They will leave you on hold for hours AND they have the audacity to continue being rude in person DONT give ur business to this pharmacy. They will literally ruin your day. CAN WE PLEASE GET PHARMACA BACK??? enough with these big ass drug corporations read more

If you can find a staff to help you, congratulations! I wandered about trying to find some assistance. The pharmacy lines are long. The one person you can always rely on is the lovely lady in cosmetics! More than helpful and accommodating, her cheerful demeanor is accepted by me graciously. The only reason to give the store three stars! read more

The pharmacy here is so inefficient. There's always a long line. I'm currently twelfth in line! So frustrating. When the line is this long they should have two people working the register. read more

AVOID THIS WALGREENS. Woefully understaffed. At least an hour in line at pharmacy every time, then at least 50% of the time, your prescription is not ready or out of stock, despite multiple texts, calls, and emails saying it's ready for pickup. Partial refills are given most of the time, but the refill date isn't changed, so when you try to get the rest of the medication, you wind up paying out of pocket. There is a big sign out front saying free vaccines, but it turns out that's only if you have insurance- which is NOT free since it is being paid for y insurance companies. Despite making an appointment for your vaccine, you still have to wait in the hour long line with regular customers, only to sit and wait again for about 30 minutes to receive your shot. If you need to buy something locked up, don't bother hitting the call button. No one will come. Common household items are frequently out of stock, and if you find what you need, be prepared to wait in another long line. Photo orders are rarely done, and again, you'll wait for about 15 minutes at an empty counter before staff even notice you. read more

I was shocked to find out today that the pharmacy is now open only Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm (closed 1:30 - 2pm for lunch) and is CLOSED ALL DAY on Sat & Sun. They said that if I need weekend or evening pharmacy service I'll have to switch to the Walgreens at Telegraph and 51st St. Obviously, this isn't great for working people. I wonder if it's hard for Walgreens to find pharmacy staff to work nights for what they pay. Or maybe this Walgreens is moving toward closing entirely, like the now former San Pablo and Ashby store. Fortunately for me, I get most of my Rxs by mail. But for immediate need or short-term Rxs? Maybe time to look for another pharmacy. read more

The staff wants to overstep their bounds as pharmacists and play doctor. They second guessed my wife's prescriptions that she's been on for 30 years; and needs refilled in a timely fashion, and refused to fill her prescription submitted by a valid medical professional who has diagnosed and treated my wife since 2011 and who knows her condition and the need for her medications. Normally we've been going to the Walgreens in SF where there's never been a problem filling our prescriptions. However, this month our car is in the shop for repair, so it would mean taking the Bart and several busses to get to our regular pharmacy. Our clinic called in to the Adeline St. Walgreens this time as it would be a major hassle to go from Berkeley where we live to the City and back just to fill this month's prescriptions. When we called to check the status of our prescriptions; we were told that because of the nature of some of my wife's prescriptions, they would not fill them without a "plan of treatment" submitted by the clinic. That seems a bit like malpractice as they know nothing about my wife's condition and are refusing to fill an order from a legitimate medical practitioner without a written plan submitted to the pharmacist; which means delay in getting our medications, and we're already out of last months supply! If my wife has complications due to this delay, that would certainly be a case of malpractice and negligence on the part of the pharmacist. We've never encountered such an issue with any other pharmacy whether here in California, nor in Pennsylvania where my wife is from. Thumbs down on this Walgreens! read more

My neighborhood pharmacy for 20 years. I'm outta here. Outrageously bad pharmacy service and no inventory.

Use the pharmacy on a regular basis. There's almost always a line, but the personnel are helpful and efficient in the face of quite unnecessary hostility from entitled people picking up their prescriptions. read more

I have a question for any customer.anytime you purchase items from any walgreens the clerk ask you do you have a reward card or do you want to enter a phone number to get a discount.does anyone know the policy to claim your reward points from walgreens.do points accumulate each time you purchase something do you have to claim them in a time frame (annually).I was told yesterday the maximum amount you can claim on your points is 4$ .please inform me if this is the way it works .thanku and bless you !! read more

The pharmacy is understaffed, underwhelming, and incapable of handling basic human tasks like "explaining why they cancelled your prescription" or "answering the phone at least once an hour". I recently came down with COVID thanks to a POS anti-vaxxer using a fake vax card and despite living 5 minutes away, decided it would be a better idea to actually call in to take care of a prescription issue. Biggest mistake of my life. 2 hours of redialing, being put into a call queue, hung up on, and ignored. 2 hours of my life I could have been resting and fighting this godforsaken hell of a disease, and I wasted it stuck in a perpetual cycle of robocalls, as the minutes and my very existence drained away with every ticking second. Do you know how hard it is to sit waiting with almost no breath because your breathing is labored as someone answers "Walgreens." pauses long enough for you to inhale to say "Hi", and then says "Please hold" only to shove you back into the queue of which you are the ONLY caller because you have *no other choice*? I was eventually connected to the Walgreens internal pharmacy call center, and given a number to file a formal complaint. Great, that really helps me get my medication while I have COVID. Thanks. Pharmacy techs, just do us a favor and unplug the phone if you can't actually take a single person on the line. read more

Walgreens is using the pandemic to get lazy. What kind of store doesn't open until 8am? The working folks are already at work.

Do Not waste your time at this pharmacy. The staff are incompetent, rude, and impatient. The lines are endless and be prepared to wait over 30 minutes even with an appointment. This pharmacy needs to be evaluated by corporate management and the staff should be required to attend training courses in customer service. I would recommend restructuring the who pharmacy to improve inefficiencies and replace inadequate staff. read more

Understaffed pharmacy with short business hours causes lines up to 20+ people long. Staff and customers are both frustrated and over it. If you have the option to use the 24-hour Walgreens pharmacy in Temescal, go there instead. read more

Whyyyy is this pharmacy so bad? I cannot figure it out. The store itself is totally fine - clean, well stocked, no issues there. For whatever reason, things that take 5 minutes at other pharmacies take 30 minutes here. Administrative things on their end seem to move slowly, they don't communicate well with prescribers, it's nearly impossible to get a phone call answered by pharmacy staff, I've spent lifetimes waiting to pick up prescriptions, with lines growing behind me of poor elderly people withering away under interminable wait times... guess I'm glad I'm young and healthy and have Yelp for voicing my dissatisfaction because no one here is paying attention, that's for sure. read more

This place is a living version of hell. The pharmacy is always understaffed. No matter what time of day there will be a line out the back because only 1 of the several employees is willing to run the counter. It is extremely poorly managed, just filled with lifeless employees who are of zero use. read more

This Walgreens is huge and has parking. Story over. Located across from Berkeley Bowl, it's convenient, clean and has a ton of inventory on pretty much anything you'd need from a pharmacy/store plus some, as it also has some grocery items. The pharmacy portion wasn't the most helpful, but it was quick. I had a cold and wanted the good stuff. The pharma tech had no idea on what was good for my symptoms, hence why I walked away with a nasal decongestant when I have bronchial congestion. Go figure. They literally have everything from makeup to chips, to frozen food, to a ton of candy, toys, over the counter medicine, and so on. Did I mention that it's open late? Score. read more

Slowest Walgreens I have ever been to. Consistently. Most recent issue I had I was standing in the pharmacy line for 30 minutes after a doctor's appointment that revealed I had strep and I was hoping to pick up my antibiotics on my way home. The line grew from 5 people to 10 while I waited and when I got to the front of the line I was told that since my prescription wasn't ready I'd have to come back later because they were too backed up to fill them now. I said I could just wait, but she said it would be too long and to just come back later. When I said I was going out of town later, which I was as I had plans to meet my partner at their place and leave from there the next morning the tech scoffed at me and rolled her eyes and repeated to me to just come back later they were too busy. I don't have a car so this is a 20 minute walk to and from my place for this. Lo and behold as soon as I walked the 20 minutes home I got a call saying my prescription was ready for pickup. So extremely frustrating. read more

I don't expect amazing service when I walk into a Walgreens, but this particular Walgreens and most Walgreens in the Bay aarea have the absolute worst customer service. The middle aged bald man with the glasses working at this Walgreens was rude for no reason, not to mention Did not help me and he could care less when I walked out without being helped. Mind you, I was the only customer in the entire store at that time!! Save yourself some time and energy and don't shop here. read more

The store is falling apart. Most basic items now require assistance to unlock. The pharmacy is very slow, missing standard medications, and the pharmacist even insulted my wife for picking up a prescription late ("Do you not care about your child's health?" it was the soonest we could get it). I am not using this pharmacy again. read more

The pharmacy deserves zero stars. It's not the employees' fault. They are clearly understaffed. But it is so incredibly frustrating!!! They usually have one pharmacist and just one cashier. I waited an hour and 5 minutes. There were 9 people ahead of me. At least 2 in front of me stood in the line just to get to the window to find there rx was not ready- for one person- they didn't even have the meds in stock. When I left there were 18 in line. After decades of being open evenings and weekends, they now close at 6 and are not open weekends- so you have to take time from your work day to go stand in an insane line. I'm considering switching to mail rx service from evil Amazon. As far as the general store- they never have enough cashiers there either and if you need something from a locked cabinet good luck ever getting someone to help. read more

Worst experience ever. Every time I've been there, the store is low on most advertised items. Their employees are rude and some refuse to assist customers needing help finding items. I'm not blaming all of the employee's. Management at this store is the worst and needs to be re-organized and re-trained, on how to have a better working environment and how to treat customers and fellow employee with respect. read more

Things used to be better, but unfortunately in more recent months, it's been more and more frustrating. Pharmacists are curt and unhelpful on the phone and usually don't have the time or patience to offer any information or support before ending the call. I know there are many delays in receiving medications and so many forces beyond their control. But this time they just told me to find another pharmacy and deal with it. Unfortunately pharmacies throughout the area are dealing with shortages and restrictions on ADHD medication so there is only so much they can do. I will say that folks who work at the desk in the pharmacy are often extremely helpful and kind so I will often skip calling and come in for much more information. Leaving this information for others who may be in a similar situation. read more

This location is close to my work so it's usually my first store to go if I need something like fill a propane task. What I can say? Its extremely terrible customer service! Slow, unfriendly, unreasonably long time to wait.. it's a suggestion for a higher management just to review this location operation. read more

This place is bad. Dirty and poorly managed. Expect a long wait to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy. Go anywhere else if you can.

Pros: - Staff here is helpful and nice - Likes are short - Has more inventory than most other locations - Open late! Cons: - Parking lot is small and shared with other businesses around which sucks when busy - This particular location is rather large which makes it impossible to find a staff person - There is no one ever at the photo place - Inventory here is low read more

Have been calling this location to speak to a pharmacist for 2 hours. They answer, just to hang up on me? They repeatedly did this- 3 times to be exact. read more

The product I wanted wasn't on the shelf - the tag was there - it was even on sale. The manager looked it up and saw that it was at the warehouse and suggested I call the next day. She gave me her name and number. Next chance I had, Monday, I called. She said call back in 5 minutes. I did. She said we have lots of melatonin. I said yes, but I need the liquid one. There's only one liquid one. She said yes they had it. I get to the store minutes later and there's none on the shelf. I ask her and she goes to look for it in the back. Comes back, nope. So she or whoever I talked to on the phone lied to me. And she said she went above and beyond going in the back to look for the product she told me she had in stock. People are so inept. read more

they did not process my western union amazon order. i called the manager she says they don't have western union or do amazon orders. i have the receipt for it and code it says western union right on it, and amazon after many calls, confirmed the store did not process the order. this place is customer service fail. shut it down. Don't go here! you been warned. Went to get refund talked to 3 people, finally manager says you have to call western Union, I get a t mobile number then the correct number, western says we put in your refund request call us back in 72 hours to see if it's accepted. How about just give me my money back I have the receipt. Don't use western Union here. read more

Slowest pharmacy I've ever been to. Expect to wait 20-40minutes for each person in front of you. Teligraph location im in and out in 15 minutes. Except 1-2 hours here for an RX refilled read more

This is one business where yelp needs to create a special rating of zero stars! I just waited over 45 minutes in line at the pharmacy. Plus a few of the things I wanted to buy outside the pharmacy were under lock and key and good luck getting someone to help you there. You suck Walgreens, Never Again will I give ANY Walgreens any money! read more

Walgreens here is huge, has lots of items, (didn't see alcohol), merchandise pricey. parking lot is small, monitored by security guard who watches for those people who park here and try to shop at Berkeley Bowl across the street. wouldn't make this spot a destination since the lot is full all the time. buys: amazon green tea(.99) -no cal (actually as bad for me as the frutose one). drips: -smiling checkout, 2 cashiers available. -flu shots available, no appointment necessary. (may return for this). read more

I only come to this Walgreens when it's after 8 pm. That's because the Walgreens that's within walking distance to my apartment closes at 8 pm! AND This one saves me from having to go to the one down on Telegraph that's usually surrounded by people who harass me late at night. And I don't know, this place does a great job at putting all their briefly nifty little products up front making it easier for me to make impulse buys. read more

Filled out a claim for pharmaceutical malpractice as the pharmacist decided to take a personal call while gathering personal and pharmaceutical information. Stay away from this location at all costs as the pharmacy is a continued joke with long lines and issues with every prescription you could ever want filled read more

Avoid this store! Awful customer service, disorganized pharmacy and completely disengaged staff. Walgreens closed the wrong store!