I wish I had read the reviews for this Walgreens before I tried to use them to get a COVID test for my international trip. You have to have a COVID test 72 hours before an international flight. I scheduled an appointment with Walgreens on Sept 5th and was counting on getting the results back in time for my Sept 8th flight as a buddy had done the same thing the month before and received results back in 48 hours.
I started looking for results after 48 hours, I phoned Walgreens and was told by the apathetic worker there that it was out of their hands once the test was given as it was sent to a lab. And I had to reach out to the lab. Silly me. I thought Walgreens was responsible for administering the test and communicating the results when in reality, Walgreens sends COVID tests from California to a lab in Tennessee. The lab in Tennessee then sends the results to a company that posts the results online in a portal. Customer service for the portal is in Columbia, South America.
Could they have put an even more convoluted process in place to save themselves a few bucks in labor? With all the labs in California, why in God's holy name is Walgreens sending urgent tests all the way to Tennessee using a non-urgent delivery service? I have absolutely nothing against Columbians and try to use my beginner's Spanish whenever I can but why am I struggling to understand the English of a Columbian about a COVID test that I took in Canoga Park?
Phone calls back to the unhelpful person at the Walgreens pharmacy produced nothing but a standard speech about the test being sent to the lab where it is supposed to be completed in 24-48 hours. It was then that I was told that shipment to the lab could take up to 4 business days and I was given a tracking number. Did I mention that Sept 6th was Labor Day? Walgreens didn't. They didn't say that because of the holiday, shipments to the lab in Tennessee would probably be delayed.
So the day before the flight, I phone my airline and tell them the problem. Fortunately, their customer service was far superior to the inferior service provided by Walgreens as the airline documented everything in my record and advised me to come to the airport anyway. We were hopeful that I would receive the results before the flight.
On the day of the flight I went to LAX and waited for the results. They results did not come. I missed the flight and had to be rebooked. I then went to the COVID testing center at LAX and paid $150 for a 24 hour test. The negative results came in 5 hours later and I left on my trip as rescheduled.
Today is Sept 15 and I still have not received my COVID test results from Walgreens.
Lesson learned. I will not use Walgreens for anything other than purchasing gum ever again. They have lost me as a customer. The customer service there is horrific and the processes they use for COVID testing actually punish customers. Never again!!! read more