I have been using Walgreens in my hometown since they opened and other than long waits, I have received good customer service. On a recent vacation to Fort Walton Beach, FL I had to fill a new RX for a sun-burn and the service I received was HORRIBLE! I did a search to see which store was the closest to my location, called them and asked to fill the RX. A bit later, I received an automated phone call informing me that there was in issue with my insurance and my fill may be delayed, but I needed to do nothing. I knew that I had change insurance carriers in October, so I went ahead and called to get things straightened out. This call process was time consuming because I had to talk to so many different people. It seems as though when I called I was routed to a "call center" off site of the location I was attempting to contact. Once being connected to the store I had to explain the situation to several people before I was directed to the person who handles the insurance. She was very helpful and took her time to resolve the issue with me; however, each time we would disconnect for one of us to call the insurance company, I had to be routed through the call center again. This was very annoying and ate up my time on vacation!
When I got the the store, with my whole family in tow, I was then informed that they did not have the full amount to fill the prescription and I would have to go pick it up at another location. I informed the attendant that this was my last night on vacation and I would be leaving town at 5 am the next morning. I also asked why I did not get a phone call to let me know they couldn't fill it. The answer was, because they would have it in the next day. I asked if I could receive a few courtesy pills to get me home so I could then fill the RX at my home Walgreens. She stated that she could not approve that, that only a manager could approve this, so I asked to speak to a manager. When the manager came, the response was the same....I could pick up the RX at another location and it would be ready by the time I got there or else I would have to pay two co-pays if they gave me a portion of the RX and I picked up the remainder at my home store. They assured me that the RX would be ready when I got to the other store and that the store was not very far away (this store was on Mary Ester Blvd and they were sending me to Beals Pkwy). They gave me directions and I went to the other location.
When I got to second location, they informed me that the RX had already been billed to my insurance at the first location and they had to wait for that to be back out of the system in order to run it through their system. I waited and waited and waited....with my whole family in the car. I buzzed inside and again asked why I could not have a few courtesy pills just to get me home. The response was, "it is almost fixed, it will be just another minute". Well, it took an additional 10 minutes. I sat in that drive-thru (of the second store, I might point out) for 35 minutes! All of this after I was assured that the RX would be ready when I got there.
Frankly, I was so disappointed that I am contemplating moving RX services to a different company, especially when I found out that the call-center is being rolled out nation-wide. This was just poor service! It took me over an hour to pick up a generic, five dollar medication...robbing me of precious vacation time! Walgreens, get your act together! read more
