Walgreens is the preferred provider w/ my insurance, and I have very happily used the pharmacy at Tatum and Rose Garden Lane for 4+ years because it is closest to my house, and at other Walgreens locations before this one.. They were open until 9:00 pm until recently, when they cut their hours back to 7:00 during Covid, and they have kept the more limited hours. I personally like to go after 7:00, because the DESERT RIDGE location is a traffic nightmare at other times, so this is a minor inconvenience, but this is not the reason I am giving them the lowest rating available.
The service at this location was reasonable before, but it has spiraled down precipitously since then.
1. There is almost always a line at the drive through pick-up... usually 2-5 cars;
2. When you call to speak with the pharmacy, you usually end up waiting 20+ minutes, during which time an ANNOYING recording informs you every 20 seconds (seriously!) that there are 2-3-4 calls ahead of you, however, TODAY took the cake:
I was ON HOLD for 20 MINUTES... (during which time the number of calls ahead of me went from 3 to 2), when the "recording" announced that they would be breaking for lunch for 30 minutes, and I could either hold for 30 MORE MINUTES or call back!!
This is absolutely RIDICULOUS...... and OUTRAGEOUS that one can hold for 20 minutes, and rather than answering calls that had been waiting ON HOLD, they simply leave the callers with the choice of hanging up knowing that they had just wasted 20 MINUTES, or they can remain on hold hanging for another 30 minutes while the staff go to lunch.
Normally I would hang up, but I was curious to see what will happen, so I decided to remain ON HOLD.......
Hmmmmm... I have now been on hold for 47 MINUTES, and I'm told I have only 3 more minutes to wait. We shall see........
I'm now at 52 MINUTES and apparently they have returned from lunch because the recording has changed to "I'm sorry, our staff is answering other calls. Please hang on and we will be with you shortly".
I'm now at 58 MINUTES, still ON HOLD, but this time, they're not telling me how many calls are before me, but earlier recordings indicated that the other callers that were previously ahead of me had dropped off, so I am skeptical that there were any other callers ahead of me.
After 64 MINUTES ON HOLD, the pharmacist finally picks up. When I inquire why it was taking so long, she indicated that she was all alone there and had 173 (!!) PRESCRIPTIONS waiting to be filled. When I inquired further, she indicated that the other people had called in sick. This kind of thing happens in all businesses...OCCASIONALLY, however, these kinds of wait times are NOT unusual at WALGREENS, so there are clearly some other problem that the Company needs to address.
And there is NO EXCUSE for leaving people who already had been waiting ON HOLD for 20+ MINUTES hanging for an additional 30 MINUTES while the Pharmacy closes for lunch! At a minimum, they should install a system like they have at APPLE Support where they allow you to hang up without losing your place in the QUEUE, and the next available tech support person calls you back as soon as possible.
I don't think that it's the Pharmacist's fault because I recently read something that pharmacies (like other businesses) are experiencing problems finding pharmacy support personnel... Perhaps they need to raise their pay scales and offer good benefits so that their employees can live on what they make....... Maybe even offer conditions that make people WANT to work at WALGREENS???
I'm sure that Congresswoman KATIE PORTER and her WHITE BOARD would be happy to help WALGREENS management figure this one out!!
I would go to another pharmacy, but I'm stuck with Walgreens due to my insurance. Perhaps it's time to revisit the WALGREENS-BY-MAIL option for my recurring prescriptions or change insurance plans, but as I'm writing this, but I'm thinking of my friend Kristi who complains that far too many businesses are using COVID and the subsequent SUPPLY CHAIN problems to excuse poor customer service when these problems have nothing to do with their lousy Customer Service, and I must say that I agree with her. read more