This pharmacy is ridiculously understaffed, and the wait time is ridiculous.
I used to go to a Ralphs pharmacy in Santa Monica before I moved to Valley Village. I don't think I ever had to wait more than 10 minutes at Ralphs. This Walgreens Pharmacy is the exact opposite. The first time I went there, I lucked out. Walked right up to the counter and handed over my prescription. The tech said they'd text when it was ready, and I left. Easy! The next day, I came back, and picked up my prescription. I had to wait maybe five minutes. I loved the fact that I could refill my prescription online, and pick it up at the drive thru. Very convenient!
Of course, those first couple of visits were at about 10 in the morning on a weekday, and that made a huge difference. That was six months ago. These days I hit the pharmacy after work, which is an understandably busy time. Nevertheless, the wait seemed longer each time. Ten minutes, then 15. Then close to 20. I would stand there and watch, and try to figure out why it was taking so long. You find the baggie with the customer's name on it, scan it, and take their money. It shouldn't take any longer than the cashiers in the front of the store. After all, the cashiers in the front have to ring up more merchandise, bag it, and check IDs. At the pharmacy it's rarely more than an item or two.
I couldn't figure out what was taking so long. It wasn't that the people were having long consultations with the pharmacist. One time I went there, and there were six or seven of us in line, two people running the register, and one guy helping people at the drive thru. One of the pharmacists made a pissy comment about how the techs were supposed to be helping him fill prescriptions, not standing at the registers. The tech very politely answered that they'd been told to ring customers up. She showed a lot of restraint. I wanted to get up in the guy's face and have him explain to me why it was more important to fill prescriptions for customers who were NOT present, than to do so for those of us who had been standing in line for 15 minutes. That's bullcrap.
Yesterday, I went to drop off a new prescription. There is no reason why you should ever have to stand in line to drop off a prescription. You should be able hand over the paper and leave. It should take less than a minute. When I got to Walgreens, there was one lady in front of me in line, and one lady in her car at the drive through. Fifteen minutes later, there was still one lady in front of me in line, and one lady at the drive through. A guy had jumped the line, saying he'd been told it would take 30 minutes to fill his prescription and he had been waiting for two hours. At that precise moment, I realized I'd had enough. I tucked my prescription back in my pocket and took my business elsewhere. Despite the text service, the online refills, and the drive through window, this is the single most INconvenient pharmacy I've ever been to. I'm finished with the place. read more