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4.2 7887 Reviews

Walgreens Complaints Summary

232 Resolved
1587 Unresolved
Our verdict: With Walgreens's very poor resolution rate, careful consideration is needed. Research their service comprehensively, and read up on how they handle customer disputes. If you face issues, be prepared for potential challenges in obtaining resolutions and explore other service providers as backups.
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ComplaintsBoard
K
11:02 pm EST

Walgreens misrepresentation & misleading advertisements

Date of incident: March 2, 2008 @ 8:12AM

I am writing to express my frustration and disappointment regarding Walgreen's Register Rewards Program. It is misleading consumers, and I was one of them!

I went to my local Walgreens to take advantage of their register rewards program.

This week's ad (Mar 2-8, 2008) states:
Buy Select P& G products and get Register Rewards, use like cash on next purchase.
Buy 3 items for $10 - Get $4 cash register rewards good on next purchase
Buy 6 items for $20 - Get $12 cash register rewards good on next purchase

I decided to buy 6 items to get the $12 cash register rewards.

Unfortunately, when I was paying for the items, the register did not print out the reward coupon because I did not spend the actual $20. With the purchase, I used various manufacturer's coupons totaling to $16.00.

I read the fine print prior to proceeding to purchase the items at Walgreens and it does not say their promotion does NOT accept manufacturer's coupon.

The cashier's name is Jessica who was not so welcoming, nor apologetic. Then came the manager, who was also non-apologetic.

Bottom line, I expressed my disappointment and frustration to both cashier and manager of the store. They should indicate in the ad the restrictions of their promotion because it is misleading consumers such as myself. Wasted time, energy and gas!

The striking comment that I got from the insensitive manager when I told her that in the past, Walgreens would accept my manufacturer's coupon, at the same time take advantage of their cash rewards program. This was her reply:
'They must've changed the rules and becoming stricter on their policies due to people abusing the promotion'.

ABUSE? You call people with coupons, ABUSING the store's promotion? That is ridiculous. If Walgreens does not intend for people to ABUSE their promotions, then don't put out MISLEADING ads.

My use of manufacturer's coupons should not affect the cash reward coupon, which is their supposedly"on-going" promotion. If they have restrictions, put it up-front in fine print, PERIOD.

I am never an Abuser, I am a WISE buyer who would not buy full priced items, rather take advantage of good honest deals through promotions.

Walgreens ad is VERY MISLEADING, so consumers out there, WATCH OUT.

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Tiredof WagsRR
Escanaba, US
Sep 27, 2009 5:21 pm EDT

I find that Walgreens is VERY coupon UNFRIENDLY! And their Register Rewards I think borders on false advertisement. They print a list of all their "Register Rewards" items on the FRONT PAGE of their ad. This week there are many items that are "free after rewards." So I went to Walgreens to take advantage of their promotion. Unfortunately, at the store in my town in Michigan, they only stock one or two of the items that are on sale. They don't issue rainchecks for register rewards, so you are just out of luck. One example -- the Venus Razors on sale this week are $8.99 and you get a Register Reward back for the purchase price. I went in on the first day of the sale and they had none. They told me they had two in stock in the morning and that was it and they aren't ordering any more. So why advertise a sale if you are not going to carry the product? Out of the seven items they had listed as "free after register rewards, " this store had ONE of the seven in stock.

And, yes, coupons are a form of tender! The store gets fully reimbursed for the coupons, in addition to a handling fee.

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Wagmgr
Beaverton, US
Aug 14, 2009 6:15 am EDT

The Register Rewards program is a manufacturer-based program. P&G sets the rules on how their promotion is run, and when a coupon will print out. If you are using manufacturer coupons, then P&G is already taking a hit from those, and will not print out a coupon when you have already used one of their coupons.

I apologize if the Walgreens staff did not fully explain this to you, but as another poster put it: if you are not spending $20 on P&G products, then you do not receive the Register Reward.

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lickmoutlou
Newark, US
Jan 18, 2009 5:15 pm EST

I agree with Steve and Aaron.. Whenever you have an in-store coupon use it right there and then instead of trying to get things for free common sense should tell you that if you use a manufactures coupon the register reward isn't gonna come out because you already took money off by using that and you will not get the register reward its like your trying to get double off the sale price. Stop being greedy and reading is fundamental...

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Aaron
, US
Aug 31, 2008 1:44 am EDT

I've already responded to something like this in another complaint but I'll repeat myself (and others) here:

Coupons are not a form of currency, they are a manufacturer approved discount. The company is reimbersed for these coupons later on, but the coupons have no inherent monetary value and as such are not a substitution for cash.

You are a ### if you think otherwise.

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Aaron
, US
Aug 31, 2008 1:31 am EDT

Kim, with respect you are quite wrong. Coupons apply an agreed upon discount under certain agreed upon conditions. In this instance Walgreens has the right to not consider a coupon as a form of payment, and this isn't the only situation where a coupon isn't considered currency.

At Walgreens you cannot be given cash change if the total value of your coupons is greater than the value of the merchandise. In addition to this a retailer has the right to refuse manufacturer's coupons for any reason. Ergo, coupons are not currency.

Also, it's a bit LAME to quote one line from a random webpage to justify your backwards logic. I'd also like to point out that you quoted the first line of the document...did you even read the whole article? The article itself is about managing coupons not that coupons are a form of currency.

That's like saying that a store should take postage stamps as a form of currency because they technically have a monetary value.

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kim
,
Aug 29, 2008 10:29 pm EDT

"For every retailer who accepts a manufacturer’s coupon, a small piece of paper quickly becomes a form of cash tender."

http://marketingsolutions.valassis.com/story.aspx?url=2006/2006q1_cbrown.aspx

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kim
,
Aug 29, 2008 8:52 pm EDT

Y'all are wrong. Coupons are not a discount-they are a FORM OF PAYMENT. The store gets reimbursed for the manufacturer's coupons, thereby making the purchase still 20.00 in their pockets. Plus the 8 cent handling fee.

Bottom line:

Walgreens sucks.

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Aaron
, US
Jul 27, 2008 1:45 am EDT

While I can sympahtize with your situation Walgreens is bombarded by customers who seem to go out of their way to try to get as much as they can for as little as possible, even if that means breaking the rules to do so.

The ad said that you had to spend $20...that does not include MFG coupons because MFG coupons aren't money. I'm sorry if that wasn't made abundantly clear in the ad (which can at times be misleading), and I'm sorry that the employees weren't more sympathetic, but you need to put yourself in their shoes.

The only thing the manager could have done was give you a Walgreens card and he probably would have gotten in trouble for that. We get our marching orders from corprate and every day we have to balance taking care of the needs of the customer with meeting the requirements of our job, and those two don't always match.

Personally, I think they should do away with the Register Rewards system; it's usually way too complicated for a relatively small amount of money.

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Amanda
,
Apr 29, 2008 8:04 am EDT

Hello! Be smart about it. If it says you have to spend $20 you have to spend $20. If your purchase would have been $20 AFTER coupons, it would have been fine. Suck it up, and play by the rules.

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Upset
,
Mar 19, 2008 1:04 pm EDT

I am upset with them as well. Those Register Rewards are a scam. Even though I didn’t use the coupon, I didn’t receive a register reward for the Venus Razor I bought 2 weeks ago.

Then I bought another one and it printed. Plus they say use them like cash, and since its a coupon, they expire in 2 weeks. They shouldn’t have expire date on them if they want to advertise it as spend like cash. So if you don’t shop or don’t have those rewards on u, they expire in 2 weeks and then they are nothing but trash.
Never shopping anything that deals with register rewards unless I need it at that time.

ComplaintsBoard
A
2:02 pm EST

Walgreens as an employee

My experience Working for Walgreens

More than one year ago I was hired at our neighborhood Walgreens's. All I can say is "wow. How did I last this long?"..

Let me take you on a short story journey, on what REALLY happens inside our little home away from homes, that we call work.

From the outside, it looks like a pretty good job, nice, organized, people seem polite to you. Everyone has on his or her smock, nice neat name tags, smiles…At least, that's how it was when I went to fill out my application at the Walgreen's closest to me… unfortunately, I didn't get hired at that one, but at another one in the area…

I was hired by one of the laziest EXA's I think I have ever met…She didn't do a whole lot, she brought her boyfriend to work sometimes and he stayed there for hours on end… while her husband would circle the parking lot.

Oh but once she got transferred out we got someone much worse. At first, he helped out, complimented us, was even polite…but after two weeks, that wore off. He is rude, makes lewd comments, is far lazier than our last EXA and in his own little remarkes, discriminates, they might be very light when he says them, but now more and more people are catching on. He closes only once a week, and when he does, he mainly just sits in the office on his phone… he asks everyone else to clean his aisles, and gets an attitude if his are not straight, and if ours are not either. I have even made the comment to him about him being on the lazy side, and he told me "he didn't have to, he paid his dues".

And God-forbid you ever get pregnant while working there. At one point, I was put at main, with morning sickness, when I tell them I don't feel well, can I go home, I was told to just throw up in the trash can when I felt sick. I had to stay that whole night. The next day that I was there, I was approached by my store manager, after a few moments in the bathroom with morning sickness, these exact words "If you're going to be getting sick in the bathroom all day, then just go home, I'm not paying you to be sick!" I sure wish someone would have told me that the night I was working at main vomiting in the trash can…

And then of course, the morning I worked, while pregnant, was also the day loss prevention and district showed up… I bought some meds to calm my stomach so I wouldn't be getting sick, and when m y EXA asked "oh do you have the flu? You feel ok?"

When I told him "no, it's the morning sickness"

He Said "Oh...ok" As if having the Flu would have a better answer.

Needless to say, the medicine didn't work and I was in the bathroom most of that morning.

Not only was I sick, and tired, and having horrible mood swings, but it was also Christmas season!... At one point, I was scheduled 2:00-12:30… and of course we never got out of there until closer to 1:00 or 1:30. So trust me when I say, it was hard on my body.

Now if that sounded bad, try miscarrying. Unfortunately, when this happened, I had to call out. Which wasn't bad but in the confusion of it all, I had forgotten to get a doctors note. (Which by the way is easy to forget when you're not all there after that experience.) My manager rudely, a week later, asked where my doctors note was, and that she wouldn't give me my three *yes only three* sick day I asked for. She told me she needed it by Saturday. So I came in Saturday, and got talked at again because she needed it before 12:00. Well I didn't know that, but she agreed to put them on my NEXT paycheck. And, she forgot to put them on that one… in fact, I lost the baby on December 5 2006. I didn't receive pay for my sick days until February 2 2007. So it was about four pay checks later, that I finally got paid because a payout was out of the question.

Don't get me wrong, I love the company I work for. I love what I do here at Walgreen's. But the people that are put into power are absolutely horrible. My store manager. Yes, when everyone comes for the V.P visits, she puts on a wonderful act. Talks sweetly to everyone and treats her employee like little angels. But when you all are not around, she is completely different. She has a habit of talking down on me and of course other employees, which could be why we have such a high turnover rate at our location. She has her over the top sarcasm that just kills the mood .I honestly can not say how I have lasted this long here. There were times I was ready to just up and quit too. There were times I would go home crying because I have never in my life been talked down on so badly. Even as a child adults had never treated me poorly or said things that would make me that upset. And here I thought Walgreen's was a professional business-like place to work.

All around the office and back there are little reminders of our dress code, what we can and cant wear… well I sure wish district would have shown up on the day my manager decided to wear her Walgreens-bought skirt and high-heeled-backless clogs, that by the way, she could not even walk in. And since she could not walk in them, half of the day she walked around wearing grandma bedtime slippers she bought over in the sock aisle...And while wearing this, made a comment that my smock needed to be washed, actually, it had been, it had just become so faded it was looking messy. But then again, that how it almost always is… Once she hears higher up are coming things get rushed. She starts noticing imperfections. Of course, she doesn't notice them any other time…

Like I said before, don't get me wrong, I love my job… but the people that are put in power need to be re-evaluated. If anything goes wrong in that store, if the store fails and audit, guess whose fault it is… OURS. Not really hers, its ours. We are the ones who messed up. At least that's how it's made out to be. And if we get written up, it's normally for something we didn't even know we did wrong. We don't get a warning or anything like that. Unfortunately, we are poorly trained and when we see lazy people who are our higher ups how is that going to inspire us to work harder and perfect ourselves? It's not. I'll be the first to admit that I do slack off. Why not? I see my Manager and EXA doing it.

I'm not saying I'm a perfect person because I'm far from it… but I don't think I deserved to be treated like dirt when I am not. I am a good person. I am honestly not stupid and when it comes time to work, I do get most of my work, if not all of it done.

I also don't feel right signing my name to this, only because if it gets back to my manager on who wrote this, I will only be treated worse than I am now…and I honestly don't think I could take much more of it. But I am going to anyway. For I was off the clock when this was written, and if something is done off the clock I should not be punished for it, especially when I'm voicing my opinion

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mary jackson maxey
long beach, ca, US
Mar 31, 2012 12:35 pm EDT
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On March 23, 2012, I visited Walgreen's in Long beach, ca at the 5400 Cherry ave
address. I wanted to get pictures printed using my 27 throw away camera. I spoke to Kathrine. She asked me when did I want the prints. I told her no rush, - I will be back on Saturday March31, 2012. I told her that I didn't want the ONE hour purchase, because I will not be back till the following week. Today, March 31, I picked the prints up and found that not only had she concluded that I wanted ONE HOUR prints, she charged for ONE HOUR too! I am very upset and disappointed as that $ 25.00 is a lot of money for single prints. Very upset and feeling the crunch.

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pastora7
Pawtucket, US
Jun 01, 2011 3:43 am EDT
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i dont know if this the correct complaint page, but there is a walgreens pharmacy and store in 100 broad st in pawtucket ri, and is a 24 hours store, im a pastor of church near there, people dont want to go over there any more, cause theres a lot of people outside of the store, they asking for money, they insult the people, even they sitting in front of the door, few people talked to the managers, we told them to call the police and the manager in charge dont want to do nothing.may 31st tuesday at 10pm we went overthere again and talked to the manager in charge and he had an attitude with us not with the bandits, what we need to do?thank you. pastor colion

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RHR
, US
Aug 21, 2010 3:03 pm EDT

like everyone else I go to Walgreens almost daily and am given a receipt that indicates their o/l feedback site.
There no longer is a feedback/survey site so the alternative is to call the number on the receipt and when you do they say that the survey is over. If so, why keep having receipts that ask that you take the survey. Duh!

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Luis Perez-Brignoni
Pickens, US
Mar 20, 2012 2:41 am EDT
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My sleeping due is MARCH 20/ 2012
the pharmacist on charge she don't want to give me my tab's now, and told me I have to wait to MARCH 22/2012 causing me a big problem at sleeping time.
I was unable to sleep last night too
Feel rigt now .. very dissapointed on the way they treat me and the bad services recieve last night on the Pharmacy Dept .. by 2 females staff.

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Megan Hockert
Old Saybrook, US
Apr 30, 2023 11:58 am EDT
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Your refills go by the sell date, not the date of the prescription. Some insurances allow up to 2-3 days to be filled early. However, we aren't required to go by that. It is a courtesy. And with control substances and narcotics - you shouldn't be out early if taking as prescribed. And many are asking for the courtesy refill every month. That shouldn't be happening. If you're having to take more than the directions- talk to your doctor!

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imconcerned
Charlottesville, US
Dec 13, 2012 11:43 am EST

Manager Andre Carter making sexual advances towards female employees. Has been witnessed smaking another employee on butt, also makes comments about Female customers to other employees. He is very flirtatious to the employees, fellow employee has previously made reports to management about how he made her feel uncomfortable. Shows favortism to one certain employee and he has been made aware by myself that other staff has noticed this, meaning we see him flirting with her more often and him finding reasons to be alone with her.

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Cormille
, US
Jun 08, 2010 6:38 am EDT

I attempted to fill a prescription at the Walgreens in Hurst, TX for my mother who had just been released from the hospital. Not only did the prescription take 3 hours to fill (was promised 2 hours -still ridiculous) Employee Cole was very rude when i called to check on why the prescription was late- responding with "we service over 1, 000 customers a day. I don't know when it will be ready...could be 45 more minutes, could be 3 more hours." WOW. We will be taking our business to the CVS across the street.

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william lewis
Newport, US
Jan 17, 2010 2:28 pm EST

I went to walgreens in Newport tn. to purachese some decongestant for my wife and they would not accept a united state uniformed service identifaction card . The manager said it had to be a driver lis. I got my money back and then went to CVS and they accept my military ID card they said it was gov. issue and they should have accept it
they took my miltary ID. Why don't walgreen drug stores take it. I think they are NOT doing the military veterans fair.

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imapaperplane
, US
Mar 29, 2014 1:04 pm EDT

I worked for Walgreen's for 7 years. I was promised many things by managment about moving to cosmetics and I would be put over there for 4 or 3 days a week maybe for a couple months and it would always go back to sticking me up at the front register. let alone i knew the store like the back of my hand. customers respected me for my knowledge of the store and the fact that i was willing to drop everything to help them and focus on their needs. i put so much time in that store. so many years were spent there trying to prove to my coworkers all i was capable but it never seemed to be enough. there have been countless days were the managment disrespected me. i have actually been called racist by the head manager. there was a customer that was a regular i did not card at the time and the customer i rang up behind her told me i was racist and said i did not know how to do my job. that offended me cause that was entirely NOT ME and i have learned over my years at walgreens that i can refuse sale if a customer offends me. so i call mr. neal and try to explain what had just happened and that i need a moment and to send someone up there. my manager started yelling at me and taking the side of the customer. later he tells me what i did sounded racist. ok. wow. i should have quit than. but i gave the job a year more and things got way worse. the managers kept belittling me. if i had a problem with another employees work ethic or was sick they took all that information and shared it with each other. talk about employee confeditionality. i was treated with the littlest repsect there. it was a constant struggle and i had to get out. i guess you can say the last straw was when a manager called me poor. i was picking up a box of k-cups for my coffee machine. he was like "you can afford a keurig. people get that as wedding presents." the very next day i put in my two weeks. it is sad but i have never been as miserable at any other company but walgreens. my dad was actually a district manager at walgreens for many years. but he resigned when mr. walgreen left that company. the company changed. my dad told me that the employee treatment at walgreens was very unproffessional and wrong and that alone is a reason mr. walgreen left and my dad followed in his footsteps.

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RSD2
Spring, US
Sep 11, 2013 12:27 pm EDT
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I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy(RSD) which is a horrific and debilatating disease, which has a pain index 4 times Cancer. It is extremely important that I take my medication as prescribed; however I repeatedly have issues getting my medication despite the fact that I have been utilizing the same Walgreens for over 3 years. My medication continues to be delayed despite may complaints to the Pharmacy Manager and the Store Manager. I have been told Xanax is no longer being made or ordered, therefore my prescription could not be filled. I have been charged for medication that workman's compensation pays for; however because I can not go without the medicine, I have paid for a partial refill only to have the $70.00 refunded to back to me, on 9/10/13 when I requested the remaining Dexilant prescription however; I was once again told the medication was not workman's compensation. I suffer with Anxiety and Depression and stress affects my illness in an extremely negative manner. I would be more understanding if the prescriptions were knew are had been rejected by workman's compensation, which is not the case. The pharmacist continues to delay my prescriptions despite them previously being paid by workman's compensation. My prescription history should be readily available; however I continue to have problems. Which lead to me repeatedly contacting my physcians for assistance before I can get my medications.

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chas
St. Louis, US
Jan 23, 2011 11:41 pm EST

I mailed Rx's to Walgreens and they filled most of them with generics which is what they are supposed to do. The Rx that they messed up was for Colchicine. Of course the doctor authorized a substitute which actually means that they could fill Rx with a generic. This is supposed to cost me $15.00 for 3 months. But they sent me Colcrys which is the brand name and a charge of $102. Walgreens didn't bother to notify me of their substitution, which I would have refused, and sent the Colcrys to me without my ok. I have tried to return the Rx but they will not allow that. I have talked to and emailed several people and no one gives any useful info. Nor do any of them seem to know what they are doing.

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12:00 am EST

Walgreens duplicate postings on paypal account!

I tried ordering a few items through Walgreens online store. They offered the option to pay using "Paypal"... but the order kept failing to go through and I would get Walgreens' failure notice instructing me to try again. Finally after seven or eight tries, the order went through. I did receive my order, but upon checking with paypal found 4 duplicate transactions "pending". I was trying to close my paypal account and you cannot do that with "pending" items. After waiting for about 10 days hoping they would drop off on their own, I contacted both Walgreens and Paypal. For over a week, through multiple emails and levels of personnel, Walgreens continued to deny any responsibility and would not assist with this problem. Paypal referred me to Walgreens and Walgreens referred me to paypal, often without even taking the trouble to understand the difficulty. Paypal finally (after contacting them at least 6 times) fixed it, but Walgreens continued to deny any responsibility and would not contact Paypal to fix it claiming that since it was my account it was my responsibility and there was nothing they could do to remedy the error caused by their system. Additionally, they were unconcerned that this might reveal a more pervasive problem that could affect other consumers. I would advise against using Walgreens.com for any reason.

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12:00 am EST

Walgreens terrible service!

I dropped my prescription off at the walgreens pharmacy at 6:30pm on 12-10-2007. I was told to pick up my prescription in 1 hour. My prescription wasn't ready in one hour, so I called every 30 minutes after that until about 10pm. At a little after 10pm I called asking to speak to someone I could complain to. I was put on hold and then hung up on. I finally got someone on the phone to tell her my complaints and she basically said that there's nothing she can do and they are busy. About 20 minutes later I got an e-mail from walgreens saying that the pharmacy didn't have the medicine that I needed available in their store and they would let me know when they got it. At that point I called CVS to ask them if they could transfer it for me. They called Walgreens numerous times and Walgreens never transferred my prescription to them. I sent an e-mail and left a voicemail with Walgreens corporate office, but I haven't been able to get anyone directly on the telephone yet. Everytime I call a machine comes on and says customer service isn't available and hangs up. In the meantime, I am in excruciating pain and suffering because i still do not have my prescriptions 15 hours after I dropped them off. This is the worst service from a pharmacy that I have ever encountered and I am outraged!

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Donna Smith
,
Jun 18, 2007 12:00 am EDT

I have been a customer of Walgreens very several years. I will never go back again after my last experience. I was threated so rudely and shown no compassion and was given no options or resolutions to my problem. The Pharmacist name is Peter and the last time we spoke was on 6-10-07 @ 10:30 am. I had been experiencing severe pain after major surgery my doc called in hydrocodine for me on 6-7-07 was informed i couldn't have this medication until 6-10-07. When i asked why, i was told because i previously had prescription already filled and it was the to soon to fill another although my doctor call this in direct when i got home from the hospital. Peter was short and rude with me and said you cant have it cause its the law. Why didn't he offer another option as for to me follow up with my doc and request different medicine? Where is the customer service? I was treated as if I was a criminal asking for my pain medicine. I called Walgreens at 10:[protected] and Peter told me we just opened its going to be awhile yet I asked how long he said i dont know maybe a few more hours... This treatment is totally unacceptable if this is Walgreens Customer Service policy then i will not be a customer. You are treated like a number not a person and in this field there must be human compassion. I am not on Welfare, i have medical insurance why must i be treated as if I am second class citizen by a corporation that takes my business for granted.

Thank You, Donna Smith

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Johnny_09
, US
Mar 22, 2011 11:18 pm EDT

Walgreens makes up the rules as they go along. Concerning It is policy not to fill controlled substances more than 2 days early, Walgreens told me every 29 days at next refill waited 29 days only to be told it was now 30 days and the d.e.a was cracking down on filling controlled substances every 29 days. I aked why did you inform me every 29 days and now you say every 30 days. Walgreens pharmacy went from the D.E.A. to they had a meeting back in 2010 of every 30 days, although the pharmacy manager could not confirm there was ever a meeting. I asked to see a copy of this policy and the D.E.A. notice Walgreens has on file and they not could supply either. I asked if this was policy from 2010 why was Walgreens refilling every rx 29 days and they refilled over and over for the same 2 medications over the past 5 months every 29 days and one was filled on 29 days by pharmacy manager on day 29 and 10 days later different med to have refill they go into 30 day mode.Walgreens is dishonest with their customers.They make up their own up excuses on spot and do not care if they must lie or mislead the customer. My rx's are from the same Dr and from same office walgreens has refilled these same meds for 11 years. I am fed up with walgreens never being able to know what to next expect on the next refill date.If you call different walgreens asking what their policy is, they all told me 29 days. As far as overdosing, does walgreens actually think one day early will result in an overdose ? Be you wait 29 or 30 days, what is walgreens thinking when you pick up the new rx that you are good for 29 days after day 29 you are considered at risk for overdose, when any overdose would more likely happen after you get a refill not 1 or 2 days before time to refill.(To wrap this up, you should always know as much about your prescription insurance and your medication as possible.)What a shame when you have to return to walgreens you have to spend all your time explaining to them what your entire rx drug plan is, for they did not retain your information the first time or put in your file and you must explain all this in great detail each month, provide this same information to walgreens, all from they cannot keep records of what your drug plan is. No wonder Walgreens is losing more customers than they are gaining. The customer can never have a positive experience with walgreens, when they lie and mislead customers and every employee has a different story.

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SrPharmTech
Muncie, US
Mar 17, 2011 5:32 am EDT

"I called and this has happened many times to get my refills and it goes through on my insurance but the ALL MIGHTY pharmacist says I can't have it. I have call my insurance company and they too have filed a complaint against Wal-Greens. I will do everything in my power to get rid of this pharmacist his job has gone to his head and he thinks he can control what people can get even if their insurance gives them the permission to fill it"

It is policy not to fill controlled substances more than 2 days early .In some states, it is monitored legally. This is to prevent abusers from doctor shopping and selling them, etc, etc, and overdosing. If you are using them properly, this shouldn't be a problem in most cases.

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Jamer508
Yukon, US
Oct 06, 2009 4:31 pm EDT

I am a pharmacy Technician with Walgreens. It is not our prerogative (at least at my store) to take a customers medicine. Anyone caught stealing medicine at all will be investigated and their license will be suspended and most likely revoked. In the state of Oklahoma our pharmacy board actually emails a listing of people who have been rewarded and those who have been punished and why. And on a logical note if anyone ever decided to steal medication it wouldn't be from a customer. Almost all technicians and Pharmacists are aware that customers prescriptions are always tracked and monitored. Its to easy to be tracked to make it worth anyone's time to steal from a customer.

Secondly In oklahoma there are specific restrictions on CII through CV( controlled substances)

1. All prescriptions that are controlled must have the license number of the person dropping the prescription off.
A few tips when following this law
#1 you do not have to be the patient to drop the prescription off.
#2 if you do not have your drivers license with you that is OK. You can provide the employee with any form of STATE ISSUED ID with a PHOTO of you on it. (military, state ids, Indian reservation ids with a photo on it. )
#3 if you provide any form of fake identification Walgreens reserves the right to withhold your identification and prescription until verification of both are confirmed, all forms of fake identification are considered a felony.
#4 always have in date identification. If we notice that your id is expired we cannot use it toward your controlled prescription.
#5 finally we cannot fill OR SELL a controlled substance until we are presented with identification.

When you drop off CII prescriptions remember that we can only fill the whole amount of the prescription or fill it for only what we have available. This means that when you drop it off and we don't have enough we will wait and ask if you want to only get the amount we have on hand and the remaining amount of the prescription will be voided. Also remember that if you do only receive the partial amount have the pharmacist inform your doctor. The doctor still has the discretion to give you a new prescription for the remainder or not. To make this even more complicated most insurance companies will charge you a second full copay for the remaining amount written by the doctor.

#1 Always talk to your doctor about the availability of your CII prescription because this could indirectly affected your therapy.
#2 Call ahead of time to the pharmacy about the medication. Walgreens normally will not reserve your amount of a CII so don't wait very long after calling.
#3 We can never take any CII prescriptions without the doctors national physicians identification number or DEA. Always make sure they have written it on the prescription.

finally on all controlled substance EARLY refills, as a pharmacy do have a small amount of discretion when it comes to the release of the medication. Most often though we will contact the doctor to verify an early refill.
tips to avoid this problem
#1 always follow the correct therapy of your prescription and if your dosage has change by the consent of your doctor always tell the pharmacy this, because we can save a lot of time and money for you if we know this (not all doctors make it apparent that dosage has changed).
#2 some doctors will write a dosage like "every 4 to 6 hours" remember that the maximum amount suggested by the doctor is what we follow when it come to early fills, for example: Lortab filled on 09/20/09 for 24 tablets and a dosage of 1 tablets by mouth every 4 to 6 hours. This prescription is recommended to be taken up to 6 times a day when in truth it can be taken to a FDA approved maximum of 8 tabs a day. if you take it 8 times a day you will run out on 09/24/09 were as if you used to as suggested a maximum of 6 times a day it will be completed on 09/26/09. Pay close attention to each and every bottle you receive. Even if you have had the medication in the past your doctor may have changed the way he wants you to take it.
#3 NEVER FILL YOUR CONTROL SUBSTANCES ON THE WEEKEND. If you can avoid filling anything new on the weekend it is always beneficial because doctors will not always have an on call phone number listed or provided so if there is a issue with early refill, dosage change, missing information, we wont be able to fix it 90% of the time on the weekend.
#4 finally, always know when your insurance company will pay for your refills. Prescription insurance is not the same as health insurance, it is very fast paced and in the present. If they have a policy about dosages and safe recommend use they will always question it.

To wrap this up, you should always know as much about your prescription insurance and your medication as possible. It is often very difficult to be focused on the importance of the medications and coverages when you are ill. Do your best to help yourself while we help you.

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kathryn carr
Enterprise, US
Jul 10, 2009 2:35 pm EDT

I have just pulled all my prescriptions from Wal-Greens. I have been trading there for years and have made many complaints to the manager and I am NOT the only one in Enterprise, AL that has done this. I called and this has happened many times to get my refills and it goes through on my insurance but the ALL MIGHTY pharmacist says I can't have it. I have call my insurance company and they too have filed a complaint against Wal-Greens. I will do everything in my power to get rid of this pharmacist his job has gone to his head and he thinks he can control what people can get even if their insurance gives them the permission to fill it. You can count on me and LOTS of others taking our business elsewhere. It's not like we are hurting for Pharmacy in this area.

I have also felt like that the workers in the pharmacy are stealing the meds from the patients and when we count the pills right there in front of them before I leave and find missing ones they get ugly. Maybe you need to be keeping an eye your employees and stop treating your customers like crap and that we are wrong. WHAT EVER HAPPENED THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!

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David6245
Inver Grove Heights, US
Jun 15, 2009 2:51 pm EDT

I work for Walgreen's and can honestly say I have been short with customers which I do apologize for. There are certain things you have to realize when billing insurance. First off every drug has an NDC number and this number is going to be different even though you may be getting Zyrtec, it depends on the manufacturer. Also we do our billing electronically where we send the claim to the insurance and they send back the copay for the patient. I have seen many a time where they send us one claim and then when the customer complains to the insurance company the fix whatever is wrong in their database. Also when you come in and we ask you if you have new insurance please make sure you give us your most current card. I have had so many cases where the customer gives an old card and I ask is this your most current card and they say yes, so I spend a good 15 minutes on the phone finding out they now have Navatis for example. When I then inform the patient that they have Navatis their like you mean this card! It gets quite irritating and when you have a bunch of these in a day it kind of puts you in a crappy mood. What I recommend is if your nice to me I'm nice to you, don't need to threaten me scream at me and give me attitude cause all it does is make me care less about the customer. Also once we sell you something we can not take it back so check things before you pick them up. If you feel like your shorted talk to the pharmacist and have them put a double count note on your file, a lot of stores have automatic counters which are not always perfect. I understand that poor service is frustrating but what you don't see is the employees crying in the back because they are always being treated like crap.

Some tips for going to the pharmacy
1.) Make sure to have your currant insurance information. If your waiting for a card get the BIN number, Group#, and your ID#.
2.) If its a CII medication have them check to make sure they have it in stock first. My store always does if they are aware it is a CII but some of the newbies aren't full aware of the controlled meds.
3.) Be patient the process does take time its more than just putting a label on a bottle
4.) Double check the med before you leave the store. You can always purchase it and stay near the counter to look it over and if there are any issues bring it up right away. It is policy not to take things back once they leave the store.
5.) Walgreen's has a 7 day window to do re-billing so if you pay cash for a med and can get the info within 7 days of the date filled we can do a re-bill. Otherwise you may need to submit it to your insurance company.
6.) If you feel like the person ringing you up may be having a bad day and is being rude, try to be overly nice. I know for me it kind of slaps me back and brings me back to my normal self. (Walgreen's times its customers on everything so though you may only think we are their to ring up we are actually being timed and graded, and now that Walgreen's is cutting hours we are having less people to do the same amount of work witch does get stressful).
7.) Finally as far as bringing back the store merchandise, we are never informed of whats on sale and what is not. so if their is a sale sticker on the shelf make sure to read it fully, some will print out what they call register rewards which are like getting it for the sale price. Others you may need to have the coupon book for which should be in the front of the store.

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Disgusted in NY
,
Oct 28, 2008 10:41 pm EDT

I am very sorry that happened to you.

There are a lot of fake prescriptions out there for pain medicine such as the one you had requested. To prevent dangerous medicine from falling into the wrong hands, the law limits a Pharmacist's ability to dispense those kinds of medication. If he had dispensed the medication against the law - even if it meant that he as a health care provider was doing the best thing for you - he could easily lose his license.

I have to agree with you that he should have offered some alternative, but again ... the laws greatly limit his ability to offer you a solution. Sometimes it's better to speak to a Pharmacy Manager, and specifically ask what your options are.

I hope you don't experience this problem again, and I do wish you the best and hope you'll consider returning to Walgreens at some point. I certainly understand your choosing not to!

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Ellen Buckingham, RN, CDDN
,
Jul 23, 2008 8:15 pm EDT

In picking up prescriptions for a disabled person, Walgreens, Scotts Valley, CA regularly tells me that Zyrtec in not covered by her insurance because it is OTC. I have explained many times that it is covered and to please check the insurance. They have regularly overcharged on the copay and then the manager (Mandy) accused me of lying when I told her how much of a copay I was quoted. She refused to listen to the information I was trying to give her to process the claim including the correct NDC code. I had to find the Walgreens fax number and fax the info to them because the manager told me she would not listen to me. I got some help from the district manager Brett Stark a few months ago, but this time, he did not even bother to make personal contact with me even though made multiple calls to him and I left my cell number.

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outraged customer
,
Jul 20, 2008 8:22 am EDT

Walgreens 9550 hageman Drive Bakersfield, CA 93312 tel [protected] rx# [protected] hydrocodone / apap 5mg/500mg
On 7/18/08 at 12:35pm, I went through the drive-thru window to pick up a refill of medication. When the clerk handed me the bottle, I noticed right away that it was not completely full. I immediately opened the bottle and counted the pills before leaving. There were only 23 pills in the bottle even though there should have been 60. I paid cash $33.99 for 60 pills. I gave the bottle back to the clerk who told me that it was full when she handed it to me. I went into the store and spoke to 5 employees, two of which claimed to be managers, who all told me that I must be lying, that I must have stolen the pills and now I was just trying to get more. One employee said (who claimed to be a manager) that if I wanted to give the pills back to her I could but she would not refund my money. I was told that they would call the police if I didn't leave. Because the medication was vicodin, they claimed there is no way that a mistake was made. Obviously, a mistake was made or a Walgreens employee stole part of my medication. I have filed a formal complaint with the Sacramento Board of Pharmacy, the local police department, DEA and have tried to speak with Walgreens but walgreens will not help me. I tried calling back and getting more information. I spoke to Cindy Stevens, who was EXTREMELY rude and hung up on me. I want my money back or my prescription filled. I also want my prescriptions moved to a different pharmacy.

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Sharon Jaros
,
Mar 04, 2008 9:07 am EST

I called in "REFILLS" for two of my mdications. One a heart medication and the othr an antibiotic. When my husband wentto pick my order, Walgreens told him that the two medications I have bee taking for the last month did not work well together. I have a lot of allergies, I inquired what was the problem, all they could say they interact. I became a little more inquisitive and I got repeated questions like:
Were these two new medications, answer NO they are refills. Pharmacist said I don't see these two here are they new AGAIN NO! I gave her the two RX #'s and then she found them. Even after she found them she asked did you have these filled somewhere else. I received a call from my Dr this AM Walgreens called him, when he called he became upset with me (He's my DR-concern on his part) Didn't you start taking the antibiotic yet. I had to explain the whole problem again. I want to ask where does their claim that Walgreens finds these chance of interactions? I am chamging Phrmacies just becaus it is easier for my Dr to fax a Script to WALLY WORLD, doesn't mean we get the bestservice.

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Walgreens - deceptive advertised items/coupons

This morning I went to 3 Walgreens stores in Decatur, IL looking for the new release DVD Flushed Away which was advertised for release on Feb 20 (today). This item was advertised in Sunday's newspaper Walgreens ad along with a $5.00 off coupon. The first store said they had only received 2 of the DVDs and were already sold out! The other 2 stores had not...

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Walgreens non caring pharmacists!

My name is David Morgan. I ordered my KEPPRA prescription for my seizures for 11 PM pickup on Friday, July 6. I fell asleep, and did not pick up the med's, had to go to work, and then went to pick up the med's at 5 PM.

I was suffering from either withdrawal from the medication, or the onset of the seizure by the time that I got to the prescription counter. I was sweating, dizzy, dry heaves, and explained this to the check out person. A stout, afro - American person, who was working with my new blue cross blue shield card, which said that it paid for prescriptions.

As he was telling me the situation, that my KEPPRA was not covered by blue cross, blue shield, I was blacking out... I was asking him to please give me a pill so that my body could stabilize. He continued to explain how I could try another drug, call the prescription company, etc... while I was dry heaving in front of him, asking him over and over for a pill, and the girl in the back was screaming to him that it would not make a difference.

I threw up on the counter, and the clerk then called over the intercom for a manager, and he was telling the clerk who came, over in the opposite corner away from me, that they had a "situation". I went over, and listened to him telling the clerk who came (obviously not a manager) that he had a situation, that I had thrown up on the counter...

They did not care that I was going into seizure mode. They would not give me a tablet of this medication that would stop the convulsing, until they had re-worked all of the paperwork, for blue cross , blue shield, embarrassed me with all of the other customers watching me sweat, beg, and throw up. And then watching your clerks to be more concerned with vomit on the counter, than the well - being , of someone that was obviously, beginning to have complications , due to the lack of medicine in my body.

They finally brought the bag with the pills in it to me, threw them in the bag, and acted like nothing happened.

I called the prescription manager at 5:30. She was aggressive, and rude. I asked her name and she would only tell me Lauren. I asked for her last name, and she said that she would not give it to me, that it was not any of my business. This is a horrible way to treat any customer, especially an infirmed customer. The prescriptive community is supposed to be supportive of the infirmed.

The Walgreen's is at

Walgreens
145 Fourth Avenue
Manhattan, NY 10003
[protected]

the specific prescription number is [protected]

SENT ALSO TO...
http://wcbstv.com/

AND TO ...

Thank You. The following information has been submitted:

Form submitted on Sat Jul 7 06:08:06 2007

also to >>>
www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildca.html

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ConnorsMommy
, US
Jan 27, 2010 12:49 am EST

seriously. UGH. what is WITH you people who think that a Pharmacy is an EMERGENCY ROOM?!?!? Antymaster, thank you.

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antymaster
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Oct 13, 2008 11:44 pm EDT

@original complainer

The pharmacy is not an ER.

@Edward Clark

The pharmacy is not an ER.

Do NOT enter the pharmacy in an emergency situation expecting them to know what to do. Again, I repeat, a Walgreens pharmacy is NOT an emergency room. They are not, and will not be, trained to handle an emergency situation. Granted, in this situation, I also would have been more sympathetic and tried to help, but AGAIN, the techs and possibly even the pharmacist were probably in shock, froze up and didn't know what to do. Give them the benefit of the doubt here, people.

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edward clark
,
Sep 30, 2008 11:19 pm EDT

I really feel bad for you, but you could of avoided the situation by having more meds on hand.
Walgreens has been going down the tubes for some time now, having CVS, Target and Walmart ahead of the game. Walgreens stock is at low and I see no future gain unless they they fire incompetent staff and hire competent people who know how to deal with emergencies like yours!
Yes, you are right about the pharmacy staff they are RUDE and they think they are doing you a favor by filling your prescription...take your money and buy your prescriptions at a pharmacy that appreciates your business!

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BlueSkiesAZ
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Sep 16, 2008 8:03 pm EDT

Very sorry for what David went through for his Keppra RX.
Since the symptom you were displaying matched what the RX was for and you came to pickup your refill, this pharmacist (hotpoquets) would have been willing to give you one pill to help you through while he worked out your insurance information even though you would have thrown it up. Don't know what more a pharmacist could do, except call an ambulance.

1. I think for such a serious condition, you should have had back up pills or an alarm clock to wake you up so you wouldn't have overslept and missed picking up your pills and had plenty of time for them to enter in your new insurance info.
2. Paid them in full and sent in receipt for Rx to the insurance company. They ALL allow the filing of 'paper claims' with drug receipt attached. All they wanted was $. They weren't being mean to you on purpose. Why didn't you write a check?
3. We all have to take responsibility for our conditions and to not blame the pharmacists for coming in sick, throwing up on their counter and blaming them. How could they know your new insurance carrier if they didn't have your card?
4. You don't have to refer to the skin color of a pharmacist! Was it pertinent to your story?
Quit doing that, we're not in the 50's any more.
5. TCB and hopefully this will not happen to you again!
~

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Hotpoquets
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Sep 12, 2008 9:33 am EDT

Yeah, I'm going to have to say that the blame is split here. The reaction of the employees is obviously irresponsible in this case as you stated. Honestly, my approach would likely be more frustrating for you. I would have likely given you the initial dose, but as soon it became obvious that you were having problems from withdrawal I would not have given it to you for two reasons. You would not get any benefit from a medication if you are dry heaving/vomiting the drug doesn't immediately get absorbed into the body and as healthcare professional I have to have emergency medical services there. Also if seizures were to begin, the only solution woud have been to give you IV doses of much quicker acting medications to prevent further seizures. I have a question that you have conveniently omitted the answers to: How long had you been without medication? If you took your last dose the night before you came in, it would be extremely unlikely that your dose is so sensitive that a single missed dose would cause this (I'll assume you're taking it twice daily, if only once it is even more unlikely).

It just frustrates me as a pharmacist that someone makes the statement "this is a life sustaining medication, I need it now" while waiting to the last second or longer to get their medication. I can appreciate not being able to afford medications and Keppra often times has a 3rd tier copay, but you can not hold the pharmacy responsible for the consequences of that. Anytime I see that high copay I write down a similar medication or two and have them check with their physician if it would be an appropriate alternative.

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Cheryl
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Sep 01, 2007 11:02 am EDT

I understand how horrible the situation must have been for you and don't think the management acted properly however, maybe you should plan ahead and not wait until the last minute to pick up your rx. Take care of yourself, when it comes down to it no one anywhere cares more about yourself than you should. I mean you made a mistake here and they can't just give out drugs without going through proper procedures for legal reasons. Not to mention, when you take the medication it's not like it works in seconds.

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Walgreens exchange policy

My elderly (80+) father mistakenly picked up the wrong type of Depends. I tried to exchange them at a Wallgreens store at a different location from the one he had shopped (his Brandon, I went to Mango). The exchange would have cost me $7+.

My complaint is... these locations are not around the corner from each other... Why could I not trade in one package for the other. I did have a receipt therefore it was not as if the Depends were not paid for. K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Sweetback, etc. Would have taken my packages and given me the ones I needed. What if he had made the purchase in Daytona Beach. This exchange policy needs some improvement. Now I have to wait until I am in the Brandon area or make a special trip. $26 is a lot of money for fixed income senior citizens.

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Robert Davis
,
Aug 25, 2008 11:56 am EDT

It seems the drug expiration date is too soon. The last 2 times I got "Nitro Quick" (nitroglycerin sublingual tablets) they expired in about 4 months. I used to use CVS but changed to Walgreen and theirs was usaully 1 - 2 years for expirtations for drugs. It is not that expensive most of the time, but does not seem right.
Thanks,
Bob Davis
Irmo, SC 29063 Phone: [protected]

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russell bilby
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Aug 01, 2008 6:08 am EDT

I have been a loyal Walgreens customer for years. Six months ago I moved to Southern PInes, NC for business. Today starts my seven month in Southern PInes. I have been to the Walgreen phar. at least 4 times in the past 6 months. Two weeks ago I need my BP prescrip. refilled with a 90 day supply, I got 15 days. Today I needed that 15 day supply refilled and at 8:30 am your pharm. is closed. In the six months I have used the store on US1, the pharm. has been closed 3 times at 8;30 or later, one time closed after 9am.
I would say you have a problem with this store. The next time the pharm. is not open, I will take my business to Walmart.
Russell L. Bilby

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Walgreens no checks for phone cards!

I went to my local Walgreens to purchase my boost mobile phone cards like I always do for my daughter and I at least once a month. {$30.00-$80.00} I usually make other purchases but today I did not. I was told by the sales boy that he didn't think I could use a check for a phone card... I laughed and said I always purchase my phone card with a check :] He was nervous and unsure so I told him to call a manager. He yelled to a manager... Hey! Do we take checks for phone cards?! NO! NO CHECKS FOR CARDS! In disbelief I said since when?! Received no response, the manager walked off. The sales clerk at least apologized- "sorry" {nice kid.} I said KEEP IT!

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Engineerswife07
Wahiawa, US
Apr 04, 2011 1:41 pm EDT

I always thank the clerks for asking me for ID with any purchase that I use my card for. I would rather have to show it to them than have them not care if I am supposed to be using it, I like it when they show that kind of care.

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Chrisabella7
Ammon, US
May 27, 2010 8:34 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

EBT is the code for Food Stamps, and will not pay for prepaid cards.

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eldin
, US
Apr 01, 2009 11:21 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

unless im mistaken you actually can purchase a prepaid card with CHECK or EBT or whatever tender. unless its one of those green dot credit cards, where the register prompts you and says "only cash" then you can. now.. if those store has been repeatedly burned by deadbeats you write checks and dont make good on their purchase then store has the right to refused.

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leftfield101010
Wichita, US
Jul 17, 2008 10:35 pm EDT
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Why is it that when a policy is put in place to protect a company, consumers automatically get upset? They are also the first ones to complain when their stuff gets stolen and a card gets run without having ID checked.

Electronic check processing is one policy. ID verification is another. My company requires us to check ID on any purchase over $100 dollars on a credit card. When we check ID on anything under, we invariably get criticized by the customer for being overly cautions, blah blah blah. Everytime I get badgered for doing it, I just want to tell the customer to either produce ID or not buy. I would rather protect one hundred honest people, than have to deal with the ramifications of not checking the one time some a-hole wants free merchandise on a stolen card/check.

If you have ever had your identity stolen, you get it. If you haven't, you will understand why we check to make sure you are who your credit card says you are if it does get stolen. If you feel you haven't got time to produce ID, then wait til you do have time to shop.

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Becki Tinder
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Nov 05, 2007 12:18 pm EST

I was a Manager at Walgreens for almost 8 years and I would just like to state that policies like this one do protect both the consumer and the company. Unfortunately scam artists and cons have ruined the trust level that companies have towards any customer. It has recently become a huge scam that stolen credit cards and check books have been used to purchase gift/phone cards, especially the Visa and American Express cards. I personally took down a ring of cons that were stealing loved ones credit cards and buying $1000's, yes thousands of dollars, worth of Visa gift cards. I know as a customer you don't want to hear a clerk say they can't because of a policy, I know all you hear is "I won't". But please understand that those policies aren't meant to harass you, they are there to protect you.. Thank you.

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Crystal Long
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Oct 06, 2007 8:56 pm EDT

Get out of the 80's and use a debit card, checks went out with the dial phone's. Sick and tired of consumer's always finding something to complain about. Customer's are the main reason there is such a high turn over rate in any retail store. Always want something for nothing, just to pull a fast one over on management.

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Emil y
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Sep 01, 2007 10:51 am EDT

It's the same as buying a lottery ticket with cash only. Maybe the manager was rude but a policy is a policy. People write bad checks all the time for gift cards and things like that, so they still get the money, and the company gets nothing. Get over it. I would also like to mention that the practices of wal-mart are putting thousands of people into poverty by closing down small businesses so they can get ALL the profit for everything in any given location, so go ahead and shop there and feel good about it.

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Lori Mello
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Aug 25, 2007 5:18 pm EDT

I agree with Walgreens just like many of the other stores I shop in. They don't take checks for gift cards or phone cards. Gee , its obvious why because those cards are activated when they are purchased. How many bounced checks do you want retailers to take where the buyer gets instant access to what they want. Why not pay with a debit card or cash. I don't blame Walgreens I blame all the cheats who have ruined it for others.

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ashley timmel
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Jun 04, 2007 10:54 pm EDT

It's to prevent identity theft. A lot of companies have done this.

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Jen Bustamonte
,
May 01, 2007 4:01 pm EDT

See the website www.stopalldiscrimination.org Post your comments. You do not have to be African American to post. You will find there are many people who attempt to get service or file a complaint against Walgreen's and receive the same treatment. This website is gaining national attention and you need to post!

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Walgreens - Pharmacy sucks every time!

Every time... I give them another chance and another chance, hoping that maybe they would get a little better at what ever they are running over there. Every time I get a prescription filled there, it could be 8 hours later and they still won't have it ready. Every time I go there - drive-thru or going inside - there is always a long, long line, and it...

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Walgreens stolen merchandise - nobody cares!

The other day I was at the checkout counter at Walgreens. There were at least three employees standing around. Only one that was busy, which was the lady ringing up my items that I was purchasing.

While standing there I happened to notice a very young suspicious man (probably in his late teens to early twenties) quickly, and nervously walk out the door setting off the security theft system. I was totally shocked to see that not one of the three employees even so much as acknowledged the fact that this young man just stole merchandise from them! There is no possible way that they didn't see or hear the same thing I had just witnessed? I came to the conclusion that they just didn't care! Now I realize that perhaps they chose not to go after or confront the perpetrator for their own safety, that's one thing! But they literally acted as if they didn't have a care in the world! It's sad if this is what the world is coming to! Is theft and robbery in these neighborhoods such a common thing that people just don't care anymore? And the fact that nobody does anything about it, just condones it, and sets them and others up for more robberies in the future.

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kevinoshay
Lee Summit, US
Apr 07, 2011 1:38 am EDT

Oh and most stores have a "friend to friend" relationship with the managers...because they are employees just like us. Kids whom hate their [censor]ing job cause of you nasty [censor]ing customers!

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kevinoshay
Lee Summit, US
Apr 07, 2011 1:34 am EDT

Forgive the lazy employees, but in their defense there is nothing we can do once they leave the building. We can notify a manager, whom will notify loss prevention, but essentially it is useless. Once a customer steps out the front door, we cannot do anything. We can not follow them out and confront them, which any employee would be idiotic to do. If we were to accuse them of stealing and they did not, then we would be held liable for discrimination. It goes like this at any Walmart, KMart, Hyvee, whatever. Unless we have them on tape sticking the merchandise in their pocket and stop them before they step front out the door, its a loss case. Stupid policy. Yes, to answer your other question theft is common and nobody cares anymore because nobody is going to stop. We condone it because nobody can afford [censor] in this [censor] economy and especially not off our [censor] Walgreens pay.

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Ithastostop
, US
Dec 31, 2010 6:33 pm EST

My understanding is that Walgreens do not want their employees to stop people that steal from their stores. My son (in Memphis) was reprimanded for putting a young man in the office for stealing. In my opinion, this allows Walgreens to file a police report and file a claim for God knows what. Not only this but there seems to be a PUSH (in my opinion) to fire Black managers by the White loss preventation team (White Males) . The Gender/Race discrimination seems to be continuing at Walgreens.

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badbear
no no, US
Jan 13, 2010 6:36 pm EST

i happen to work for walgreeens and ive been in such situation where i, (being the cashier right by the doors), see someone suspicious walking out and they beep. but the thing is whether i do or dont call for assistance at the door, why should anyone risk their life chasing after a thief? so many employees are threated verbally or physically. i know many employees who have been close to being shot or stabbed when they try to chase after a thief. and to top it off what do you expect us to do? yell and scream "stop!". i doubt theyll listen. they are alrady at the door.we are not secruity or policemen. we do what we can. if you have a complaint about theft at walgeens, dont complain about the employees, complain to corp walgreens and ask them why they wont assign security officers at the stores with high theft. risking my life is not part of my job.

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mgtab
789 somewhere, US
Jun 29, 2009 11:28 am EDT

It's possible the alarm went off when he walked in the door for no reason at all and that is why the employees did not respond. Plus once a theif is out of the door, the employee can not touch him do to liability reasons. The employee also has to physically see the theif steal something before action can take place. Speculation means nothing in a court of law.

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Marsh1buster
New Tazewell, US
Jun 29, 2009 6:49 am EDT

Those tags are a joke! They don't work 90% of the time and when they do work, it's too late. They are used as a deterant not a solution of theft. Alert staff and observant customers are the only solution to the problem. Unfortunatly, too many staff don't care (or involved) and too many customers don't want to steo forward for fear of being brought into the sinario unnecessarily. The best thing you can do is tell the manager (let's hope they care) and back them up if they deside to confront the thief. My personal experience with this is, if they steal, they go to jail. I don't care if it's a pack of gum or a pack of diapers (I've seen both). The word will get out that your store doesn't put up with any B.S. and eventually theft will decrease. I have worked for Wag for 17 yrs. and I have seen just about everything possible in a Walgreens. Boy can I tell some stories.

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a. w.
, US
Jun 04, 2009 7:13 am EDT

I HAVE TO COMMENT ON HOW DISRESPECTFUL SOME EMPLOYEES TREAT THEIR MANAGEMENT TEAM! FIRST OFF I AM NOT MGT! BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE TOO MANY CHIEFS AND NOT ENOUGH INDIANS AT MY WALGREENS...TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE BICKERING ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK ONE PERSON ISN'T DOING WHILE THEY ARE ALL STANDING IN A SMALL HUDDLE! BUT ANYWAY BACK TO THE MANAGEMENT SITUATION...I ONLY HAVE TIME TO GIVE ONE SCENARIO...ONE DAY I WAS WALKING DOWN THE AISLE AND HEARD A CLERK TELL THE MANAGER ON DUTY "YOU AIN'T NOBODY LIL BOY! GET THE F... OUT MY FACE" NOW, THE STORE MANAGER, 3 CLERKS, AND ANOTHER ASSISTANT HEARD THIS COMMENT BUT NO ONE SAID A WORD..

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gomakemeasandwich
, US
Jun 04, 2009 6:36 am EDT

The only thing that you saw was a guy walk out of a Walgreens and an alarm go off. You did not "witness" him stealing anything. As posters have mentioned, the alarm can go off for any number of reasons. Take your ranting about today's society somewhere else.

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Ramcharran
jamica, US
May 25, 2009 2:33 am EDT

See Walgreens is all about the bottom line meaning penny wise pound foolish to the highest extant possible having a security guard at the door
discourages most crooks except the ones who already have been to jail
for other crimes and those crooks are sophisticated enough to remove any security devices that might be on the item. A security guard if hired by walgreens itself wouldnt cost more than $100 per shift so have
him come in after 3 pm which when most school kids are coming out and the evening rush starts problem solved ! well its not so easy for
corp sleazebags who are either to cheap or stupid to implement because
$100 is approx few otc item some cosmetics candies etc which probably disappears in a couple of hours. The only other thing which comes to mind for such complaceny/stupidity is tax write offs at end of the year which prob help this min wage blood sucker turn a even higher profit margin, rip the people of while paying them and stil steal more from the same tax payers thru creative accounting at the end of the year nice huh ?

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keetly
Grand Junction, US
Mar 18, 2009 1:47 am EDT

I work at Walgreens. Those alarms go off all the time, sometimes for no reason. We are supposed to write down every time they do and there is even a category on the official forms where you can mark it as a "ghost." Cell phones can set it off, id cards, tags from purchases from other stores, etc. One time, a manager walked out the doors, the alarms went off, when she came back through them, they did not go off. There is a child who comes into our store often - he doesn't have anything in his possession that would set off the alarms and yet they go off every time he goes near them. As for someone actually stealing, we are NOT allowed to accuse customers of anything no matter what the situation (even in cases of counterfeit bills). If the alarm does go off, technically the procedure is to ask them to return to the counter so that their items can be desensitized. But, if they refuse to come back in the store, or if they continue to walk away, we are not allowed to pursue. Most people just don't want to be bothered so they don't come back - most employees get a little tired of asking. I once reported two boys stealing Monster energy drinks to a manager. When she asked where they were I told her they're right outside the doors hanging around, she said to just let it go, once they're out of the store thats it, and even if they had been in the store we really shouldn't do anything (her words). If someone was to actually come into the store and rob us, we are taught this: do not make eye contact, tell the person what you are going to do before you do it, but more than anything COMPLY! Do not make waves, don't start a commotion. We're not even allowed to keep an eye on people acting suspicious for fear of a prospective customer taking offense. The company itself restricts us from doing anything, whether we care or not.

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12:00 am EST

Walgreens pharmacy is ridiculous

I call in & get refills a lot but when i go pick them up they aren't ready! I have waited a lot down there! Then this week i was in the drive thru @ 9am & i drove off about 9:07 as it wasn't opened at the proper time @ 9 so i had to make an extra trip home & back they get confused & mix things up & give you the wrong prescription or such i am going to change pharmacy very quick as i am sick to death of this! They don't know what they are doing! 2 of the pharmacists are rude & moody.

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Ann McElhinney
,
Feb 09, 2008 1:52 pm EST

The Walgreens in New Castle, DE is no different. I repeatedly receive prescriptions for drugs I don't take and the refills I want are never there even though I called them in a day or two earlier. The wait is nearly always one hour. My husband and I take quite a few medications and it would be a nightmare to change pharmacies. I've complained to Walgreens corporate who only refers me back to the store manager who ignores my complaints and has asked me to take my business elsewhere. This pharmacy chain should be investigated before they kill someone, if they haven't already done so.

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12:00 am EST

Walgreens check refusal problem

This evening my check was refused when I went to make a purchase at this Walgreen's store.
When I asked the Manager of the store why he referred me to a 800 phone number to Ceretegy.

I had been to this same store the previous week and had no problem with my check, but tonight I seemed to be a problem for a $173 purchase. After calling Certegy from the store I got some person on the phone who took down my Drivers Liscense # all my bank information and then proceeded to tell me that she could find nothing in my history that would reflect negatively in regards to using my check. It seems, according to her that I fit into some computer model that possibly might deem me a risk based upon the day I write a check, the hour of the transaction or some other irrelevant criteria.

The fact that I have overdraft protection, have not had a history of bounced or NSF checks returned had little weight. Instead I was invited to apply for Certergy Gold, which would let me cash checks. This application is an affront to anyone. You provide critical data on yourself that could be used by anyone
who has access to this information.

I understand that this company used to be telecheck and I have never had a problem with using checks in any telecredit associated store in the past.

I have seen similar posting about Certegy on complaintsboard.com and urge anyone with similar problems to post thier experience. Perhaps with enough complaints this Company will adjust their computer models to include responsible consumers who have unwittingly fallen into their computer hell.

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Tamara Day
charlotte NC, US
Feb 08, 2024 12:18 am EST

I am a share holder of Walgreens and i am in the settlement agreement that was passed. my name is carolyn ruhterford tate and i would like for you to contact me at 4723 Danube Dr. Charlotte, NC.28227 and my phone number is [protected] about my share and profits. You my call in the evenings for consultation on my landline.

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HannaBey
Bainbridge Island, US
Dec 11, 2023 9:04 pm EST

On Monday December 4th around 2pm, I had to wait over an hour on the phone for my local Walgreens during the afternoon. The message then hung up on me.

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Goddesss1
, US
Nov 25, 2023 7:59 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Prices are twice what they are anywhere else! Family Dollar across street and half the price! Last time shopping Walgreens in Springtown,Texas!

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angelo augustine
, US
Nov 26, 2023 2:33 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

they use many ways to cheat people

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Miriamtx90
, US
Nov 04, 2023 8:09 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My medication was ready i came to picked it up they told me a hour the ladies laughed at me and talked about me very rude …. The employees that work here are like kids. They don’t care about their job and know nothing about customer service.

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Spr1ghtly
Portsmouth, US
Oct 24, 2023 9:41 am EDT

Thank you for ruining our day. My wife takes care of her bed ridden dad and getting hold of you people is ridiculous. 4 times a girl gets on the phone just to tell her that hold. We're trying to sort out his meds he needs and it's hold hold hold. You folk suck

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don westbrook
dallas, US
Oct 11, 2023 10:26 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The manager just did not want to deal with it so she threw me out for no reason

This happened about two months ago. The head manager said she would investigate and call back but did not

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don westbrook
dallas, US
Sep 29, 2023 9:05 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I was just making a simple complaint about an employee

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JAM10
, US
Sep 27, 2023 10:52 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Pharmacist at two different Walgreens refused to fill a script digitally sent from my doctor of 10 plus years and they lied as to why and performed absolutely NO DUE DILIGENCE, they did nothing other than reject. Both Walgreens are in Deland Fl

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TonyaRB
Lexington, US
Sep 12, 2023 4:15 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

After being told by my dr to have the RSV vaccine, I was denied even with my prescription. I was told that this is Walgreen’s company policy. I have medical issues that require vaccine's although I am under 65. If my dr requires it and writes the script for it you should be able to give it to me.

Walgreens Customer Reviews Overview

Walgreens is a prominent pharmacy chain in the United States, offering a wide range of health and wellness products, including prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and personal care items. Customers can also access services such as photo printing and health clinics at select locations. The company provides flu shots, immunizations, and pharmaceutical advice. With an online platform, Walgreens.com, customers can manage prescriptions, shop for products, and utilize convenient delivery or in-store pickup options.

Walgreens In-depth Review

Website Design and User Experience: The website design of Walgreens.com is clean and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate and find what you need. The layout is intuitive, with clear categories and search functionality that allows for quick and efficient browsing. The overall user experience is smooth and seamless, ensuring a hassle-free shopping experience.

Product Range and Availability: Walgreens offers a wide range of products, from health and wellness items to beauty and personal care products. The website provides a comprehensive selection, ensuring that customers can find everything they need in one place. Additionally, the availability of products is consistently high, with most items in stock and ready to be shipped.

Pricing and Discounts: Walgreens.com offers competitive pricing on their products, with regular discounts and promotions available. The website prominently displays current deals and offers, allowing customers to save money on their purchases. The pricing is transparent, and customers can easily compare prices to ensure they are getting the best value for their money.

Customer Service and Support: Walgreens provides excellent customer service and support. Their customer service team is knowledgeable and responsive, addressing any queries or concerns promptly. The website also offers a comprehensive FAQ section and live chat support, ensuring that customers can easily find answers to their questions and receive assistance when needed.

Shipping and Delivery: Walgreens.com offers reliable shipping and delivery services. They provide various shipping options, including standard and expedited shipping, to accommodate different customer needs. The website provides estimated delivery times and tracking information, allowing customers to track their orders and stay informed throughout the shipping process.

Return and Refund Policy: Walgreens has a fair and straightforward return and refund policy. Customers can return most items within 30 days of purchase for a full refund or exchange. The website provides clear instructions on how to initiate a return and offers a hassle-free process. Additionally, Walgreens offers a satisfaction guarantee, ensuring that customers are satisfied with their purchases.

Online Prescription Services: Walgreens.com offers convenient online prescription services. Customers can easily refill their prescriptions online and have them delivered to their doorstep. The website provides a user-friendly interface for managing prescriptions, allowing customers to view their prescription history and set up automatic refills for added convenience.

Loyalty Program and Rewards: Walgreens has a comprehensive loyalty program and rewards system. Customers can sign up for the Walgreens Balance Rewards program, which allows them to earn points on their purchases and redeem them for discounts and rewards. The website provides easy access to the loyalty program, allowing customers to track their points and take advantage of exclusive offers.

Mobile App Functionality: The Walgreens mobile app offers excellent functionality and convenience. It allows customers to easily browse and purchase products, refill prescriptions, and access their loyalty program on the go. The app is user-friendly and well-designed, providing a seamless mobile shopping experience.

Overall Customer Satisfaction: Overall, Walgreens.com provides a highly satisfactory shopping experience. The website design and user experience are top-notch, making it easy to find and purchase products. The wide range of products and availability ensure that customers can find what they need. Competitive pricing, excellent customer service, and convenient services such as online prescription refills and a loyalty program further enhance the overall customer satisfaction. Whether shopping online or through the mobile app, Walgreens delivers a seamless and enjoyable experience.

How to file a complaint about Walgreens?

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2. Navigating to the complaint form: Once logged in, locate the 'File a Complaint' button situated at the top right corner of the website and click on it to access the complaint form.

3. Writing the title: In the 'Complaint Title' field, concisely summarize the main issue you have encountered with Walgreens. Make it specific and clear, such as "Incorrect Prescription Filled at Walgreens" or "Poor Customer Service at Walgreens Store #123".

4. Detailing the experience: In the complaint description, provide a detailed account of your experience. Include key areas such as:

  • The specific Walgreens location or service you are complaining about.
  • The date and time of the incident or issue.
  • A clear description of what happened, focusing on the nature of the issue.
  • Any interactions you had with Walgreens employees, including names or descriptions if possible.
  • Steps you have taken to resolve the issue, including any communication with Walgreens customer service.
  • The company's response or lack thereof.
  • The personal impact the issue has had on you, such as inconvenience, financial loss, or health concerns.

Remember to be factual and include any relevant information about transactions or interactions you had with the company.

5. Attaching supporting documents: Attach any relevant documents or images that support your complaint. This could include receipts, emails, photos, or other evidence. Do not include sensitive personal information such as your social security number or credit card details.

6. Filling optional fields: Use the 'Claimed Loss' field to state any financial losses you have incurred as a result of the issue with Walgreens. In the 'Desired Outcome' field, specify what resolution you are seeking, whether it's a refund, an apology, or another form of redress.

7. Review before submission: Carefully review your complaint for clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Ensure that your description is coherent and that all the supporting documents are correctly attached.

8. Submission process: Once you are satisfied with your complaint, click the 'Submit' button to send your complaint to ComplaintsBoard.com for review and publication.

9. Post-Submission Actions: After submitting your complaint, make sure to monitor your ComplaintsBoard.com account for any responses or updates. You may receive feedback from other users or even from Walgreens representatives addressing your concerns.

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