CVS
reviews and complaints

To Whom It May Concern:

The following is a summary of events that took place on September 24, 2021, at 1:00 pm at the CVS located at 250 S. Courtland St., East Stroudsburg, PA.

• I arrived at the CVS at 12:50 pm for a scheduled 1:00 vaccine booster shot. The individuals at the front of the store instructed me to go around to the back as that was the location where the shot was to be given. I proceeded to the back of the store, found no one to be there, so I walked over to the Pharmacy and asked if this was the location that I needed to be in to receive my booster shot. The Cashier said "yes" and told me to sit down in the waiting seats alongside the wall and I would be called shortly.

• At 1:15 pm I went up to the Cashier and asked if she had any idea how much longer my wait would be in order to receive my vaccine. She began apologizing and indicated that they were extremely busy and that he would be with me as soon as possible. I then asked her was there only one person available to give the vaccine injection. She replied that "the Pharmacist was the only one available to give me the shot".

• As the Cashier and I concluded our conversation, the Pharmacist, who was approaching the counter and who had obviously heard our conversation, slammed the case he was holding in his hand down on the counter and said to me "My God…you've only been here five minutes. Are you that impatient"?

• Pharmacist Dennis then stepped from behind the counter and I turned to him and indicated "Sir, I have been waiting for approximately twenty minutes to receive my shot and I was simply asking how much longer the wait would be". Pharmacist Dennis turned to me and said "I'm the man who's going to give you the shot that's going to save your life". I was, of course, stunned by this comment as it was totally inappropriate and not warranted given this situation.

• Pharmacist Dennis led me back to the chairs where I was sitting and attempted to give me my vaccine injection when I asked him "Is there not some place private that we can go for me to receive my injection"? Pharmacist Dennis got up and proceeded to walk toward one of the privacy cubicles that was alongside the Pharmacy area. As we walked I again said to him "Sir, I'm not sure what the problem is, but I was simply asking how much longer the wait might be". He again turned to me and remarked "I'm the man who's going to give you the shot that's going to save your life". I truly was shocked and dismayed at the need for the Pharmacist to repeat such an inappropriate comment to me.

• As we entered the privacy cubicle I turned to Pharmacist Dennis and asked "Sir, I understand that if you inject the vaccine slowly into the arm there is less trauma in that area". Pharmacist Dennis apparently was annoyed at my comment and said "I've been doing this for many years and I've given thousands of shots. I know what I'm doing and remember…I'm the man who's going to give you the shot that's going to save your life". I could not let a third time for this inappropriate remark to go without comment. I turned to Pharmacist Dennis and said "I don't know what your problem is and why you think it is appropriate to make that comment to me repeatedly about you saving my life. I don't know if you're saying that to me because I'm African American, a Woman, or simply because you are in a nasty mood". I further indicated that no matter the reason, the comment was totally inappropriate and I reiterated that I had been in the Pharmacy for more than twenty minutes and, as such, he was in error in making that assumption and getting angry.

• Pharmacist Dennis jabbed me with the injection, signed my vaccine card, and failed to hand it back to me and, once again, indicated that I didn't have to be so impatient with regard to waiting for my shot. I was profoundly affected by this experience because I truly did not understand why this Pharmacist felt the need to repeat such an inappropriate comment to me three times during an interaction that probably lasted four or five minutes. I was angry, upset, disgusted, and truly surprised at the unprofessional nature of Pharmacist Dennis' behavior.

• I left the store visibly upset and arrived at home only to realize that Pharmacist Dennis had not given me back my vaccine card. I returned to the store and approached the Store Manager and indicated that I had just had this troubling experience with the Pharmacist. The Store Manager gave me the CVS number to call to register my formal complaint. I went back into the privacy cubicle and found my vaccine card thrown on the table.

• I called the CVS Customer Service line on Saturday, September 25 and spoke to a Representative and recounted the story of the events of the previous day. She assured me that the information would get passed on and that I should have a good day. That individual failed to give me an Incident # to which I could reference the events of the 24th.

• On Tuesday, September 28, I called back to the CVS Customer Service number because I realized I did not have an Incident/Reference # regarding this incident and, of course, that was necessary as I was going to write a letter to the corporate office. I spoke to a Receptionist who in fact gave me the Incident # and assured me that the District Manager for the Region would be calling me within 48 hours.

• On Sunday, October 3, I received a call from the District Manager, Mr. David Moeller and proceeded to present him with a summary of the events that had taken place on the 24th of September. Mr. Moeller was surprised and dismayed and agreed that the comments from Pharmacist Dennis were totally inappropriate. Mr. Moeller, like myself, could not identify the possible motive for Pharmacist Dennis' comments. I informed Mr. Moeller that I have been a loyal patron of this CVS for thirty-five years and that the treatment I received on that day was despicable. I also indicated that I told numerous people about the events of the 24th and without fail, they all unanimously believe that the Pharmacist's comment were certainly racist in nature, misogynistic in nature, and of course inappropriate in nature. I indicated to Mr. Moeller that I was going to take my business elsewhere as no one in this day and age should be treated in the manner that I was. Mr. Moeller indicated that he understood how I felt and was there anything he could do to make the situation better. I indicated that I thought at least that I was entitled to an apology from Pharmacist Dennis as his behavior was unprofessional, inappropriate, and demeaning, and of course should not be representative of the customer service that one would expect from CVS.

• Mr. Moeller indicated that he was going to the East Stroudsburg store the next day and would speak to Pharmacist Dennis regarding this situation. I told Mr. Moeller that I would wait for his return phone call after he spoke with the Pharmacist before I took any further action. Mr. Moeller agreed that he would speak to the Pharmacist and get back to me.

• Today is October 26, 2021 and I have not, as of yet, had a return phone call from Mr. Moeller. I am left only to surmise that after speaking with Pharmacist Dennis Mr. Moeller did not deem my concerns to be important enough to even return my call. If this situation and your lack of response and attention to it exemplifies CVS's commitment to customer service, then truly you are doing a poor job.

I can conclude only that I am profoundly disappointed, upset, and disillusioned by the treatment that I have received from your Corporation. I will always wonder why an organization such as CVS would sanction and condone a member of their staff making the comment "I'm the man that's going to give you the shot that's going to save your life".

Thank you.

Dr. Donna L. Hodge

I went for my Covid 19 booster and Flu shot appointment with my insurance card and Govt. issued electronic proof of vaccination shots with the URL.
CVS turned me away as I did not have the physical proof of vaccination card
and told me to go to Kaiser where I got my original shots.
Now I cannot get an appointment at Kaiser due to rush of booster shot recipients.
The lady at the Pharmacy was not at all helpful.

Over the past couple of months, the service provided by your Franklin, TN, location in the 3064 Columbia Ave. Target Center has become worse and worse. Not only does the location close for a lunch break, but since Julie left, the personnel seem incompetent. For example, today, your mail order pharmacy sent me an e-mail that our doctor had not sent an RX for a renewal RX. I learned that the RX had gone to the local pharmacy in the Target Center over 3 days ago, but we had not been called or advised it was ready. When I called them, they stated it was in stock and I could pick it up with 2 other RXs this afternoon past 2 PM. Then, about an hour later, we received a call that it was out of stock. Does NOT ANYONE know what he or she is doing?

Furthermore, a few days ago, I was to pick up an RX at 2 PM. I was there, but the RX was not ready. Its refill was not even started! So, I had to return on another day--thus wasting time and gasoline! Then, on my way home, I received a text that the RX was NOT covered by our insurance---WRONG! It had been covered in the past and turned out it was also covered this time as well. AGAIN---DOES NOT ANYONE KNOW WHAT HE OR SHE IS DOING? Since Julie left, service at this location is BAD, BAD, BAD.

Closing for lunch makes it hard on Caregivers and Seniors who cannot always structure their days to allow for lunch hours of various suppliers. If you are running a pharmacy, you should be able to have someone for RXs to be picked up and paid for. CVS does not care about its customers --- lip service only!

I called the tool free number for CVS this morning to schedule a booster shot for Covid today. I told the person on the phone that my vaccination card is lost. Your employee told me that I do not need to have the card with me for a booster and that all I need is to present my insurance card. The pharmacist at the CVS location in Arden NC located at Target refused to provide the shot and canceled my appointment. Apparently CVS really doesn't care.

My "mother" sara c guillen has been a "loyal" customer to this pharmacy for over 16 years now going on 17! we had a very "bad" experience with this young lady {manager named kong} when i {vincent} called to ask why they were taking soo long with my mothers diapers and bed pads' it had almost been 2 weeks which we "never" had a problem recieving/ordering her prebscription for bothe meds and diapers/underpads mind you! on this call i {vincent} spoke to several crew members in the pharmacy regarding my mothers order for the diapers/underpads' {alma} was to order them since she is in "charge" of doing so! i {vincent} asked to speak to the "manager" which is/ "kong" i proceeded to ask her why this "specific" presbription wasn't being delivered/ordered on time? "kong" the manager was very irritated i guess for me asking whats the delay? she {kong} said they were short of staff and were having difficulty doing thier job there' including herself' then she proceeded to rant and rudely told me {vincent} that she {kong} and {alma} were doing us/ my mothere a favor? i told her "no" mame your just suppose to do your job! she {kong} then told me that they were'nt gonna no longer refill my mother' s prescription didn't give me any details on why? so i called the other cvs on olive ave here in porterville to talk to someone about this and they told me to call and or go online and file a complaint! this is reidiculous my mother has been having to buy boxes after boxes of diapers and bed pads out of her own pocket! over 300.00 already and no one has called to fix this issue! we are very 'disapointed" in {kongs} rude/unprofessional behavior' if she can't manage her staff and have enough employees then she should "not" carry a job she can not handle! besides being very rude to us customers! this sort of crap has been going for awhile now i'd say over 2 yr's and nobody has complained about it! that is the reason i am filing this complaint! get this issue "resolved" or i "will" go to the next higher up! "thank you" sincerely vincent gomez [protected] [protected]@hotmail.Com

My name is Patti and I am a PMHNP-BC with an Indiana hospital and I often have to call CVS for various reasons. I have noticed that over the past several months when I call, I get placed on hold for a MINIMUM of 10 min before anyone picks up. When I speak with the tech or pharmacist, I am being told that it only rings once and they pick up immediately. What kind of program have you implemented? I am from a very busy office and this needs to be streamlined

Hello,
I got a rx from my doc on 10/15/2021, went to refill on 10/19/21 it was filled already, refill date 11/07/21 for 30 day script-how? pharmacist Daniel Beylik He was dismissive, wouldn't listen. If script was filled, why was it in the bin ready for pickup. I I paid 26.59, instead of $1.56 copay. spk with ins. Rx was filled on 10/15/21. I never used this ins before or gone to this pharmacy before.

I have been registered in the Free Delivery of Prescriptions by Mail (1-2 days).
I was never told this was an covid policy. On Saturday, 10/23/2021, I called the pharmacy shown above for free delivery of my prescriptions. I was told by a pharmacy tech that they now charged $4.99 each mailing of prescriptions. I was not happy but I said OK. About 30 - 60 minutes I received a call from another pharmacy tech that told me they couldn't mail them as insurance wouldn't pay for it. I had previously had two deliveries at my home for $7.00 and there was no problem. I said that I would pick them up on Monday. Now, I am an 83 year old person with health challenges which makes it difficult for me to go to CVS. When I got there on Monday, 10/26/2021, I got into a difficult conversation with the pharmacy tech. I told her that I didn't expect the insurance company to pay for it. If you couldn't do it on the software for the prescriptions cost, then run it off separately on my credit card which they had for me to pay my part of the prescriptions. She kept saying she couldn't do it and screaming at me. And yes, I was screaming at her as she wouldn't listen. Today is Wednesday, 10/27/2021 and the website stills shows free mailings. I spent 31 years in the administration field for IBM so I have knowledge what can and what can't be done on a computer.
1. Corporate should have sent out an email to all clients that were using this procedure ahead of implementation date to notify of the changes.
2. All stores should have been notified of the changes with a detailed map on how to make the charges.
RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO MAILINGS THROUGH THE POSTOFFICE. WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES? I AM CONFUSED STILL.

I live in Chester County Pa, there are probably about 12-14 CVS pharmacies in the area I live
all the pharmacies are short staffed, I am a member of the "Nextdoor" app in our local community. There are 3 threads complaining about CVS. Some pharmacies are closed on Sundays, some are only operating their drive thru window, some have closed their drive thru window, if you get inside you are waiting sometimes an hour to pick up a prescriptions Pharmacist and Pharmacy techs are quitting because of the work load, they can't fill scripts, give vaccines, give covid test, answer the phone & wait on customers with limited staff. Each state and the government needs to look into how they are operating. Google CVS, prescriptions mistakes have been made, each State and our Government needs to look into how they are operating, it was bad before the pandemic now it is worse

called two time 10/22 & 10/26 auto system said could not refill my RX before 10/13/2021, the said it would be ready by each day by noon. Went to pick once and said not ready. Called today and was on hold 33 min to be told doctor had not responded. Please fix both the auto system and hire some people to answer the phones at CVS in Ladysmith, va. 22546

checked on line and said prescriptions was in process for last two days so tried calling the pharmacy and was on hold for 15 minutes so went to store went to drive up and waited 10 minutes and was not helped so parked and went inside to find out the prescription was not in process but that it was not covered by insurance and sent back to doctor to get insurance approval. Could have saved allot of time if your system reflected the issue and not said it was in process maybe waiting for insurance approval or something that provided more information.

I arrived hobbling on my crutches to pick up my prescription, and I was told it will cost about $97 out of pocket. The man told me if I got a different brand, it would be a lot cheaper, and my Dr. should call it in. I called my Dr. and it was called in for the cheaper brand. When I called back to pick it up, I was told it would cost more than the 1st one? I asked them how was that Right?'' I just called my Doctor to change it and waited 40 minutes to get them to call it in, and now you tell me it was more expensive!? They gave a discount and I paid $50 less than the 1st one. GREAT! I asked them when I could pick it up. The woman on the phone said in 1 hour. I went back in more than one Hour (hobbling my crutches). The same man -who made the mistake of telling me I could get a cheaper brand- said it wasn't ready and to wait 20 more min, and he was going to expedite it. I told him ok I was going to sit in the waiting area. 20 minutes went by and nothing happened. 45 minutes later one of the pharmacists felt sorry for me and asked me if I was still waiting for my prescription, I said yes. She went to see if they had it. Nothing happened, so I went to the window and WAITED IN LINE AGAIN. When I asked the same man, he went to check, and still it wasn't ready. I asked to speak to the manager, he turned around and told her. She heard me talking to him, and she ignored both of us. The man started doing other things and ignored me too while I was standing there. Both (the man and the alleged manager) continued to do other things!? I asked through the window if she was going to talk to me. she came in with her bad attitude, and didn't say anything? She just continued to do her thing on the registrar. That's when I got mad, and told her everything that happened to me, she got angry and took my prescription back, and said i yelled at her-i did raise my voice- and she wasn't going to serve me, and she was going to transfer the prescription to another pharmacy. HER NAME WAS JEN. I HAVE NO DOUBT IN MY MIND SHE WAS RACIST! I have an accent and I look foreign. I am not playing the race card because I'm not asking for anything. Actually the pharmacist who gave my flue vaccine was WONDERFUL and she was white. She was the one who asked me if was still waiting for my prescription. It was just the worst service I ever had because of Jen and her attitude and her reaction to my frustration. The other pharmacists were fine including the man who made the mistake. But, JEN was over the line from the beginning. She just decided to make me suffer, and wait and hamulate me by ignoring me for whatever reason she had in her head (the only thing I could think of was RACE). I couldn't hold back my voice was rising, things got worse (nothing was physical, just high voice), and she called Target security- the pharmacy was inside Target. After all that, I refused to leave until I got my prescription. The pharmacy man decided to override Jen and give me the prescription.
I will report this incident everywhere I can, and to my employer. CVS pharmacies are much inferior to Walgreens. I never had issues with Walgreens. But, there is nothing I can do about it because Caremark insurance is forcing me to use CVS only. When there is no competition, service goes downhill, and employees do not care Jen is a perfect example.

I order chemo specialty drugs from CVS Specialty (Order #0054840942) every month. This month I had to make 5 trips to pick up my prescription. It was delivered to my local CVS Pharmacy (Store #8886, located at 8601 South Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045), as requested and arranged with CVS Specialty, on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 2:39 p.m. I went to CVS on Friday, October 22 at 6:30, again on Saturday at a little after 4:00 p.m., again on Sunday at 1:30 p.m., this morning at 8:30 a.m. each time I was told my specialty drug had not arrived. I came home and called CVS Specialty and was told my chemo drug (Ibrance) was delivered on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 2:39 p.m. via UPS Tracking #1Z786W2ANW08852731. CVS Specialty called CVS Pharmacy and "miraculously" my prescription had just arrived and was ready for pickup. So, I again drive back to the store for a FIFTH trip to pick up my prescription that has been there since Friday, October 22, 2021 at 2:39p.m. If this were the first time I had been lied to about my drug not being delivered at this store I would let it slide but this is a habitual ritual with this branch. Management at this store needs to be replaced or retrained as it is completely incompetent and LIES!

Went to pick up prescription was asked if I knew about high copay I said yes as I knew it was $300.00 previously. So I paid but never checked my slip until I got home and was shocked to see it was $495.31. Could not get through on telephone so went down to pharmacy next day. They would not let me return or tell me why the change in price from time before. I was not told about difference in price from time before in copay and feel that I should be able to return unopened package for a refund. I would not have got if I knew about the difference in price.