Kroger review: Pharmacy 7

The Kroger pharmacy om Schoener and M59, Michigan, has messed up my prescriptions 3 months in a row. When I call their number, they tell me that the refills are waiting for doctor approval. I called my doctor and they have not received any orders. The request for a refill is done electronically and they have no record of a request. This is the third or fourth time they told me this - it must be their standard reply when they screw up. I called Kroger again, spoke to the manager, and she flat out lied to me. I have regretted changing pharmacies to Kroger and will be changing back to CVS. They are more expensive but at least they don't lie to me and refill my prescriptions when needed.

The pharmacy in Hot Springs Ar., on airport road. Has took a nose dive in service over the last year.John has an Poor attitude doesn't care if customers are assisted. There were 4 other employees ask for a flu shoot at 8:37 am. Was told after the last person in line for pick up prescriptions was waited on, ok, at 9:21 I ask again NO ONE was around, employees were laughing and chatting. I ask they still didnt care. I said well cancel it or give it. We cant I said yes u will or else. FINALLY? After 18 years of doing business and it is TERRIBLE. Too long to wait and employees that dont care. This is not the first time of POOR service,and John, seems to be there. I am seriously considering a move to another pharmacy. A friend recently changed due to poor service service and bad attitudes. Hope not everyone is treated like this 2 other people left sad they had to waste gas because no one cares.

Avoid the pharmacy at Cave Spring Corners in Roanoke, VA. Today I showed up for my vaccine booster shot appointment, only to be told “you’ll have to come back sometime later”. Apparently nobody in the pharmacy bothered to take the vaccines out of the freezer even though they were scheduled appointments.

This is also the same Kroger where a pharmacist previously lied to me to cover for their incompetence. They started having problems over a few months filling one of my regular prescriptions, and a few times the pharmacist told me that they were sorry but that there was a “shortage” of this medication in the market. This was well before any COVID-related shortages began.

The Walgreens a couple hundred yards away filled it while I waited, and their pharmacist flat-out stated that there was no shortage. Strangely enough, I soon found out that a different Kroger (a former MedCap pharmacy) about a mile away also was not experiencing the same “shortage”.

I began using the Kroger pharmacy at US Rte 42 and Hauck Rd., Sharonville Ohio several months ago due to a price discount through GoodRx, and it has been nothing but trouble. The unclear and incomplete communication, apparent lack of insight into how their own system even works, the lack of ability to realize that customers don't have access to all the information the pharmacy employees have, the scornful tone, and lack of professionalism are breathtaking, and I will not be returning.

My doctor writes my prescriptions for 90 days at a time, and I've always gotten them filled that way at CVS, Walgreens or wherever was convenient; it's cheaper, usually 90 days/pills at a time is the same price as two 30-day fills; this is true whether one uses insurance or GoodRx. When you take as many prescriptions as I take, this can add up to serious money.

But for one particular medication, my insurance copay had gotten too high, and there was no GoodRx deal for the other local pharmacies, only Kroger, so I took the prescription there.

I found out after my prescription processed that Kroger would only fill 30 pills at a time, resulting in my having to pay the 30 pill price every 30 days; even using GoodRx this means that I was paying substantially more money than I needed to.

The first time I asked why this was happening, they said it had been an oversight, that it had been corrected, and allowed me to pick up 60 more pills for just the difference in the price, as per their agreement with GoodRx. I made it clear I wanted my prescription 90 days at a time going forward, and was assured that would happen.

So I was confused when again 3 months later, there were only 30 pills. I was on my way out of town, so I let it slide due to being in a hurry, and figured I'd just end up paying a bit more overall, but I'd deal with it the next time.

So... The darned thing came back only 30 pills again yesterday. When I asked why, having confirmed with my doctor about the 90 days, I was told that it was "set up that way in their system and automatic refills would default to that unless I asked for it different." This was said as if I should have known these details about how their system works. So I apologized (though I shouldn't have) and said I hadn't known that, and remarked that I had asked for 90 day setup back in May, and that this was the annual "new script" so it presumably had not used the automatic refill. Whereupon they became defensive and spoke to me in a voice dripping with scorn; apparently I should also have known somehow that because it was the same drug, it used the same defaults in their system. I couldn't figure out why this person sounded so upset, almost panicked, as though I was putting them on the spot... I said I understood about it using prior defaults, but asked "how did it get set up that way in the first place, and how can I fix it?"

At this point the the employee became irate saying "you don't seem to like my answer so I'm transferring you to the pharmacist." What answer? Mind you, I had up to this point not raised my voice or acted anything other than puzzled and concerned, despite the provocation and frustrating nature of the situation.

FINALLY, the pharmacist told me the reason it kept defaulting to 30 days was because "that's all your insurance would pay for." I said, "oh! I understand! That's the first time I've heard this... but I haven't been using my insurance for this drug, because GoodRx is cheaper." I was informed, again in a demeaning tone, that their system pings the insurance first automatically unless the customer tells them not to do that, or unless the insurance is removed or deactivated from the account, and that therefore any limits the insurance imposes will carry over even if the insurance is not being billed.

First of all, that's a glaring bug in their system and needs to have been corrected many moons ago. Secondly, this was said as if I somehow should have known about this quirk in their system!

(I did contact my insurance later, and the story about 30 days is not precisely true: it's only for certain pharmacies. Possibly these employees aren't allowed to say that though, because it is basically like telling the customer to take their money elsewhere.)

But honestly, the fact that I was told several different things about this matter, that it was never mentioned for four months about the system pinging my insurance and what I could have done to change that, leads me to believe that one or more of these employees has gaps in their knowledge of their job in key areas, and for whatever reason feels they have to shift blame to the customer rather than take responsibility. This, plus the nasty tone of voice have resulted in my decision to take my money elsewhere. They're allowing the difference in pill count for the difference in price again "as a courtesy" (ha ha), but they are out of stock and I have to wait for 5 days...

I have since found a better price at a competitor, but I would be going elsewhere no matter what. I take 9 or 10 different medications, and Kroger has lost my business for decades to come thanks to this rudeness, incompetence, and complete lack of professionalism.

I had a Covid vaccine appointment with Kroger Pharmacies (Ralphs Palm Desert) but the night before they cancelled my appointment. They ran out of vaccine and are not willing to work me back into the queue when vaccine is available. So people who signed up after me will get the vaccine and I am not even able to get another appointment (all slots filled). Meanwhile I have not pursued other options since I received a confirmation for my appointment. I am distressed and upset to say the least.

Could someone please provide a phone number that i can call and speak to someone at Kroger who has the power to make changes to the customer service that is abused by this person. I would greatly appreciate it. My email address is rbburgess71484@gmail.com Ill keep my eyes on my email, and thank you very much for hearing me out, just being able to speak on this has helped me greatly emotionally.

RE: Kroger Pharmacy, in Poplar Bluff Missouri. I called in my meds through the automated system which said it would be ready at 11:00 am. Then I called back at 11:00 am and the automated system said that it was ready, so I got in my car and drove 15 miles one way to pick up my meds. When I got there, the woman said it was almost ready and as I was setting there a different woman inside the pharmacy who I had gotten into an argument with months ago said "no were not filling that one today for that BIT*H"! So the other woman who was just following orders came back to me and said "Im sorry but we cant fill it today" This is not the first time that it has happened, If that woman is not working, my meds are filled the on time which is Saturday everytime. But whenever she is there, she is very unprofessional and makes me wait a day after the last legal day they are due to be refilled. I am working on getting her name and a recording of our conversations so you can see the proof of how she likes to disrupt my life instead of providing true customer service. One last thing when she is not on duty my meds are refilled on Saturday everytime and all the other girls are sweet as can be and make you want to continue to due business with the Kroger Pharmacy in Poplar Bluff Missouri.