Complain about a product or service

Walgreens - Poor Service

Walgreens • Prescription Errors • Prices • Co-Pay • Service --- News • • Walgreens.com's Pharmacy Gets Top Rating • Walgreen's Settles Michigan Item-Pricing Suit • Walgreens Cases Spotlight Problem of Rx Errors • Walgreens to Pay $1.6 Million in Massachusetts Class Action

Robert of Roseville MN (8/1/03):
My doctor ordered Prinivil tablets 20-mg twice daily, 60 tablets each month for me. First they changed the pill to generic called Lisinopril. In small doses 20-mg I had no problem but in 40-mg doses that they had me split in half I had problems. The last time I had the problem my doctor was on vacation. So I went back to the 20-mg. pills that I still had, until he got back.

Doctor called in another order for 20-mg twice daily. What I got was the same pill that I had problems with before, pains in the head just like you get before you have a stroke. I stayed on my 20-mg pills that I had. We just did it again, same thing. The 40-mg pills are not scored and there nothing in their literature about spliting the pill to get equal amounts. So I could get 60-mg in 12 hours.

None of the druggists there could give answer about splitting the 40-mg pill. They did give me the literature on the 40-mg pill. All the druggists were nice to deal with but none of them could answer my question on the splitting of the 40-mg pill. When a pill has a score mark that means that it's 50-50 on each side. This pill is not marked.

Carroll of Fleetwood NC (6/3/03):
The pharmacy at West Jefferson Wal-Mart needs something done. Sometimes they ignore you, sometimes you wait and wait and wait and wait for your prescription and they keep telling you just a few more minutes. Today I took a prescription in and was told it would be twenty minutes. I did my shopping, went back and they told me it would be a few more minutes. I stood there about 30 minutes and then after approximately 2 hours in the store waiting for the prescription I was told they did not have it.

As I was waiting so were many other people for some time and I heard one lady tell them if her prescription was not ready to just give her the prescription back. I have heard other people complain it is just too much bother as they don't seem to want to wait on you and if they do it takes much longer than any other place.

Linda of Homestead FL (3/26/02):
After receiving an Rx from Dr. Rigoberto Franco in February for Celebrex, I went to the above mentioned Walgreens's and was informed that in order for my insurance to cover it, Walgreens's would need an authorization number from the doctor. I informed my doctor's office and they took care of it. I received an authorization letter from the insurance company and went back to Walgreens's (NABP #1083562) only to be told again that it was NOT authorized.

I went to the doctor's office and they copied the info. that had been faxed to the ins. carrier as well as the approval letter from the insurance company. I took it to the pharmacy and was told that it was NOT authorized and Walgreens's gave me a number for my doctor's office to call. I called again and the doctor's office called again. Long story, short - Seven (7) times is what the insurance has record of authorization for this medication - I have yet to receive it once! Each attempt I have made to pick up my (covered) Celebrex, the same NO authorization from the Walgreens's staff.

I tried, (after being on hold half an hour), to explain to the pharmacist (Bob Brown) my dilemma and if he could call the helpline with Merck Medco and was rudely informed that this was my problem and that my doctor's office was to blame. Merck Medco was kind enough to make a 3-way call for me to this pharmacy to let Walgreens's know that it was indeed Walgreens's mistake. This particular Walgreens's seem to be understaffed, overworked and hostile against the patrons...even the pharmacist could not have been less concerned with this situation and even called me back to inform me that he had called the insurance carrier and found out that I was NOT approved.

A phone call to the insurance carrier proved that he had NOT called them at all. One might expect this behavior from a clerk but certainly not a professional representing Walgreens's!

I have been dealing with this situation for a little over a month ... doctor kind enough to give samples until Walgreens's could get things right. Arthritis is not a pleasant thing to deal with - Thank goodness for medication that allows movement and less pain. Have spent hours trying to obtain my Celebrex from Walgreens's and spoken to by the pharmacist on duty,as well as the staff, as if RUDE was a company requirement.

Jeanine of Frankfort IL (2/18/02):
I went to the Walgreenss in Frankfort to pick up my daughter's prescription, after it had been dropped off for approximately 4 hours. I waited 7 people deep in line. Upon my turn I gave the name, the employee shuffled through prescriptions, it was not yet filled. As I was waiting for the prescription to be filled I noticed the Pharmacist that was filling my daughter's prescription on a phone call. At that point I told him to forget it and give me the slip back. He then told me it would only be 2 minutes, I informed him I wanted him to give the mixing of my child's medication his undivided attention.

When I arrived at home I was so aggravated with my experience I called the manager to voice my complaint about the chance of error. The manager proceed to make excuses for the pharmacist, he was busy, they are short handed because of the flu. I told the manager he was not understanding my complaint. THE PHARMACIST SHOULD NOT BE "MULTI-TASKING". HE SHOULD BE GIVING HIS UNDIVIDED ATTENTION TO THE MIXING OF MEDICATIONS.

My insurance works through Walgreenss; I have no choice but to deal with their care-less attitude. I am worried too with them growing to such a large company, how many errors will the pharmacist have to make before they will allow him to concentrate on his job.

Gail of Redding CA (8/28/01):
I had my whole family's medications provided by Walgreenss and it was excellent service at first, when the store was establishing customers. I thought this is neat, a pharmacy that is open 24 hours a day. I have a busy schedule and the medications have to be there, we order medications 9-12 monthly every month. My youngest takes 8 different medications a day; and CAN NOT go without them.

But after six months we began to have problems. Medications were continually not filled when they were needed, even though they were given a week to get the doctors approval. They kept blaming the doctors office for not faxing the approval over to them. Than I got upset with the doctors office; when I found out it wasn't the doctors office at all, they had faxed Walgreenss every time and had proof through there records that they had been faxed. Then they said it was because they had over 5000 customers ... but when you need medications you can't set around and wait, you need them filled in a timely manner.

There were even times they told me I never called it in. Well after many months I decided to which to another pharmacy so that I wasn't running back in forth for our medications. We finally have found a pharmacy that delivers right to our door, who if need be will front us medications on renewals if the doctor doesn't get back to us right away.