Complain about a product or service

Wal-Mart Pharmacy

Charles of Riverside, CA July 7, 2009

My most recent experience at Wal-Mart was completely unacceptable! I was picking up my prescription and had a question about taking the medication as I had never taken it before. Assuming that's his job, and I know it is, he was very hesitant to give me a consultation. He came to me only after he had spoken to another pharmacist in another language(Asian). They both laughed and stared at me till one of them finally approached me with attitude. He told me he was very busy and that Vicodin was like taking Tylenol. He said to just "pop one in my mouth and drink water". It made me feel very stupid as I knew he was being a "smart ass". I don't work in the medical field and I'm a very healthy person, yet I know that's not the way to speak to a patient. I asked another staff for his name and they didn't hesitate to give it to me.

Anne of New York, NY July 1, 2009

AVOID Wal-mart Pharmacy Home Delivery service. For the second time in three months, I don't have my prescription medication because they screwed up. I refilled the prescription with the automated phone service and indicated that I wanted it expedited. The meds didn't arrive on time so I called customer service. Three times I was put on hold for long periods of time. When I finally reached people I was treated with indifference and contempt. So, I don't have medication which I'm supposed to take daily. This isn't a t-shirt, it is my HEALTH!! But there is noone to call, you can't get help. No one at Wal-mart cares in the slightest if you get meds on time or not.

Deborah of Polo, IL June 10, 2009

For the 3rd time in the less than 4 months that I have been getting my presciptions at the Wal-mart pharmacy in Dixon IL, I have had a problem with the people behind the counter not being able to find my prescriptions when I come to pick them up. Today my husband stopped at 1:30 and asked for my prescription. He was very rudely told that they didn't have anything under that name as they were closing their doors for their lunch break. Since this had happened to me before, I asked him to go back after their lunch was over and ask again. Well, miraculously the prescription had appeared while they were out to lunch. I have never sent a formal complaint anywhere, but this kind of service is inexcusible at a pharmacy. It makes one question the quality of their service behind the counter as well as in the front.

sherry of South Point, OH June 24, 2009

my daughter dropped off 3 prescriptions this evening to get filled. when she went to pick them up she was told the total for the 3 and she did not have enough money to pick them all up right then, (actually,, she had just enough money but she would not have been able to get her children anything to eat if she had paid for all three) so she told the lady that she would take the antibiotic as she needed it badly and the other two were eye drops and nose spray and she knew she could get by without those until friday when she got paid, but she really needed the antibiotic.

Marge was initially waiting on her and this other lady chimmed in and said you dropped off 3 prescriptions you gotta pick all three up or none. Marge acted like she was surprised at what this lady was saying but she did not step up and take care of my daughter. My daughter was shocked as she has been able to pick up a portion of her prescriptions if she needed to before. There have been times she has dropped off prescriptions and didn't need all them filled at that time and it never was a problem. The lady would not help her. of course it was closing time (which probably had a lot to do with the problem) the lady that refused to let her pick up one of her prescriptions did not have a name tag on but she was in her 50's, had shoulder length hair and wore glasses. they cannot refuse to give you a prescription if you are paying for it .

they cannot determine that they are not going to give you some of your prescriptions. my daughter is a single parent and is so sick right now, and is unable to get started on her medications to help her to feel better. due to having an infection (is why the doctor prescribed an antiobiotic/my daughter is running a high fever. I am going to go as high as I have to get make sure this does not happen to another person. this lady was extremely rude (which is pretty much par-for-the course for Walmart. what if this had been a life-threatening drug and whose to say it is not...I do not want this to happen to anyone else.

Peter of Rock Falls, IL June 23, 2009

On Thursday 6-18-2009 I had a medical emergency that required an immediate endoscopy proceedure resulting in the finding of a bleeding ulcer. My doctor gave me a prescription (which I have since learned he should not have done because as it turns out it's available over the counter).

As my friend drove me home from the clinic which preformed it I called my ex wife to tell her what they found and said that we were going to go to Walmart Pharmacy to have the prescription filled for "42 OMEPRAZOLE 20 MG" pills. She told me that it is available over the counter and since she has gerd and knows about those medications I figured she might know what she was talking about so when I arrived at the Rock Falls, Il. Walmart pharmacy I asked the clerk at the prescription drop off window if it was available over the counter and was told "NO" is not. They proceeded to fill the prescription at a cost of 117.78.

The following Sunday 6-21-09 while talking to a friend, who also suffers from gerd, she told me that indeed it is available over the counter at a much lower cost than I paid and that she buys it over the counter at Walmart. On Monday 6-22-09 when I returned to the Rock Falls Walmart to have another prescription filled, while waiting for it I checked the over the counter acid blocking drug area and found the EXACT SAME THING-OMEPRAZOLE 42 COUNT-20MG for 19.98, 97.80 less than I had been charged. I took an over the counter box of it to the pharmcist and was told yes indeed it is the exact same thing and that I should not have been told that it was not available over the counter. I, in fact, think that I should not even had had to ask, WHICH I INDEED HAD!! ASKED. She told me that when the pharmacy manager returned from lunch that she would inform him of this MISINFORMATION that I received resulting in an OVERCHARGE TO ME OF 97.80 and would ask him to resolve the problem.

When the manager did call me he informed me that his supervissor had told him that the only thing he could do was to prorate for the product that I had already used (9 pills) and refund 89.60 (if you take 42 and subtract 9 that= 33) Upon counting my pills I only had 32 so it appears that I was shorted 1 pill to begin with in addition to being overcharged. Bottom line. 117.78 minus 89.60 = 28.18, and I would still need to buy the box of 42, more than I need, for 19.98 resulting in a cost to me of 48.16 for a purchase that should have only been 19.98.

That 28.18 OVERCHARGE is SMALL CHANGE to Walmart. It's BIG MONEY to someone who lives on a small pension and is facing more medical expense in connection with the medical problem I am dealing with.

jeff of fremont, CA June 14, 2009

The pharmacist refused to fill a prescription without cause and told me to go somewhere else to get it filled. I asked him why and he refused to answer me. I will never buy another product from your store again. Worst customer service and the pharmacist at this location should be fired.

Robert J. of Charlottesville, VA June 9, 2009

I was victim recently to a 1.5 hour wait on a quoted 45 min.wait. Also the pharmacist who claimed to be on duty that particular morning emphatically stated that there were no waits over 20 min. I take issue with this seemingly bold-faced lie. I sat next to a gentlemen that particular day who was initially behind me when I dropped off the prescriptions to be filled. He also had to wait an inordinate amount of time( close to my wait time) for his prescription(s) to be 'filled'.

There's more. Fax contact with my Dr. office on two separate occasions emanating from W.M. pharmacy never happened according to my Dr.'s office personnel. I do not believe in this particular ' coincidence'. I will say that prior to several weeks ago I had basically no problems with this pharmacy. I had been transacting business there for over 5 years easily and received excellent service from all pharmacy personnel.

Cody of Plano, TX June 10, 2009

On 6-6-09 I went to the Walmart Pharmacy at Spring Creek and Coit, Plano, TX 75024, Store # 2086 at 12:45 PM. I just moved to this area and wanted to transfer a prescription. Six month ago, the store pharmacies may have changed the laboratory providing Hydrochlorothi 25MG, probably for financial business considerations. Since then it comes in a flat box with the pills sealed in aluninum paper. I am a senior citizen, I have rheumathoid arthritis in my hands, no strength in my fingers, in addition to a recent surgery for a broken wrist. I cannot physically remove those pills by pressure with my fingers. In other pharmacy, where they knew me for over 8 years (and where I got all other medicines) they have made an exception and put the 90 pills in a container.

When I asked the same customer service in this one, the pharmacist told me their supervisor has "forbidden" them to do that. I explained my problem, and informed him I live alone. I asked him if dissabilities are not taken into account. The answer was negative. If this is really a supervisory orden I argue that this Walmart customer service to people with handicaps/dissabilities is, I believe, unacceptable, is harsh, rude and inconsiderate. I am not sure if it is illegal, but certainly, in my opinion, it deserves some attention from Management.

Linda of Lowell, NC June 3, 2009

I've used this pharmacy since we moved to Lowell and have had problems with them not having our meds on hand or missing pills etc. little problems. I recently went to my Drs. office and he gave me a prescription for Zmax along with a coupon from Pfizer pharmarcuticals That states Never pay more than 20.00. I took it with me to te pharmacy with my prescription and handed it all to the technician. She took them and laid them side by side and said that it would take at least an hour and a half.I said thats a coupon for the Zmax she said I know. I said okay and went home, I felt terrible as I had a nasty sinus infection.

My daughter went back to the pharmacy after two hours and had to wait FOUR HOURS before finally being told that they wouldn't have it in until the following day after 2:00. She was not happy nor was I. The following day my daughter went back to the pharmacy after at 4:00 and after an hour was told that they only needed to mix it. She watched while a Technician mixed the prescription, then shook it for prep. At that point the Technician told my daughter that it would be 81. and some change. My daughter then asked " What about the coupon?" She was then told that they were not sure, then after 15 more minutes she was told they didn't have it, then after 5 minutes more was told that it wouldn't go through. She then came home and told me what had happened.

Let me just tell you I also suffer from both meniers disease and ostioarthritis it is very difficult for me to stand in lines for hours on end, so my 30 year old daughter with THREE children 4yrs 6yrs and 8yrs old out of her love for me offered to go to the pharmacy for me. After we both settled down a bit, she called to talk to the phamacist directly and he told her (on speaker phone so I could hear) that he doesn't know what happened to the coupon maybe it did'nt go through and if I just go back to my Drs. and ask him for ANOTHER coupon that they would fix it. Excuse me but is'nt that his JOB to fill prescriptions? I CAN NOT and I WILL NOT GO BACK TO MY DRS. OFFICE 35 miles from my home to get another coupon. WHAT I WILL DO IS NEVER EVER USE THIS PHARMACY AGAIN !!! I have already taken the rest of my prescritions to WALGREENS.

Melissa of North Little Rock, AR May 12, 2009

On 4/10/09 I had an issue with the Wal-Mart pharmacy located in North Little Rock, AR; the situation was as follows: When my husband went to the store to pick up my 3 month old daughters prescription, he was given the wrong prescription. The pharmacist asked if my daughter had this prescription before and he said no. During the consultation the pharmacist realized it was the wrong medication. One of the medications was for her thrush (which was correct) and the other was for prescription diet pills, with her name on the label. I filed a complaint with Wal-Mart online and received a call from the district manager, R. Miller, about 4 days later and he assured me the issue would be addressed and taken care of appropriately. On Friday (4/17/09) my daughter had to revisit the doctor because the medicine she was taking was not working and he prescribed her a new anti-fungal medication. My husband took the prescription to the pharmacy at Wal-Mart (because we were assured this was a onetime mistake and it would not happen again). To be on the safe side, he asked the doctor's office to write down what the prescription was for and what the dosage should be. Upon retrieving her medicine from the pharmacy he asked for a consultation and the pharmacist came to speak to him. He was told that he should give her 5 ml that day and 1 ml everyday thereafter for 13 days. That was 5 times the amount the doctor told had told him. He asked the pharmacist why there was a difference and the response he was given was "I thought that was a high dosage and I called the doctor but I have not heard back."

My question is, why was the prescription being released prior to confirmation? The pharmacist then changed the prescription dosage to reflect what he had written down from the doctor. Upon returning home he notified me of the situation and I looked online and it clearly states that over dosage on this medication could result in HALLUCENATIONS AND/OR SEIZURES. The dosage information that he was originally given was 5 times the amount she should be taking! She could have clearly over dosed based on the dosage information the pharmacist gave him. This needs to be brought to the attention of the public so that extra precautions are taken on at least one side of the spectrum considering Wal-Mart is not taking precaution on their part. This lack of attention to detail could have permanently affected my daughter. If this type of situation could occur twice within a 2 weeks period, I am scared to know how many times it has occurred that have not been brought to anyone's attention. I contacted Wal-Mart again in regards to the 2nd incident and I was told by the district manager, R. Miller, that he spoke with the pharmacist and that it was a typing error upon entering the prescription into the system. Nothing further was done! We have filed a complaint with the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy and sent in some paperwork to Wal-Mart Corporate Office. I also contacted a lawyer to see if we had any legal stance and we were told no because our daughter didn't actually take the medicine with the wrong dosage. She would have had to gotten sick for it to be brought to anyone's attention, so since we were careful nothing gets done and this could happen to someone else.

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