Boots — Local services in London

I had the issue with private prescriptions twice with this branch and a pharmacy client who was in the cue before me had exactly the same issue with them as well. The staff of this branch refuses private prescriptions that are emailed to them by private clinics claiming that those are not the original prescriptions as they “are not signed in inc”. It’s important to note that twice the prescription they denied was issued by a well known obstetrician from Chelsea and Westminster from their secretary email to Boot’s email, meaning that there was no doubt of it’s genuineness. To make matters worse, they didn’t give me this explanation straight away when I was served, instead they just said that they don’t have my prescription on file (because their colleague refused to file it earlier) and I ended up spending an hour calling my doctor and going to Boot’s staff to make sure they got their email. Before the aforementioned colleague came and admitted that they got they original email days ago, but “refused the prescription”. They claim it is requested by law for the prescription to be “singed in inc” and “posted to them by mail or brought by the patients themselves”. However, they also advised me to go to Chelsea pharmacy nearby “because those pharmacies accept digital prescriptions”. Which makes me question why would the law concern only Boots?

Despite the entire mess with their filing system for private prescriptions and communication with customers, their Prescriptions till has a lunch break that lasts one hour for the duration of which the service is completely shut down. So I had to wait for the entire hour nearby in order to try to get an antibiotic for my cystitis, while the staff decided to all have lunch at the same time. I was under impression that in the places that has urgency factored in (as a pharmacy prescription tool would be expected to) the staff takes turns to have lunch in order for the service to be constant throughout the whole working hours listed. And I have never seen the entire till being shut down for an hour before. This reminded me of how the bakeries used to work in the USSR during the years of my childhood and it is surely not the level of service I have ever expected from such a respectable pharmacy chain.

I will never be coming there again and am considering to complain to their manager about the appalling service I have...

I witnessed one of the most appalling displays of behaviour I’ve ever seen in a pharmacy. An elderly gentleman was simply trying to collect his medication, which they didn’t have in stock. Instead of showing any compassion or professionalism, one of the staff members — an Indian lady with glasses wearing a blue shirt — was mocking him and speaking to him in an incredibly rude and dismissive tone. When she supposedly tried calling another pharmacy, she started yelling, “They’re not picking up! They’re not picking up!” in frustration, right in front of him, instead of handling the situation calmly. The poor man looked confused and distressed, and rather than helping him or suggesting an alternative (like issuing a generic prescription, which would have solved the problem), she made things worse with her behaviour. To make matters even worse, this same staff member let someone cut the line right in front of me and was equally rude to me when I pointed it out. The pharmacist wearing a pink sweater stood by silently and didn’t step in once to address her conduct. It is absolutely disgraceful to treat any customer this way, let alone an elderly person clearly struggling with health issues. This level of disrespect, unprofessionalism, and lack of empathy is completely unacceptable — especially in a pharmacy setting where people come for care and support. I truly hope management reads this and takes action to address her behaviour. I will never return to this Boots for any pharmacy needs again. I sincerely hope that gentleman files a formal complaint, because no one deserves to be...

It is the second time that the people who handle medication and prescription let me leave the shop with zero help and even worse always give me the extreme scenario so I get even more worried and go to the hospital. However, I went to them for urgent relief as GPs are not available for weeks! And they know that but they prefer to send you away more stressed. First time I had a skin condition, they told me I had chickenpox. Even If I told them I had it when I was younger. Turned out it was something completely different. Then today, for my eye, he said "no I am not going to suggest any eye drop cause it may be a more serious problem like with something your brain!" And again, consult your gp! 🤦🏼‍♀️ Honestly, Boots train your pharmacists or your staff cause they are the ones probably who send everyone to the Emergency creating a massive backlog for hospitals. Pharmacists are supposed to help with minor issues but they are clueless and incompetent. At this point everyone can be a pharmacist. You just have to repeat...