Walgreens — Local services in Alcoa

Let me preface by saying that 75% of the store and staff are lovely. If I didn't need Rx filled, this would be a five star review. BUT: This pharmacy tries my patience.

I regularly fill 3 scripts on a monthly basis.

I regularly get phone confirmation and app notifications that ALL ORDERED SCRIPTS have been filled, only to arrive at the store for pick up (and if you're picking up anytime from 8am to 9pm, be prepared for a lengthy wait, as the pharmacy is severely understaffed) to find that one or more Rx has indeed NOT been filled, and I am supplied with no other explanation than "please contact your prescriber."

Upon contacting the prescriber, the pharmacy failed to reach out for necessary information to fill aforementioned Rx. So essentially, I am left to do the staff's job. No other area pharmacy hesitates to contact the prescriber if there is a problem.

The pharmacy staff is indifferent at best and discourteous at worst. When there is a problem with getting Rx filled as they are ordered, the staff simply can't be bothered to offer any kind of gracious customer care.

Most recently (today) I experienced a phone hold of 22 minutes as the 1 caller ahead of me was addressed (I know there was only one caller ahead of me, as the answering service broadcasts that information... just in case you'd like to hang up).

It is my opinion that the staff is overworked & understaffed for the volume of customers at this location. I've worked in retail before, so I do have some empathy. But that is no excuse for doing your job poorly & executing your duties half heartedly. If you want to cut corners, pharmaceuticals may not be the best career path for you.

Consequently, I believe this location falls victim to such high turnover with pharmacy employees that the staff is poorly trained & apathetic. To save my sanity & precious time, I will be taking my business elsewhere. I suggest you...

The Walgreens Pharmacy Pharmacists are Phenomenal - My Experience - The pharmacists here have given advice to myself, my daughter, and my husband over the years, and today specifically, that has been integral in the treatment and in the health of our bodies. They are incredibly knowledgeable, respectful, patient, and polite. For example, today my daughter was vomiting from taking an antibiotic called Augmentin. I was told by a Nurse Practitioner that my daughter should take Augmentin, and that it was the same as Amoxicillin. However, that was WRONG. I did not understand why my daughter was experiencing painful vomiting when taking the Augmentin, but had never had problems in the past with plain Amoxicillin. After doing some research, I called the Pharmacist on staff today. He explained that Amoxicillin was in her record, and has always worked excellent in the past for her. However, Augmentin is NOT the same as Amoxicillin: it is something different called Amoxicillin Clavulanate. The Clavulanate component is making her have terrible abdominal pains and violent vomiting. He (the pharmacist) added Augmentin to her antibiotic allergy list in her record there. And he informed me that plain Amoxicillin is very suitable to treating a sinus infection, which is what she has (severe persistent sinus infection which was not responding to over the counter and natural remedies). Today she has an appointment to get her antibiotic changed to plain Amoxicillin, and my husband and I now know that while Augmentin causes her a problem due to the Clavulanate component, that the Amoxicillin works absolutely beautifully, and without any negative side effects. Thank you for your excellence and dedication to your patients. You are...

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. I picked up my prescriptions here for almost a year. Customer service is nonexistent. I used GoodRX to pick up my prescriptions for 6 months because I am an independent contractor without insurance. Suddenly one day, they stopped accepting GoodRX. I was willing to pay the difference (even though it was annoying) but they cancelled my prescription because they assumed I couldn’t pay for it. I asked them to fill it again and they said it would be ready in 3 days when the truck came. I went back, they didn’t have it. They told me it would be on the next truck, i went back and they didn’t have it. At that point they said they didn’t even have a refill request. They re-entered it (supposedly) and told me it would be there the next week. This continued on for 5 weeks. That was the nail in the coffin for me after months of dealing with them. They messed up so many prescriptions for me, including ones for mental health which is dangerous. I finally gave up on them and moved to Kroger. Since moving to Kroger, I’ve had zero issues with my prescriptions. Unfortunately, my wife still picks up her prescriptions there. Today she is sick so I went to drop it off for her. I sat in the second line waiting on the tube for 15 minutes. Just to drop off a prescription order, that’s it. All I needed was the tube. The pharmacist ignored me the entire time I sat there and didn’t send the tube for 15 minutes. This is the worst pharmacy I’ve ever been to. If you read this, take it as a cautionary tale and just go somewhere else. Even...