Walgreens — Local services in Chico

I have been a customer of this Walgreens for more than a decade. They have always had customer service issues—unnecessary delays, lack of communication, mistakes around insurance, erroneous overcharging, and rude comments—but I continued to use them because they were the only game in town open 24 hours a day. Things seem to have gotten significantly worse since they were supposedly embroiled in an opioid scandal a few years ago, although really COVID is what stripped this location of any pretense of caring about customers. They have had a revolving door of pharmacy techs, many of whom appear to be either incredibly paranoid of getting pulled into another scandal or just enjoy the illusion of power in arbitrarily denying people the medications prescribed to them.

In my case, the pharmacy tech refused to fill my script for Adderall because SHE felt that the dose was too high, despite it being a medication I’ve been taking at the same dose prescribed by the same provider and filled at that same location since 2017. She implied I was a drug seeker, and when I got upset, went off into some bizarre tirade which focused on how people are dying. I had to have my doctor call in to affirm the validity of the script (his medical assistant called first, speaking to the same tech who again implied I was a drug seeker and went off on the same tangent about how people are dying elsewhere) and still this tech would not give me my medication. I decided to call the manager over that one, and he insisted that it didn’t matter because Adderall were in stock anyway.

And still, I put up with this, even as their techs are so abrasive they don’t ask to put you on hold; they just do it. Last week I went to pick up an antibiotic and was told that although it was ready, they couldn’t give it to me because the pharmacist was on his break and I couldn’t opt out of the consult. I came back half an hour later, as instructed, and waited another 10 minutes before driving into the pick-up line. When I got to the window a different tech told me that the pharmacist hadn’t returned from their lunch yet and that I’d have to wait another half an hour “until 1:30, like the sign says.” I pointed out that it was 1:42 and she didn’t even acknowledge it. I was so angry I called the other Walgreens and within 20 minutes I had my antibiotics.

Then, fast forward to today. I took my daughter to the doctor and she has an awful case of strep throat. She is completely inconsolable, crying nonstop because she just wants to feel better. It took them FOUR hours to fill liquid amoxicillin. They refused to even give a reason why. They’re just completely unmotivated to provide expeditious resolution. I’m completely fed up and moving all of my prescriptions to a different...

This review is specifically for the pharmacy and our visit regarding a vaccination. I scheduled the Chico State required Meningitis B vaccination appt for my college bound daughter online which is the only thing that went right through the entire process.

Upon arriving for our appointment, we were helped by a gal who was still in training. They struggled with our request for the Men B vaccine and we were finally called into the injection room 40 mins later.

I asked the pharmacist when her next shot in the series was due. She said she didn't know. Hunh. I ended up googling it myself. That is very important info for the provider to know and communicate.

I didn't realize I wasn't provided a record of the immunization until after we left. No problem, I'll create a Walgreens account for her and print it from there. Except when I accessed it, it just showed "Meningitis" as the listed vaccine and there are TWO Meningitis vaccines - and I have to be able to prove that she received the correct one. The website instructions say if your record is wrong to chat with them, so I did. The chat pharmacist stated I would have to return to the pharmacy, that they couldn't access the records. SMH.

At the pharmacy once again, I asked the gal at the window if she could help us and her answer was "I don't know. I'm new." Oh goodie.

She eventually stated there was nothing she could do. I said that is an unacceptable answer. My daughter received a Men B vaccine and I need to prove to the college that that is what she received.

They eventually had the pharmacist fill out a school record form and she literally hand wrote "B" next to the pre-printed "Meningitis" entry.

While this location has the best candy selection in town if you're on your way to the movie theater, I cannot recommend immunizations from them as they are grossly...

I've never had a worse pharmacy experience, and honestly messing up people's medications should have some kind of legal enforcement. I've been a steadfast Walgreens customer for at least 16 years. I recently moved to the area and was originally delighted with how nice everyone here was. They informed they wouldn't be able to fill one of my regular prescriptions properly because of corporate supply issues, and went out of their way to recommend local pharmacies that might be able to help. I decided to keep my other prescriptions with them because they were so friendly. But then a multitude of other issues happened: 1. They were unable to transfer one prescription from another Walgreens. They told me they fixed it, but it wasn't actually fixed until I personally talked with the other Walgreens to force it through. 2. They lost - just LOST - an urgent prescription my doctor called in. He called it in. When I went in to pick it up they told me they were out of stock and I would need to come back in a week. I did so and they told me they had no record of the prescription at all. The technician who talked to me the second time was unapologetic and blamed my doctor (who wasn't super excited that he had to call it in again to a different pharmacy and that I hadn't been taking it yet). 3. They again lost the transfer of the previously manually transferred prescription and told me "well, we don't have it". Every other Walgreens has it. Why not this one?

Side observation - this pharmacy seems to have 5-8 people working in it at all times, but there is still always a half an hour wait. My previous Walgreens (I used 4 interchangeably for years with no problems) had 2 people and could handle things so...