Walgreens — Local services in Columbia

I could deal with long wait times you usually find at this location, I could deal with unhelpful employees, but what I think is completely 100% unacceptable is how one of the pharmacists here was very clearly trying to pass judgement on the medication I take, and was giving me unsolicited medical advice as though she was my doctor and not simply the pharmacist I was picking medication up from.

My doctor wanted to start me on anti-seizure medication after having one nocturnal seizure a year ago, and a suspected nocturnal one several weeks ago. But being in college I have not been able to get into see that doctor myself since the most recent one, and the doctor was mostly communicating with my mom about this new medication and all the medication I was currently on. So when I went to pick up this new anti-seizure medication me and my mom both wanted to double check with the pharmacist as well, that this new medication wouldn’t interact with my current meds and I was also wondering about most common potential side effects, because again being a busy college student if I knew I would be experiencing unpleasant side effects I wanted to wait for the weekend.

So I asked the pharmacist if this new medication interacted with any of the other medication I was on and for the possible side effects. She starts typing it in to her computer, and then begins a lecture about how adderall and amphetamines can actually cause seizures so maybe that’s my problem. I was genuinely confused why she would say this given I wasn’t even picking up my adderall then, she knows nothing about my medical history, and nothing about my seizure history so I just kind of asked her to move on and continue telling me if it interacted with my other medications and it’s possible side effects. She would not. She kept saying “well that’s just what it says when I type in all those medications so I’m just letting you know it could be your adderall” she said some version of this several times. I kept repeating that that wasn’t what I was asking for and that I could talk to my doctor more about that, I kept asking specifically for her to tell me if this new medication would interact with the current medications and what common side affects are. But she would not stop lecturing about adderall. It was extremely odd and upsetting. Before she even started this I was visibly upset and already crying because this whole situation has been so stressful and then this pharmacist elected to lecture me about a medication I wasn’t even asking questions about. Very unprofessional. FINALLY after several rounds of her lecturing, I was crying and raising my voice asking her to “please move on and just tell me if this new medication will interact with any of my medications and what side effects I can expect” she kind of rolled her eyes and then typed a few more things and was basically just reading me the google search of “may cause dizziness, change of appetite” and then in a pretty condescending way since I was so publicly upset, she goes “one of the most common is aggression, irritability, or depression. So for example you might ask your mom to see if she notices any changes in your mood” because I mentioned to her how I was doing all of this communicating with my doctor through the phone or through my mom. It was overall just so unprofessional, condescending, and very judgmental. I would be very very happy to disclose her name if management reaches out. I really just can’t understand why an adult woman working at a pharmacist would act like this towards someone who is clearly already upset and dealing with unknown medical issues. I really didn’t need the judgment for my ADHD...

Normally I give these guys rave reviews, not today though. My prescription was sent in on Friday August 30th to be filled on the 2nd of September (labor day) when I called in before my lunch break on the 3rd to make sure it was ready for pick up, I was told they hadn't even started because they were swamped after the holidays and it would be ready in two hours. Yes I'm on edge, I'm DTing from the medication I've been taking since adolescence (20 years). So I forced myself to take a deep breath, steady myself, and be courteous. I told them I'd try again in a couple hours if I got a break from work, but otherwise it would be seven hours before I made it in after work. When I arrived after work at 7:00PM (7 hours after they told me 2 hours.) I was very unapologetically told they hadn't started yet and that it would be 45 minutes before they could count out 56 pills. When I asked why I was told two hours seven hours ago and they hadn't even touched it, I was told again rather snidely, that "we've been really busy after the holiday, do you want us to text you or are you going to wait here?" Like that explained the flagrant lie responsible for me now getting to waste an hour of my day just sitting here while I lose the last hour of the daylight today, during which I'd had plans that are now completely shot. No apologies, not the normally phenomenal customer service that I'd get during the red haired pharmacist whose name I manage to perpetually forget, but who is always running such a tight ship's shift. I get that everyone deserves time off work, but the difference in competency is staggering, promote the redhead and have her train this shift/staff please, because this is so pathetic I'm on the brink of changing pharmacies over a single interaction.

Update: I had nothing better to do, so for the past hour I've entertained myself by counting how many times the Indian pharmacist that was so rude when I first came in coughed on her arms and hands and went back to handling people's medications as well as using the pharmacy phone and computer without washing her hands even once. So far, an hour into my "45 minute" wait, and we're at 36 violent wet coughs and not a single hand washing or squirt of sanitizer. I guess she's increasing...

I am only giving this rating one star because it wouldn't let me post with zero stars. My rating is actually Zero stars. I placed an order last night for delivery to my daughters dorm. Nowhere did it say the store used Door Dash, just gave option for pick up or delivery. Our local Walgreens delivers so presumed they did as well. I won't go into details but end story was, item never got delivered. Door Dash guy left it at the door somewhere, even after I was on the telephone with him twice to explain in detail where to go. Contacted Walgreens directly and spoke with store manager, Jen. She answered the telephone already sounding annoyed. She proceeded to say that basically this was my fault. She said I had to of picked Door Dash. I said there was absolutely nothing on the site that said Door Dash delivers, just says pick up or delivery. That's it. She went on and on, being very condescending and rude, and said this was Door Dash issue once leaves the store, even though they are the ones who contacted Door Dash, not me. I then called Door Dash who said this was not their issue since I didn't contract with them directly, which is exactly what I thought. She said this is Walgreens issue and I needed to speak with them since order was placed on their Website and I paid them directly. I told her about my issues with the store manager and she said the best thing probably would be to dispute the charges. She stated she would contact the store as well and see if she could get anywhere. I have never in my life encountered such poor customer service from a store manager as I did at this store. As you can see from previous reviews, it is a common issue with this store manager, Jen. She lacks the ability to properly communicate with other humans and just lacks basic human skills in general. She basically doesn't give a f*!# about the customers. Needless to say, I will not frequent this store again. If my daughter needs a prescription filled, or anything else, we will move it to...