Walgreens — Local services in Fuquay-Varina

TL;DR: Will not be back. Do not recommend. AVOID AVOID AVOID.

The hospital I was in called a prescription in to Walgreens before noon on Friday. I arrived around 2pm and the prescription wasn't ready, over 2 hours later. They said I could take a seat and wait, but it would be 30-45 minutes.

I told them I was already time for me to take my next does so can you please rush it? They said they would, then proceeded to keep me waiting for 40 minutes.

Finally, they called me up and handed me my prescription. It wasn't until I got home I realised they had only supplied two of five items on my medication list. As it turns out, one was a supplement I was already taking, leaving just two items unfilled. I waited the rest of the day for any notification that the rest of my prescription was ready for pickup, but nada.

Saturday I called another pharmacy and asked if I could get the prescription filled there. They said they'd have to call to have it transferred, but Walgreens typically takes one to two days to do that.

I called Walgreens to see what I could be done. They informed me that they had one of the items on my prescription "scheduled to be filled Monday". I said that was unacceptable, I'm meant to start that medication today. The response? "We can have it for you in 30 minutes. Actually, we can have it ready for you now. It'll be ready when you get here." So why couldn't they have given it to me in the first place?

I then enquired about the fourth medication, thiamine mononitrate, which the pharmacist hadn't said a word about. She said, "Oh, it's available over the counter."

I went back and they handed me the medication that had been mysteriously not included the previous day, and I asked about the thiamine. The guy said, "It's available over the counter." Slightly confused, I said, "Yes, I'm standing here at the counter. Can you please give it to me?" His curious response was, "No, it's not under insurance."

After a little confusion it turns out I was meant to go find it myself on the shelves in the store and pay for it at the regular checkout. I had no idea where to start, so I asked if someone could help me find it.

If they had just told me that it was just a B1 vitamin supplement I probably would have figured I could find that on my own. I would have been wrong. I took the pharmacist who came out to help me fully 15 minutes to find it, that's how disorganized their supplements aise is!

Avoid this place....

switched over to walgreens from CVS, my doctor sent in my prescription and I called to make sure that it was ready. I asked the lady on the phone if someone else could pick it up and bring in my insurance card for them to add in because I was busy caring for baby who is sick. The lady on the phone told me that was perfectly fine and so my boyfriend went to pick up my prescription immediately and he brought my insurance card. An older woman was the one who helped him at the pharmacy when he arrived and said that she thought he was up to something because he had brought in another persons insurance card and was trying to pick up their medication. My prescription was for birth control so he wouldn’t benefit from trying to maliciously pick that up. The lady who I spoke with on the phone told the older woman that it was okay because I had called and said that someone else was picking up my prescription and was bringing my card, but the older woman said she didn’t care and began to tell my boyfriend that she was going to ask him questions and he wasn’t allowed to look at anything and he had to get them right before she’d allow him to pick up my prescription. She was also trying to interrogate him on how he was able to get someone else’s card and things like that. Luckily another young woman stepped in and told the older woman that she was going to take over because it was holding up the line and it was getting ridiculous, so my boyfriend was able to eventually get my prescription.

It is absolutely ridiculous that if another pharmacy tech says that she spoke to me and I told her someone else was picking it up and bringing my card that the older woman was still trying to pick at and interrogate my boyfriend instead of calling me to confirm. instead she held up the line and was telling my boyfriend that she thought he was suspicious and trying to question him. Giving 2 stars because the lady I spoke with on the phone originally was very helpful and because another woman stepped in eventually to stop the older woman from continuing on questioning...

The pharmacy techs are WONDERFUL. I switched my prescriptions here as there was a medication shortage and I had a feeling that 24hr pharmacies had a better shot at making sure the medications were in. I’ve been going to this pharmacy for about 3 years and everyone has been very helpful.

The company renovated the pharmacy not too long ago, however, they failed to upgrade the internet AND systems they have. Makes no sense to me as those are the actual needs that would be useful for a better customer service experience. One thing to be aware of is, the number listed on their website for pharmacy help leads to a customer service rep not the pharmacist itself, so if you want actual support, I’d recommend going to the pharmacy itself. All of those techs have been extremely hardworking and that includes the staff outside of the techs too. Photos are quick to be delivered, they have great customer support and service. Like I mentioned, the companies decision to not upgrade their internet and computer systems really holds them back. Hopefully the company can get better technology as this is a 24hr Walgreens and one of the few for surrounding towns.

Update: I emailed Customer service on their website and let them know they should send their team to look at the Walgreens and ask the staff what they think they need help with. Hopefully corporate will actually help their staff with what they actually need. Sometimes staff actually have their hands tied and can’t problem solve but it’s not always because they don’t want to. Google reviews sometimes don’t make a change so you can also try sending corporate feedback. Maybe the more they get the better chance we can help improve this pharmacy so we can...