Walgreens — Local services in Indianapolis

Update: (Two years later) This is an example of how one employee can change a customer's opinion of a business. I brought my rating up from one star to four because of the genuine kindness of the pharmacy manager.

Yesterday, I was in the store looking at remedies for poison ivy. The pharmacy manager approached my friend and I and said, "poison ivy?" I'm sure my red-swollen face was easy to spot! I didn't see the product that I usually get for this and asked him for his advice. He advised me to wash the infected area with dish soap five times in a row to wash away the ooze. Dry the area and use hydrocortisone cream for the inflammation. Since I had this at home, I ended up saving about $15. I followed his advice and it made a huge difference.

He could've walked right by, saying nothing, and I wouldn't have though anything about it. Because he stopped, expressed concern and offered advice, my entire impression of this Walgreens changed. I told him how appreciative I was, we chatted for a moment and I was on my way. I also noticed how nice the store looked. Thank you, Mr. Pharmacist! I'll be back for whatever I may need in the future!

"My Walgreens"... A Super Spreader Store.... The evening before Thanksgiving, I stopped by this Walgreens to pick up some much needed Draino. When I approached the checkout counter, one cashier was helping another customer. At the other checkout, there was an obese man with his mask pulled down to his chin. He was loudly going on and on with the cashier, potentially spreading whatever diseases he may have had. I stayed far away while he was there. At the same time, the cashier was motioning me to check out with her. I continued until he left the area. From his attire, he looked like a security guard (?) for Walgreens. He finally left the area and sat, maskless, at a chair near the entrance (presumably for customers). I asked the cashier if he worked there. She said yes. Meanwhile, maskless in his chair, he sounded like he was coughing up a lung. I asked to see the store manager to report this. The cashier said there WASN'T A MANAGER OR SUPERVISOR ON DUTY! I pretty much went ballistic on the poor cashier. SHAME ON WALGREENS! Your employees don't follow Covid safety guidelines, are unsupervised, yet you're going to distribute the vaccine!?! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME...

I promised when I visited the store today I would offer people other options. It is unfortunate that they do not look at other ways to provide services to the customer. Thus the reason they are closing some of their stores. But. . . Back to what I promised! If you are tired of never getting anyone on the phone in the pharmacy, or waiting hours in the line to speak with the Pharmacist only to find you have to wait longer to get the actual prescription I offer you a few options. . . . First, may I suggest you do the following no matter what pharmacy or where it is you choose: Always have them call or text you when prescription is ready for pickup. Have them put you on auto refill if it benefits you. Pick a company or location that you can get to at any business hour, even if it is on the bus (seems to me that even on the bus you could be done considering all the time you have spent waiting in line, or on the phone, at this location). When prescription needs renewal, call your doctor and let them work with the pharmacy.

NOW FOR YOUR OPTIONS-----

Option 1 You can transfer your prescription(s) to another pharmacy (Walgreens or another company). If you stick with Walgreens, most if not all locations can transfer you over the phone. If you are switching pharmacy companies (like Walgreens to CVS), the new pharmacy can usually complete the transfer for you once you have told them what you want transferred and for whom. Option 2 If you have insurance that has mail service, use them (usually have their own pharmacy). They also offer auto refill. The only down side is they cannot deliver pain meds through the mail. Those of you who heard me mention 2 weeks notice, that is in reference to allowing enough time to complete the transfer and be in a position to deliver meds in time on the first delivery. After that, it is all automatic unless you desire to change something. Hope you find this useful and pass it on to anyone you know who could benefit from it. May we ALL return to good health without the stress of managing...

To a great extent, this probably goes for pharmacy stores in general...

But these places seem absolutely ruthless in pursuing profit - much like Big Pharma and the entire US medical service industries behave in general.

The modus operandi seems to be to draw in sick or elderly patients who can't and won't go comparison shopping; and who are only going to shop at the 1 store where they get their medicine. Then, effectively holding a monopoly over these vulnerable individuals, the policy is to charge outrageously high prices, and rake in the $$$.

Again, I don't think it's fair to single out Walgreen's, or this particular location. Nevertheless, this ruthless pursuit of business profits strikes me as utterly outrageous, and frankly criminal whether "legal" or "unprosecuted," whatever social Darwinist and Libertarian and Objectivist crapola is at the root of American neoliberal economic attitudes. And in case it is not apparent, the US is increasingly falling down the charts in decent countries to live, especially in regards to life expectancy... although part of that comes from such disgusted cynicism that it's no wonder so many opt for...