Walgreens — Local services in Lexington

Subject: COVID-19 booster appointment -- very poor, disappointing service — go elsewhere to get your vaccinations which is what I did and received an appointment and booster shot the same day and within a 10-mile radius from my home.

Background: I received a C-19 vax booster confirmation from Walgreens (60 Bedford Street, Lexington) then 2 days later a voicemail from the same pharmacy cancelling the appointment for lack of stock (I presume this meant the booster inoculation). I returned to the Walgreens website to schedule another appointment to discover the current appointment was still active. Scheduled a second appointment anyway then called the pharmacy at 02:00p to ask about the cancelled appointment. (1) The ONLY number provided is a Call Center number that poses an overlong question set, HOLD, then a human answers who could not answer any question other than confirm the appointment, could not provide a local pharmacy phone number, was able to identify the pharmacy as Walgreens 1863, and transferred my call directly to Walgreens 1863. My opinion: the Call Center in this case could not provide any more information than I already had -- waste of my time. (2) Was connected with the pharmacy at 02:10p, listened to Muzak for 2 minutes, then the phone rang unanswered for 2 minutes, reverted back to HOLD and Muzak for 2 minutes at 02:12p, 2 minutes later at 02:14p phone rang momentarily, then HOLD until 02:16p for 2 rings, HOLD until 02:18p for 2 rings, etc. until a male voice answered my call at 02:22p. My opinion: poor execution of handling calls — an example of poor management. (3) His replies to my question — yes, the phone call cancelling the appointment was for lack of stock; no, they do not update their website to display (a) lack of stock despite the website showing available supply, (b) it’s up to the Walgreens customer to reschedule the appointment, and (c) yes, the customer may still get a phone call cancelling the appointment if the lack of stock persists. My opinion: a total disregard for the Walgreens customer. By contrast the pharmacy where I received an appointment and C-19 booster inoculation two hours after my off-putting Walgreens experience was customer-centric and an example of...

The staff at this Walgreens are incompetent and condescending - and frankly discriminatory.

The white-haired woman at checkout mocked me when I was trying to figure out where to tap my credit card (their machine had no clear indicator). She said, 'I know it's hard, but this is a 20-year-old technology in America!' while pointing to the symbol on my card and adding, 'That means you can tap it - no need to swipe in any store in America.' She emphasized 'America' twice with this arrogant tone, like I was some ignorant foreigner who'd never used a card before. I've lived in 3 different states over 20 years. Of course I know how tap payments work. Maybe she's never encountered stores with outdated machines that don't take tap payments? This was the first time I've ever felt discriminated against in a store - and it's ironic it happened in Lexington.

On another visit, a different employee took nearly ten minutes to find my photo order among fewer than 20 items, insisting nothing was under my name. Only after I pushed did she finally locate it. I could've found it myself in 30 seconds.

The complete lack of basic competence and customer service here is shocking. Avoid this location unless you enjoy being talked down to and...

Had a bad experience at this store getting vaccines twice. First I got a flu vaccine appointment and had to wait an hour even after having an appointment. The pharmacists are quite rude to customers. They are probably over worked and under staffed, but it's their job to clear doubts and answer questions.

Then unfortunately I scheduled the COVID vaccine for my child here as it was the earliest appointment available, this time though the check in process was smooth, the person administering the shot was so rough. She literally scolded my child for having a long sleeve shirt on and then gave her the most painful shot ever. There was so much bleeding that I was shocked. I thought they were supposed to use pediatric needles for kids!! She also had a thick accent that made it difficult to understand what she was saying in terms of what side effects to expect, etc. I had my booster the next day at cvs and it went so smooth and the nurse was so good that I didn't even feel the needle. Give this place a miss if you are looking...