Duane Reade — Local services in New York

I've read the horrible reviews this place has so I was a bit anxious to go get my flu shot there the other day. I was running a little behind schedule and called to see if that would make a difference and the person on the phone was very friendly. I was still nervous about the actual in-store experience though.

When I got there, I found things to be different from the online reviews for me. I was greeted by a two person team who were very friendly.

By the pharmacy, the person behind the counter was very nice and seemed especially grateful that I filled out my forms online before the appointment. I had to wait a little while before the vaccination, but while waiting, I saw other people being helped by workers who seemed accommodating and helpful. Since I gave my insurance info, I was offered four free Binax covid tests if I wanted them. The flu shot itself was fast and painless although the bandaid had some difficulty staying on after a little while. But I didn't really need it at that point anyway.

The only reason I gave four stars instead of five was because I noticed the shelves weren't as stocked as they could have been. It was the middle of the afternoon and some areas were fairly bare.

I'm not saying that the other reviews aren't valid, but my experience yesterday was a...

Went to pick up a prescription for an inhaled saline solution for my newborn. I was told by the woman working they didn't have it and was handed a nasal spray that had saline and several other ingredients in it and told "same thing". I called the pediatrician who told me that what I was given was not the same and I should not give it to my child. When I told the woman at the pharmacy she insisted again it was the same thing and was giving advice that was directly contradictory to what the doctor said. I lost my temper and cursed her out at this point and I don't even feel bad about that. This idiot suggested the wrong thing as a substitution for a newborn's prescription and doubled down when I told her the doctor said it was the wrong thing. This time it was something innocuous, but she could legitimately kill someone by acting like she knows more than medical...

My wife had an ear infection and had to pick up her medication at the pharmacy. She was already hard of hearing, and the person who was helping her had a very thick accent. The worker started to sigh repeatedly very loud as my wife was asking her to repeat the question because she couldn’t hear too well in addition to her accent. As they weren’t making any progress, the worker ended up writing the question down on a paper and threw the pen towards my wife.

People are at the pharmacy to pick up meds because they’re experiencing difficulties although it may not seem that way outside. I’m pretty sure they won’t act the way they did to my wife towards their family members so why should they to their patients? Their lack of empathy left me speechless and I hope we do not have any business with them...