Duane Reade — Local services in New York

On the 50th Anniversary, #WorldPride march in #NYC , of the #stonewall riots of 1969 I stepped out to grab a snack to assuage me before our float moved. I stopped in at a Walgreens #DuaneReade, 28th & Park Ave So., and as I approached the checkout counter I was greeted with snickering chuckles and out right laughter. Everything was perfectly routine before I stood in my truth to be rung out. My cashier was even being egged on to laugh, as was the manager. My cashier did not crack, the manager however did. I could recall in that moment every time I was laughed at for just EXISTING. Kory went as far as to step outside because if he stayed inside he knew there’d be hell to pay, especially considering there were cops in the building and we all know how unpredictable those scenarios can be. I was seething with anger, hurt, and disrespect. One of the staffed men went as far as to leave the checkout registers while saying to himself, “oh no I gotta go I can’t do THIS!” I’m sure they will try and pretend it had nothing to do with me, but I know it did. I was made a joke out of. All while I stood in line with the words #STOPKILLINGUS written on my forehead, and the name of EVERY #TRANSWOMAN (EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM A FELLOW #POC MIND YOU) KILLED THIS YEAR WRITTEN ON MY BODY! They don’t care about the pain of a community that continues to be treated this way. You continue to get away with what you think you can get away with—sadly too often this kind of behavior goes over mosts’ head. The two women in line behind me, in pride supportive gear, overheard my upset and the disappointment in their eyes only served to validate my feelings. I hope those three men felt a seed of shame as I loudly expressed my upset to Anya in the vestibule. I hope that seed of shame festers and devours the spirit of transphobia and homophobia in their character. I witnessed today on this, the 50th anniversary of the inception of a revolution, any other day as a trans spectrum person—only amplified by the fact that this should be the day I feel my most free. Walgreens? Do something about this. These men almost stole my joy today but i will not let hate and ignorance win; I owe it to the millions of queer centered people lost through centuries of this very...

Tried to walk in for the flu vaccine at 1:10pm. I was nice and let an older lady go before me to pick up her prescription. When it was my turn they turned me away saying I need to come back at 2pm so they can take lunch at 130... this was at 1:15. Noone else was there inline.... They had 15 minutes to process me with noone in front or behind me. They do not put the patient first here.

There are tons of other duane reade and cvs's in the area, go to a different one. I would understand if it was 1:25 or even after 1:20... but 15 minutes time to be processed is unnacceptable, especially after she saw me give up my spot in line to an older person. She was also rude and had an attitude. I possibly would not have been as upset about the time issue if she was polite... but 15 minutes, noone else was there and the rudeness... go somewhere else.

I went somewhere else for the vaccine. Long line, but from the time I was at the register to the time I left was around 20 minutes. That's with 5-6 people in front of me... and people behind me...The paper work at the register took no more than 5 minutes from start to finish, before you were waiting for your turn. So I had to wait 15 minutes to get vaccinated due to people in front. Even if this pharmacy was slow with paperwork and it took 10 minutes...It would have been OK... still a couple of minutes spare.. I would have been out in 5-10 minutes as noone was there....before 1:30. She just didnt want to do it as she saw an opportinuty with no customers right before...

Since everyone only posts about bad experiences, I want to share an amazing experience. I visited the pharmacy today on my half hour lunch break. The employees were extremely courteous, and went out of their way to help me. I had just spoken to my care provider about switching to the pharmacy. Even though my prescription had not been called in yet, they did everything in their power to help me. The Pharmacist (Tiffany Lam) even offered to call my doctor for me as they hadn't received the prescription. She set up a text notification for me so I would know when the prescription came in to them in case I had to go back to work. When it did come in a couple of minutes later, she took me straight to a register only to find I had left all forms of payment across the street. She was not upset, and was gracious enough to let me come right back to the register when I got payment. I have had nothing but good experiences at this Duane...