Walgreens

My complaint is about the pharmacist with whom I spoke at 8:55 am this morning at Walgreens on Tryon Woods Rd. in Cary, NC.

"Walgreens pharmacy.."

Yes, my name is Carolyn Grissom, and I called a few days ago and...

"What's your birthday?"

To try and get my prescription filled, I was told you had no such prescription.

Interrupting again, "what's your birthday?"
"My doctor called it in with refills... I was trying to finish my sentence before you interrupted."

Interrupting again... "Yes, it's been on hold since March (unintelligible). If you don't pick it up in 3 days, it's put back on the shelf."

Before I could say that's not what happened, and ask why I was told there was no such prescription for me when I called, he said, "do you want me to fill it for you?"

When I said, "Yes, that's the reason I called," he said, "ahhhhh!" in an extremely snarky, sarcastic way, like OH NOW we have answer! I asked him why he was being sarcastic, and he said he wasn't. He said something else in his defense, instead of answering my question and I could no longer just ignore his attitude.

I told him he was being rude, he'd cut me off twice before I finished the first sentence, was cutting me off again, and when he started to tell me how polite he was, I suggested he listen to the recorded call. (I pictured a kid making a prank call and laughing at the victim...)

He said something else with a smart alec tone amd I told him to please get the medicine ready, I'll pick it up this time, (since I'd been calling about it for a few weeks,) and I'll find another pharmacy for the rest of the prescription.

So Walgreens received the prescription in March, according to the pharmacist, but did not fill it, so did not notify me it was ready as was the usual previous protocol. Or they filled it but did not notify me, and put it back on the shelf. I don't which because the pharmacist cut me off each time I started to ask about it.

He said he'd have it ready within the hour. If I show up in two hours, I'm sure he'll ask me what took me so long. To him, only what HE had to say was important. My birthday was the only thing he wanted to hear; that was clear. Everything else was just noise to him. I didn't call to chat; I'm busy too, but it takes no longer to be polite than it takes to be rude. In fact with me, rudeness will ALWAYS take longer because I'll call it out.

Only when I suggested his manager listen to the phone call did I hear a small but temporary change in his attitude. He was going to be rude until I called him out. So I'm calling him out on behalf of all those to whom he's being rude who are too intimidated to stand up for themselves and demand respect. I'm not the only one; I did nothing but say hello and say my name to set him off.

I suggest someone in a supervisory role listen to this man's condescending, dismissive attitude on the phone. He probably has a lot to say about each customer after he hangs up as well. If he were a waiter, I'd be worried about him spitting in my food.

I've been a Walgreens customer, along with my family, for over 20 years, and your company has made hundreds of thousands of dollars on us over the years. That will end today.

I reported previous incompetency (like putting two of the same generic medicines by two different manufacturers in a bottle with only one label,) to the NC Pharmacy Board, and I should have found another pharmacy after that. That packaging creates a situation in which it's impossible to trace how many pills of what dose from which manufacturer were in the labeled bottle with only one label. An FDA recall follow up or tracing a bad reaction would be impossible because there was record of the pills being added to the bottle. This reveals a complete lack of understanding of the purpose of the labels. I actually had to argue with the pharmacist about it. Thankfully, the NC Pharmacy Board agreed and said they would follow up. The store manager at the time said training and turnover were big issues. I would agree with that. Not much has changed.

I've also heard your pharmacy techs at this location practice medicine without a license, giving wrong medical information and advice, and I've heard them give incorrect information about the MRNA gene therapy, telling inquisitive potential patients through the drive through window that the vaccine has been fully approved. It's been approved for Emergency Use Authorization only, which means there have been none of the required animal studies and no human studies at all. The approved emergency use authorization for the injection documentation states the MRNA gene therapy "does not claim to prevent the transmission or contraction of Covid 19," according to the documents. Regardless of how the company feels about removing all "vaccine hesitancy," their representatives are still required to offer truthful medical answers, not opinions. Lack of training is a real issue; these techs are not informed properly. I presume they're abiding by their training, or lack thereof, but they are giving misleading information to a public that knows no better. This is a huge potential liability.

Your customer service ratings have plummeted in the last few years; I'd like to suggest that Walgreens can't really afford to have a condescending, dismissive, interrupting pharmacist trying to make customers feel "less than." People are no longer tolerant of this nonsense.

Since the calls are recorded, this would be the best way to see what I'm talking about.

I called at 8:54 this morning and the call was six minutes. The pharmacist (he said he was the pharmacist when I asked...) spoke English very well with a very thick accent. I'm telling you this thinking it may be a way to find the proper person with whom to follow up, if there is to be any follow up.

Thank you for your time. I do not look forward to finding a new pharmacy, as it's time consuming, but it's no longer an option. Again, I suggest you look into the long term situation with training at this store; it's been lacking for years and could be more costly than you realize. Not a threat in any way - just an observation.

Thank you,

Carolyn Hampton McCollum
Hampton House Medical, Inc.
Raleigh, N.C.
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