Complaint Review: Walgreens

I have used Walgreens as primary pharmacy for decades. The Duane Reade/Walgreens pharmacy located at 2409 Broadway, NYC, NY 10024, has seemingly competent pharmacists but is seriously understaffed with HIGHLY unprofessional workers. The other week this pharmacy did not answer their phone for several days. I then had a medical emergency, requiring an urgent Rx. I dropped off the Rx with a promise that it would be ready soon... In less than an hour. They took my cell phone number and promised to call me immediately when my prescription for brain swelling was ready. They never called. I returned hours later and was forced to stand 7 people deep in line for 16 minutes, despite being extremely ill, only to be told that imy medicine still wasn't ready. I had to return a third time later that night to pick it up.  

This isnt the only problem I have had with this particular pharmacy. They routinely provide only a portion of my prescription WITHOUT INFORMING ME. I usually figure it out when I run out too early & then have to call them several times to get the rest of the Rx, with a large delay.

Also, I was running low on my daily thyroid medicine and I phoned them a week ago. The pharmacy employee told me over the phone that it would be filled and delivered the next day. Two days later, I called again. This time they said that "you already picked it up". I got so agravated, I had to get off the phone. I called them back and this time they said that there were no more refills left and they could contact my doctor for a new one, fill it and deliver it. Something sounded wrong about this, so I asked "what is the doctor's name you have listed?" She couldn't tell me. Instead, she asked for me to give HER my doctor's name. I checked with my doctor's office and requested that they contact this terrible pharmacy to make sure I got some thyroid medicine ASAP, which they did. The next day I called this pharmacy and the "fill in pharmacist" said that their computer said that my doctor DENIED my refill. I asked what the doctor's name was, to see if he was just making this up. He couldnt answer my question. He said "Call the regular pharmacist, Frank, tomorrow." I said. NO, I need my medication NOW. He couldnt have cared less....  

I know most pharmacies will simply front you a pill or two if you run out of something that you absolutely need and have filled with them before. This pharmacy would not. That's when I decided to, after a lifetime's devotion to Walgreens, switch to a competitor pharmacy.