Walgreens

EDITED October 2023: This Walgreens has made some great strides forward in customer service and I really appreciate it! I can honestly say that the store is now a five star operation and it has been great shopping there and picking up prescriptions. The call-in prescription program isn't the best, but hopefully that can be improved too. :)
EDITED April 2023: Because of my insurance this year I am using Walgreens in Watertown for prescriptions. I have encountered rudeness when I call the pharmacy and when I pick up prescriptions. (The automated system didn't work to reorder and after going through the ordering process kicked me out to talk to a worker in the pharmacy who then proceeded to act like I was annoying her with my request.) Today, I picked up the prescription and was treated rudely by a person who didn't seem to know how to talk to people in a professional, kind way. I have no love for Walmart, but the people who work in that pharmacy in Watertown are so much nicer even when they are busy with customers. The workers at the Walgreens checkout counters are very good and friendly- so it is not the whole store. I set up refills in my Walgreens' account so hopefully I will not have to deal with staff too much when reordering again. I took a star away from my original review because this rude behavior is ridiculous.
Older review: We asked a staff member working in the cosmetic section if she knew if the store has N95 masks. We asked in a friendly manner and we asked her in particular because everyone else was busy with customers. She answered that the masks are a medical device and the store doesn't carry medical devices. She insisted on this point, repeating it more than once if I remember correctly. I clarified that I had read that the state has given pharmacies, including Walgreens, n95 masks to give out to customers. She then changed her story and said they don't have them, but Walgreens in Beloit does. Okay, that is fine. However, she was rude in answering our question and the rudeness was so unnecessary. She gave us the wrong information and doubled down in it. She never apologized for the initial misinformation she gave us. I don't shop much at this Walgreens because of the irritations that I seem to face when I go in there. I used to use their pharmacy and I've had flu shots there and that was all fine. (I don't get tested for COVID there because Walgreens asks for health insurance info whereas another pharmacy doesn't- I've gone to the other pharmacy to be tested for COVID specifically because they don't require an insurance card to get what is supposed to be a free test.) The young woman who checked us out was very nice, though, and I appreciate that. I know it is not easy working in retail, but a positive attitude will make for a more pleasant day for both the worker and the customer.

Can you all stop hating the pharmacy? Walgreens and other retail pharmacies have struggled with staffing shortages since the start of the pandemic. Shortages led to long waits for medication, shorter hours, and even hundreds of closed stores last year.
Most of its stores are operating below their stated minimum staffing levels, which is a great indicator of how broken the chain truly is. Out of its 9,000 stores, a third work reduced hours due to labor shortage.

There are around 30,000 people living in Watertown, I assume that around half use this Walgreens to get their prescriptions (including more people outside of Watertown). There is only a small handful of workers making all of these prescriptions. I would imagine they work stressed out of their god damn mind to get your prescriptions done on time. They don't work overnight getting them ready either. Don't hate on the Workers trying to get paid, hate on the CEO or Walgreens Company itself for treating their own workers so poorly and over-burdening them.

"We were constantly short staffed thanks to poor district management. Didn't get much time to learn trainings before being thrown into the pharmacy. Everyone was always stressed out including customers, we were always behind on filling. Most people didn't take their 15-minute breaks. I was discouraged from taking mine by being asked to make it quick every time, even though I really needed the time to relax and not lose my mind. So happy I quit!" - Walgreens Pharmacy Technician from Rhinelander, WI.

I had a great experience with the pharmacy today. My original bill was going to be $73 with my insurance. Jenny, the pharmacist that helped me found a better solution and I only had to pay $18. Thank you very much for the help, as a preschool teacher that doesn't make too much, you made a huge difference.

I'm generally not a fan of Walgreens or any pharmacy really but I recently got a prescription filled at this particular location. I was self pay with no insurance coverage and the girl at the counter took it upon herself to find a discount card to apply to my order to try and save me some money. I didn't even know that was an option. Brought my total down from $108 to only $52. I thought that was super cool of her!

Walgreens has alway been a good place to go for my prescriptions. They help so many people and are very understaffed. But they continue on with a smile. Management needs to get more staffing and make the pharmacy larger.

Don’t bash on high schoolers, they probably have more of a future that most adults do now days. Instead blame the poor customer service on adults gosh.

Very well organized and the pharmacy is good service

Slow drive through but good service

Definitely one of the better ones