Wal-Mart Pharmacy
84What is the problem with customer service at pharmacies? Do they have that many customers that it overloads their system, so they cannot deliver any kind of satisfactory customer service?
Case in point I recently moved, so I had to transfer several prescriptions that I take regularly. I've been a Wal-Mart pharmacy customer for over twenty years, and previously even worked at one of their local stores part-time. So I know most of their pharmacists and they know me. Naturally that's where I take my business. For many years I've bought monthly prescriptions, with the only changes being an address move, or insurance update or change.
Last week I go to the Wal-Mart pharmacy here in Victoria to get my two prescriptions transferred and refilled. Today I go to pick them up and the clerk tells me "I'm not in the system." Name...birthdate...nope, you're not there. "You'll have to go stand in that line over there." Pointing to the sign "drop off here." OK. Round one.
The clerk at this window tells me they lost my transfer somehow. Her co-worker tells me they got my birthdate wrong. Wow, really. I've only had my profile on your system for twenty years.
I tell them if they can just refill my prescriptions, I'll be a regular customer. And with no insurance, I'm paying full retail price, so they're really making some money off me. So they get on the phone and re-work my refills. I go browse the store for an hour.
I come back an hour later to stand in line again. Once at the counter, the clerk tells me "sorry, you're still not in the system. You'll have to go back and start over." I go back and stand in the first line. Under the "drop off" sign. Maybe that's what it really stands for. Customers who just "dropped off" the system. Round two.
Once at the counter, I tell the same clerk they still can't find me in the system. She blinks at the screen in front of her. "Oh!" she exclaims, "the system kicked out your refill because it won't pay under your insurance." I explain to her that I don't have insurance coverage, which is noted on my online profile, on their computer system. Yes, I will pay full retail price, however scary that is. Clerk says "Well OK, in that case, we will fill it for you. But we're out of the other formula, so you'll have to wait."
Wait? What have I been doing for a week? And another hour! SIGH...OK I've had enough. If you can't fill my order after a week, and you can't find me in your system after repeated attempts, then I guess I don't count as a customer.
You don't want my business? Fine, I'll go to Walgreens. Or whatever pharmacy that can just get it right the first time, without putting me through all this. You would think after twenty years, Wal-Mart would be able to accomodate my pharmacy needs as a long time customer. I play by their rules. I wait in line. I just want good customer service without having to go through undue duress or do without the medicine completely.
Is that too much to ask?
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Well, when you have an overworked, underpaid, and usually inexperienced staff (speaking about the technicians, not the pharmacists) this is the result :(
I am a pharmacist that works for Wal-Mart. I can pretty well guess what happened in your situation. I have encountered some very similiar situations. In 2008, Wal-Mart made changes to their rx transfer system. Before the changes, it worked fairly well. After the changes, it has been a mess. There are two ways we can transfer rx's. We can let the computer automatically transfer it, or we can phone the store and talk to a pharmacist. If the automatic transfer is working properly, it is easier for us to do it that way. But, if there is a glitch, which happens quite often, the rx is "hung" in the computer system somewhere and we cannot find it or fill it. On some occasions, after waiting 45 minutes for the automatic system to transfer, I have phoned the other store and simply written down all the information. If you have several rx's, this takes some time. I know that for the customer it seems like they are having to wait forever and they cannot understand what is taking so long. My guess is that they tried to retrieve your rx's from another store through the automated system and they were hung there. When you came to pick them up, the pharmacist did not even know you had some rx's to be filled and when they went to search for them they could not find them either, so he probably had to call the other store and that took quite a bit of time too. Since their automated system does not work well, it would be better for everyone concerned if they just did away with it and we pharmacists could just pick up the phone and call the other stores.
I hate it that you had this problem. I am sure that the pharmacist and techs were doing the best they could. The problem lies in Wal-Mart's computer system and the folks at the corporate headquarters that don't seem to realize that the system does not work properly.
nice to see that this topic is finally getting some airtime. Keeping hush-hush about it doesn't make it go away... BTW, here's some more info about <a href="http://store.onlinepharmacyreviews.net/">Zyban</a> for those interested.
I don't think it's fair to blame the computer system. I've worked with Walmart's Connexus system, and it's one of the best pharmacy systems out there. Human error is to blame for this, and for other poor customer service experiences. That is in large part due to corporate pharmacy's emphasis on profit over all else, including customer service. You have to be filling a certain number of prescriptions per day on a regular basis to qualify for more technicians and pharmacists. Until then, the staff has to do the work of more people than there are. Frankly, I would suggest trying to find a small independent pharmacy (not an easy thing to do anymore), and take your business there. Ask them to meet prices and they probably will.
Hi,
Wal Mart Rx pricing sucks for generic Norvasc ( a beta-blocker ). I asked for a price on 90.... 10mg pills and was told it would be $ 159.56 ...Wow ! ....for a generic.
I then telephoned and asked the Rx at Costco for the same generic 90 pills and was told the price would be $ 11.50 !!!!!!
That is price screw-the-customer overbilling on Wal Mart's part !
Jim Dodd
For pharmacy problems you should call Bentonville and ask for Ron Chomiuk the VP of pharmacy. 1-800-wal-mart. If he is not to gin soaked he may take your call and promise to get right on it. Ha ha ha
Norvasc is a calcium channel blocker....NOT a beta blocker!..this show how much most poeple know about the drugs they are taking!
Been there done that. Ive always enjoyed going to wal mart, as far as everything else. It seems like wal mart pharmacy is run by a different company. everything else about wal mart is good, except the pharmacy. Ive waited 90 minutes to get my perscription filled, only to get a one month supply because they were out of it. I was told that it was under their 4 dollar plan. WRONG. one month cost me 16 bucks. My doctor prescribed me 10MG medication. The wal mart 4 dollar plan is on the 20MG medication. So basically I got charged MORE money for LESS medication. My brain is having a tough time trying to process it. So now I'm trying to get my doctor to call me in 20MG tablets so I dont have to pay 50 dollars for a 3 month supply. It will only be 10. Good luck trying to get through to a pharmacy employee. You wait on hold for 10 minutes, call back, hold again.....call back, and they're on lunch. VERY frustrating. If the medication wasnt cheaper there, I'd go somewhere else.
my wife has been getting her medicine from walmart for years.
now we find,walmart will no longer accept a fax with prescriptions.
this means we must drive 60 miles to get our prescriptions and take them to walmart.WHERE DID THE SAVINGS GO?
I can beat that Mike! I went to pick up my Valium prescription, on the 3rd of Mar. They said it wasnt covered under my medicare drug plan, and I'd have to pay full price...so I said I'd come back to pick it up. I returned on the 12th...they said that I had picked it up on the 8th and paid .50 for it. Knowing I hadn't and knowing it wouldn't have been .50, I told them I did NOT pick it up, and there was something terribly wrong, they said well u signed for it. She showed me the signature, to my amazement it WAS my signature. After calling my drug card company to verify they didnt cover it, the police was called in. The police got a copy of my signature from the 3rd and matched it to the one they say I signed on the 8th...identical, in other words they used my signature again for the 8th pickup. But there was NO pickup, someone in the pharmacy stole the Valium, it's still under investigation...but I'm skeptical anything will ever be done. To this date they have done nothing and even though Walmart assured me they had tapes, none have been reviewed.
Wow, it's amazing to see all these comments on a post from 2 years ago! Must have struck a nerve with this pharmacy thread.
Thanks to YOU gentle readers, for your comments and your insight.
Yes great hub no doubt. However, UVA and many other institutes are coming up with newer tactics to help smoothen this issue with pharmacies. Automation has its flaws, but is certainly the theme of the future.
Btwn, you can check out my profile and read some of my hubs too!
Cheers,
Phil.
I have been a Registered Nurse for 40 yrs., a "working" nurse.When my husband was laid off last March, of course,we lost our medical insurance.I searched EVERYWHERE to find the cheapest meds I could find, even settling for GENERICS to lower the prices.(I KNOW from past experiences that GENERIC is NOT AS GOOD as name brand, especially with Thyroid Supplements, and hormone replacements)I ran into the same problem as "Jeffrey" encountered---meds that have been out for sale for decades, still not on their $4.00 list!! My synthroid was the 'wrong mg. amt.' to be $4.00. TIGAN, an anti-emetic that has been out since I entered Nursing school,(1967)---there are no 'research' costs to recover now, at least 50 yrs.since the drug was originally put on the market,and it has not been changed or altered in any way,...yet, the retail cost of #120 caps. at Wal-Mart is $192.79!!!!!!!!! WHY!!!! The only reason for EXPENSIVE meds, per several Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, is for them to recover R & D costs. However, this should have been satisfied 100% within a few years. Per manufacturers, about the same time that the time limit is over for a new med, and other manufacturers are permitted to produce a GENERIC equivalent, (I think it is 5 or 7 yrs.), their R & D costs are paid in full! Generic Tigan has been around at least 40 yrs., so where does such an outrageous price come from? WAL-MART. They claim to be the least costly pharmacy around, but when you get there and you think these 'older' meds just HAVE to be on their $4.00 list,...SURPRISE---wrong again!!! I have asked the same question at about 5 different Wal-Mart pharmacies, and, if the 'clerk' is capable of putting words into a sentence that is, ( Sorry, but the poorly educated have no business dealing with Medications, customers that are ill in some way, or anyone over the age of 5!!!) you get 5 different reasons for the higher cost. One Pharmacist actually tried to make me believe that "TIGAN" was a brand-new "WONDER" drug,...hence, the high cost!!! I then told him that I was a Registered Nurse, and that I knew, for a fact, that his statement was ENTIRELY,100%,
BULL----!!!~~His rebuttal---" Don't come to my Pharmacy again---you are a trouble-maker, and if you do not leave immediately, I will have Security escort you out!!!!!" What fun!!! It's not bad enough that we're trying to live on less money than we have ever had in our entire lives, or that I CANNOT GET A JOB,(Yep, Nursing shortage!!! HA!!!)
I can't get hired because, with 40 yrs. experience, I am at the very top of their salary
scale, and I am 60 yrs.old, so, I am the LAST to get hired!!! When I think back on all the patient's I have cared for, all the horrible, nasty Administrations I have had to deal with and now, the young nurses that treat you like you are a doting,old piece of S---!!! I wish I was 15 again, trying to decide "What I want to be...!!!"
The Medical profession is something I would avoid at all costs!!!!! My patients were the BEST part of my entire career...ALL the rest you can keep!!!!!!
What I love about my WalMart here in Durham, NC is they never have the drug in stock. It's a medication for ADHD and it's always "that isn't in but we get our medications in on Tuesday so call back on Wednesday" I call back on Wednesday and they have 5 pills in so call back next Wednesday. I get other medications filled there and usually don't have an issue but lately not only do they not have them (I can see that might not be their fault) they are rude about it. If they don't want the business just say so.
i have type ll dibetes but have to take insulin & pill.
with my insurance i still have to pay 140.00 for one &
135.00 for the other one. how can sinors pay this amount
and eat too? if anyone can get it cheaper, let me know
where!
Oh believe me... I am SO done with WalMart pharmacy. I went to one here in Ash Flat Arkansas, after we moved to this area. This was 8 in the morning... they had just opened up... and the doctor had called in a prescription for me. I had 102 fever and felt like I could die or pass out anytime. I was told they were "working" on my prescription. An hour later.... still "working on it. THERE WERE NO OTHER PEOPLE WAITING FOR A PRESCRIPTION! Just how long does it take to pull an already sealed bottle of cough syrup and a 10 day supply of antibiotic??
A co-worker of mine also had the same hassle when she was feeling absolutely terrible. She was there over TWO hours.
I am now going to an Econo Med and am extremely pleased. Walmart can fall off the face of the earth for all I care!
YES!!!! For the love of all that is good in this world, if you hate Walmart pharmacy SO MUCH then PLEASE take your business elsewhere. I'm tired of being screamed at, belittled, and verbally abused in front of lines of customers for issues that are not my fault. I'm good at my job, and I know what I'm doing, been doing it a while. But, as we all SHOULD know, Walmart is an evil, f***ed up, PROFIT GREEDY corporation that doesn't hire enough staff to man their pharmacies, will hire incompetent cashiers when a TECHNICIAN is needed, doesn't order a drug at all when they can't get it for the "right" price (leaving you, the customer, without), enforce ridiculous quotas, and on top of regular pharmacy operations, they require frivolous paperwork and exercises that we just DON'T HAVE TIME FOR (but they TELL us we're "overstaffed"), but they have to get done somehow.
And if it LOOKS like I'm standing around doing nothing, I'm actually furiously typing up and processing the 60+ prescriptions that are ALL due in the next hour, which I will NEVER get done in time.
By the way, a few phrases that REALLY make me want to toss my badge in the shredder and walk right out the door (too bad I need to eat to live):
"Can I get it in 5 minutes?" No. I have about 65 people waiting ahead of you, I need to scan your prescription, decipher your doctor's ATROCIOUS handwriting because he didn't learn penmanship at that expensive university he went to, type the prescription, bill your insurance company, fight with them when they say they won't pay for it (OR, get really annoyed when I find our your coverage is expired, and you haven't bothered to show me your new card), let the pharmacist check it, fill it, let the pharmacist check it AGAIN (you know, so we make sure we don't KILL you), and bag it up nice and pretty to be sold. This does not happen in 5 minutes.
"Don't you just slap a label on it?" Yes. If you don't want me to bill your insurance, check for drug interactions, OR make sure that you're even getting the right drug. The I'll just walk right over to the shelf, grab what I THINK is your drug, slap a label on it and hand it to you. You can have it. For free. That's what you wanted, right?
Yes, Walmart hires some lousy, incompetent people. But I'm not one of them. I work hard every day to earn my money and get your dang meds done right. So before you start screaming at me, please consider the fool corporate man I have to put up with every day, and know that if something DOES go wrong and your RX isn't filled completely to your satisfaction, that it we can TALK about it like HUMAN BEINGS and I will do what I can to make it right. You don't have to flay, flog, or crucify me to make me want to help you.
Just a reminder to everyone to be kind to the people you think are nitwits. Because sometimes there's more to the situation that you're not seeing. And I hate being discriminated against for the incompetence of my coworkers or the company I work for. In fact, go ahead and call 1-800-Walmart and let them know their system sucks. Not that it will do any good.
(In case you were wondering, yes, I am looking for a new job, and if I'm lucky, will never set foot in a Walmart again.)
NellieOApple 3 years ago
You have the right to complain and customer is always right, but I think Walmart Pharmacy sucks because I have the same problem with them lately.