Walgreens

This walgreens is probably the least efficient one I’ve ever visited. The customer service is severely lacking.
The main reason I go to Walgreens is for the pharmacy. This pharmacy is the slowest walgreens pharmacy to date. It takes them 20 minutes to get a prescription ready every time I visit. Even if I have put in an order before and it says it is ready for pick up! It also took them 30 minutes to prepare to give me a flu shot that took 30 seconds! It is amazing how unapologetically slow they are and how much they don’t acknowledge other customers waiting in line for 15 minutes.
I hate visiting here, but sadly it is the closest

My favorite Walgreens. The staff are always pleasant and courteous to me. The location is extremely convenient, but the parking lot can be downright dangerous to enter sometimes. Be alert as sometimes people try to cut through the parking lot at high speeds to get around the other traffic waiting to turn right at the light.

Now as much as I enjoy shopping at Walgreens, I have to rate this store pretty poorly. The customer service here is the worst! As I get to the counter to pay for my purchases, the cashier continues to talk to another employee about «the crazy customer» from earlier. I pay for my items and she just walks off, still flapping her gums about this weirdo. She then turns around, as I’m still standing there and asks «What, do you need a bag?» to which I respond «it would be nice»
So she hands me a bag, walks off again, of course to yap even more (about you-know-who.the weirdo!) When I’m halfway out the door it’s as if she thinks I could be a mystery shopper and yells over her shoulder have a nice day!

I’m not really sure why this place is two story. Maybe it’s an architectural detail or perhaps there is office space up there? Anyway, I wasn’t very impressed with this Walgreens. I guess i expected more out of a new and seemingly bigger store but frankly it didn’t have near the number of products I thought they would have. Very run of the mill. Making even the little CVS in Carrboro look even better.
They do have parking making it easier to get to than the downtown drugstores but that corner is very busy so good luck trying to make it out the exit.
I’m not seeing anything special about this place or would stop by for any particular reason.

New shiny Walgreens!
It’s new and shiny, as I mentioned before. Other things it has includes eggs, bacon, and stuff you normally expect to see at a Walgreens, like beer, medicine, and supplies.
It’s also 24 hours, so that’s a good thing.
Beyond that, it’s Walgreens, and unlike the Walgreens near campus, it has parking.

Locale:
A very different type of Walgreens drugstore than you are used to opened up in Chapel Hill on East Franklin Street (not in downtown, but closer to the University Mall and across the street from the Caribou Coffee shop). Unlike the others Walgreens it is not a suburban type store with parking in the front, but rather this store was designed to be on the grid to with ample parking on the side. Therefore, those who live in nearby apartment complexes don’t need to drive. Take those dusty, unused, walking shoes out of the closet! There is no drive through, so you have to actually get up and walk a few feet if you need a prescription filled. Quelle horreur!
According to the Walgreens employee who helped me while shopping, there are only three of these prototype stores, this one being the newest of them. To encourage a (slightly) more sustainable suburban lifestyle, there are two reserved parking spaces that are located within a very short walking distance to the entrance. One space is intended for high efficiency and low emitting vehicles, while the other space for carpool vehicles. Don’t be that person who parks in either of those two spaces who drives a large SUV with no passengers. You know who you are. It’s just plain rude (plus, you could get towed).
Ambiance:
As soon as you enter the building you are welcomed to a sun-​drenched sales floor that has a modernist architecture feel. Natural light bursts through the front and the sides due to the high ceilings and many large windows. Therefore, the sales floor on first floor feel airy and less cramped and its «lightness» is contrasted nicely by the dark gray solid material floor instead of the linoleum-​like material. The other part of the second floor is where the offices, mechanical room, and stock rooms are located. Delivery trucks drive to the roof for shipment delivery.
There was much thought put into planning this type of new Walgreens store, and the building is efficient (eco) construction. Its many windows reduce the use of electricity to light up the store during the day. On those days that it gets very hot and sunny the window shades automatically come down to prevent an increase in the air conditioner usage. The electricians originally didn’t know how to work with the high efficiency and took a crash course. Expect to have some kinks along the way, as it is still a new store, but I did not notice anything off during my visit.
In the Bag:
The store is very well stocked and items are located appropriately. The chatty beauty advisor (Debbi) at this Walgreens was helpful and accommodating and gave lots of coupons to lower the total amount of the bill and sent me on my way with loads of samples. Since we are talking about money, the prices are typical for a Walgreens store.
This beauty advisor gave the best service I’ve ever had at a Walgreens, and I wasn’t even shopping in her section when she came over to me to offer coupons. Her service was exemplary and on-​par with a beauty advisor from a department store (sans getting sprayed with several perfumes).
Considerations:
This recently opened Walgreens impresses me in ways I thought a drug store never could. It is a convenient location, with a great new look that is both attractive and eco. Hopefully Walgreens sticks with this new store format as it is forward-​thinking and moves away from the stodgy look of their past stores.