Walgreens

A staple go to pharmacy if you are staying in Hartford or visiting someone at the hospital. The parking lot is old and outdated and gives doubts about whether you should go in. Spaces are difficult to find and amazingly small to fit so most other people just park however they like.
They also have panhandlers near the entrance which can be ignored, but come on, where’s the security?
Once inside everything is clean and workers generally have a smile on their. There are dollies with merchandise in some aisles almost every time I go but clean nonetheless. The aisles have many selections that cater to just about every need and the oddball novelty as well.
The pharmacy during the day here unfortunately is terrible. Long waits and people in a foul mood with lack of staff some days don’t help either.
The photo lab is a problem too because when you need help on the machine either no one is around or they are ringing out customers, which is annoying.
The seasonal aisles are the only problem I think in the cleanliness of this particular store and what I mean is that it’s almost always empty.
But a good place for late night munchies or picking something up for a friend or relative at the hospital.

What Walgreens branch did Meaghan D. shop at? «Clean»? «Very friendly employees»? This Walgreens has to be one of the sketchiest drugstores I have ever shopped at (see Chad E.‘s review).
Like the CVS across the street, people are asked to bring their backpacks up front (or rather, as the sign at the entrance says, give it to the security guard… who is never in sight). So, as I’m walking into the poorly-​designed, maze-​like store to bring my backpack up to the counter that’s flooded with people, my presence is made aware to all the shoppers as the cashier loudly announces that I should really bring my backpack up front. Thank you, miss, that’s what I was trying to do all along, but it takes a good 15 seconds to weave my way around the store to even get to you. At least the Walgreens staff guards my backpack, unlike the CVS staff (see my CVS review, as well).
The photo center is useless. Hardly anyone staffs the counter, so if you need to pick up your photo order, be prepared to wait. I waited a good while, and finally resorted to calling someone over to help me. The staff member spent minutes looking for my order. Turns out that the photo I ordered, which was printed hours beforehand, was still on the printing tray next to the photo envelope. Apparently, it was too laborsome for someone to put a photo into an envelope.
My wallet was lost/​stolen in front of this Walgreens, and when I reported it to the Hartford Police, they told me to talk to the security guard to look at the store’s outdoor security camera footage. As I mentioned before, the security guard is never in sight, so I was forced to talk with the store manager. The manager (whom I’ve encountered far more than I’d like) is an incredibly passive presence, which doesn’t really help when it comes to enforcing all the rules instituted at this Walgreens. When I told him what the police told me, the manager feebly told me that I couldn’t look at the camera footage, even with a police officer present — a far cry from what the Hartford Police said I would be able to do. He didn’t seem really committed to any sort of reasoning as to why his answer was «no», so I really couldn’t find a way to argue with him. SO frustrating.
So, why 3 stars instead of 2 (or lower)?
First, the store and its pharmacy is open 24-​hours, which is incredibly convenient. Secondly, the store is in (intentionally) close proximity to CVS, which easily allows me to compare prices and shop the deals at both stores.
Thirdly, the pharmacy staff, while often overworked, is out-​of-​this-​world fantastic. When I ran into an insurance snafu trying to get an immunization taken care of, the pharmacy staff spent nearly 20 – 30 minutes trying to figure it out. They never once complained and were so kind to me, even after I made a last-​minute change to what insurance I would use to cover the immunization. Any sub-​standard pharmacy staff would have flown off the handle at my minor issue, especially given the crowds of people that always come to pick up prescriptions without proper identification and paperwork.
All in all, I advise you to take this review to heart and know what to expect when it comes to the really good — and the really bad — at this Walgreens.

This is definitely one of the cleanest Walgreens I’ve shopped at in the Hartford Area. When I walked in I was immediately greeted and welcomed by 3 different people and asked if I needed help. I didn’t need any help finding a Pepsi, but when I got to the coolers another employee was there who also greeted and welcomed me to the store! Very friendly employees. The cashier was super nice upon checking out as well.
The entire store was neat and tidy and the employees were very nice and friendly. Very pleasant shopping experience.

The line for the drive thru for the pharmacy is rediculous! I have waited for over a half an hour to get my prescription. Not enough staff available in the pharmacy when it gets busy or in the whole store for that matter! Managers need to remove the sticks out of their asses too!

A Walgreens? Yes indeed. This particular location happened to be one of the only places open on a holiday when we needed some cold medicine, and it also happened to be a good ways from the hotel. In fact, it was a bit farther than I intended to walk as well — but that’s okay. A bit of exercise never really hurt.*
What made it most interesting was that as I approached, it seemed that some sort of turf war was about to erupt, and people started streaming from _​everywhere_​and converging on one sport — possibly even one person who had just left the store.
Quite frankly, I had no idea what to do, being in a new (to me) part of town. After freezing in place, and wondering if I should slowly back away, i promptly adopted what I’m sure was an utterly cool Jimmy Walker pace to my walking, so I could blend in with the crowd, prepared to add to the beat down, mostly so i didn’t get any myself, and then… everyone disappeared.
I figured I would probably get blamed for the bloody pulp on the street, since I was the only one who didn’t belong. But even the «victim» was gone entirely.
So i went shopping.
As I browsed the aisles, it was like nothing had happened outside. Or at least, it was like nothing unusual had happened. What the heck is going on? Was I going to get jumped as I left? Is this an initiation to South Hartford?
When I finally made it to the checkout line, I found out. Apparently the «victim» I had witnessed was no victim at all. He (or she, perhaps — I never did get close enough to see them) was a shoplifter, who had sped out of the store with their ill-​gotten gains. When the signal went out, the neighborhood jumped to action and took care of business.
* Apparently, certain sorts of exercise in certain neighborhoods may indeed hurt. Consider yourselves warned.