Walgreens

Just got out of the hospital and on the way home I had to use the facilities. This particular Walgreens was closest. I figured what the heck, I drop major dime at Walgreens all the time, they can let me use their bathroom.
However, they must have a problem with crack whores conducting business in their bathrooms because it’s under lock and key. Which is totally fine, but when I asked the lady at the front register she very curtly told me she’d have to page someone to meet me back there. She got on the PA and very quickly and incompletely said something that sounded like «code 10.»
So I went to the back door area and waited. No one ever came, and things were getting real dude, I had to go. So I walk through the door and find myself standing in a small hallway by the break room. I don’t want to bother people on their break, so I stand there quietly praying someone will come out.
A female employee walks out and looks at me frowning. I say hello, but get nothing back in return. She pounds the code into the door, unlocks it, and pushes the door open glaring at me.
I quickly go in and do my business. Immediately after I come out she’s standing there and goes into the bathroom. I can only assume she went in to check for drug paraphernalia or the John I snuck in with my X-​men mutant powers.
Midwest Moms, they be tricky.

Pros: The associates here are always really nice. Store is generally clean and stocked. I wish they had more food options like the downtown WALGREENS does. Cons: The parking lot is very dark. The neighborhood isn’t the greatest so at night I don’t feel safe and will drive to another Walgreens or store to get what I need.

My favorite Walgreens in Madison! Pharmacists are awesome when I actually have to use them. Staff are always helpful and friendly! I love Walgreens, they have a little bit of everything!!!

Oh Walgreens… I really don’t want to like you or shop with you, but you exist on nearly every street corner in every city with more than one stoplight, so you’re a convenient and necessary evil.
+ Decent parking lot
— Tricky to exit, due to the proximity to intersection (traffic backs-​up into the lot)
+ Well-​lit store
+ Well-​stocked
+ Friendly staff
— Never enough check-​out people; you always hear them page someone, followed immediately by, «There’s no waiting in Cosmetics» message
— I hate — *HATE* the rewards program. As reviews for other Walgreens note, they trick you into thinking you’re getting something at a discount/​deal with tags that hang from the shelves… but when you go to check out, if you don’t have the rewards card, you don’t get the price.

I had a great experience with this particular pharmacy. I am grateful that it was open on Sunday, they filled an on-​file prescription in 15 minutes and the female pharmacist (I wish I could remember her name) was pleasant both on the phone and in person! Thank-​you

At the corner of «I just moved here» and «I’ve been sick 3 times» lies my favorite pharmacy, perhaps one of the best I’ve ever experienced.
I’m generally a healthy person, and when I take ill I usually try to find natural supplements to get my body back in check. But this week was a disaster, and when I developed a pain in my throat so sore I could barely speak/​swallow/​breathe, I decided it was time to get some meds. Yesterday I picked up an antibiotic and codeine cough syrup to help me sleep through the night. The pharmacist yesterday took ample time to explain to me that one of my original prescriptions was for a drug that’s no longer used, and called my doc to have a little chit-​chat and found something comparable based on what the doc felt my body needed. He spoke about the antibiotic and the cough suppressant and explained ways to make sure I’m getting the most use out of them.
Today when my symptoms got worse, I went back to the pharmacy to pick up an inhaler that had been called in. I never had problems with my breathing before so I never had need for an inhaler, so when the pharmacist today asked if I wanted a demonstration I took him up on his offer. He walked me through the basic steps and gave me some pointers for making sure the medicine was being delivered correctly. It was much appreciated.
Walgreen’s as a brand used to be America’s corner drugstore. But then like most of corporate America they started to take shortcuts to service more people and lost the human connection they built their business on. If you look at their marketing now (at the corner of happy and healthy) you can see they are beginning to return to the principles that made them such a strong company in the first place. I dig it. And I dig them.