Should Walgreen's be boycotted?

[Archae]

I just came from a Walgreen's, I was there with a relative.

While there, I saw just *TONS* of flat-out quackery on their shelves for sale.
Homeopathic crap.
"Health" bracelets.
Etc...

But what really broiled me, was how we had to wait there 45 minutes, and most of the girls behind the pharmacy (not the checkout) counter, were girls. Teenage girls.
And they fucked up my relative's precription, gave her the wrong one. :grr:

Took it back and after another half-hour wait, got the right one.

After leaving the second time, I convinced my relative to go the pharmacy I use, it's just across the street, family-owned and has actual PHARMACISTS, plural.
(They even deliver, free.)

Not just one pharmacist and 5 teenage minimum-wage "assistants."

[NobodyHere]

1. If you don't like their service

Then don't go back.

Not sure if this requires a boycott.

[rox63]

2. If you got bad service, don't go back

My Mom goes to her local Walgreens, and the pharmacists and pharmacy techs there know her by name. The same pharmacists have worked there for well over 10 years, and they give her excellent service.

Yes, I like to frequent small, local businesses. But it's getting pretty hard to find non-chain pharmacies out there.

[Frank Cannon]

45. My wife and I are on a first-name basis with our Walgreens pharmacists

And they have gone to bat for us many times, particularly when dealing with emergency calls to the doctor and straightening things out with insurance companies.

We love our neighborhood Walgreens. My only problem is that every time I go over there, I end up buying about three more things than I went there for, since they sell just about everything under the sun. And one of those items is usually a pint of Blue Bell ice cream.

[WCGreen]

65. That's exactly my experience...

Plus, they go out of their way for us.

On my last trip to Washington, I forgot a scrip and they called the Walgreen's up in DC and had them give me enough of my pres for the amount of time I was in DC...

Same thing happened last January when I stayed over in Pittsburgh for a couple of extra days...

[MgtPA]

3. Walgreens are franchises. My local Walgreens is a family-owned franchise

and they are wonderful.

(edit for typo)

[Raine]

4. I love that Walgreens sell homeopathic

if you don't like them then don't go back, your choice.

[FLAprogressive]

31. Do you honestly believe that that stuff is anything but water?

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html

[MedicalAdmin]

57. Does it matter.

Let's assume that it's "worth" is only the placebo effect. So what? It's better than nothin and for a growing number of folks, there are some serious issues with taking some types of pharmaceuticals.

In my particular case my body processes analgesics (most) almost immediately in phase one of the liver detoxification pathways, but my phase 2 (the part where it is taken out of the body) is almost nonexistant. The result is that pain killers don't relieve my pain but they do make me feel horribly sick. The worst part is that the same is true for pot. Sigh.

Look - if ya don't want it, don't buy it.

[Hieronymus]

71. I know that homeopathy is used a lot in Europe......

I bought something in Paris that knocked out a cold very fast.
The article you linked was written by an MD. It's not surprising that he'd be against anything but what his salesmen sell him on. Most MDs hate vitamins too.

[MedicalAdmin]

56. I do too. I don't use it but to each their own.

A boycott? Nope.

[Imajika]

5. So basically, you had a bad experience at Walgreen's...

..and think that warrants talk of boycotting them on a major political forum?

If you don't like their homeopathic "crap" don't buy it.

"But what really broiled me, was how we had to wait there 45 minutes, and most of the girls behind the pharmacy (not the checkout) counter, were girls. Teenage girls.
And they fucked up my relative's precription, gave her the wrong one."

So they screwed up your relatives prescription. Your unhappy with the service, so take your RX needs somewhere else. What difference does it make if they are teenage girls? Pharmacy clerks are usually teenagers - boys and girls, even many of the pharmacy technicians are extremely young. It's been this way at major pharmacies for years.

"Not just one pharmacist and 5 teenage minimum-wage 'assistants.'"

It's a freaking drug store. Of course they have teens working there, pretty much all drugs stores do. They are a great place for high school and college kids to work to make extra money.

[lonestarnot]

8. Extra money?

:D

[Imajika]

14. Yes, extra money...

Many teenage kids work at retail stores for "extra" money to buy things above and beyond what their parents will spend on their behalf.

Obviously some are saving for college books and tuition, and in this terrible economy many are kicking in to help their families just to get by.

Still, drug store jobs are usually part time positions that are literally designed with teenagers in mind.

If you don't like the kids at one drug store, just go to the next and see if their crop of teens are any better at filling prescriptions.

[lonestarnot]

21. I see. Discretionary income then.

[Maru Kitteh]

12. It's also great experience for pre-pharm students, like two I went to school with.

I suspect that some of these GIRLS! Teenaged GIRLS! were probably studying in some manner of pre-paharm or pre-med.

[Imajika]

17. Yup, you are exactly right...

Actually, I was one of those pharmacy techs (teenage boy in my case) many years ago which is why I responded to this post.

[blondeatlast]

22. So was my sis, who went on to Rx school and now, in AZ, PTs have to be

licensed.

[Imajika]

25. It was actually my first real job...

I was a pharmacy clerk and then tech. Though it was a BUSY pharmacy, I remember that time fondly. Fun job and great life experience.

[dmr]

78. My bet they were pharmacy interns, because

there were so many. Pharmacy interns work for the mandatory experience which works out well for the pharmacy as they are free labor, though, also time consuming.

The pharmacist probably didn't assigned them their duties & hours yet which is why they were probably hanging out together & didn't know what they were doing - like being able to find already filled prescriptions. I'd be a bit lost too in a strange pharmacy setting.

They'll do everything from stocking/inventory, to tech work, to clinical/patient counseling - all dependent upon what year they are in pharmacy school and what their preceptor determines.

Just taking a stroll down memory lane .... :hi:

[peacefreak]

6. How about writing a letter the district manager?

Filling a Rx incorrectly could have had huge ramifications. I knew some one who put a customer in ICU for that very reason. The pharmacist should have checked the tech's work, not just pass it through.

[WillowTree]

7. Funny thing about Walgreens.

The one near home.......nice enough people, but it's a study in inefficiency. I always, always wind up waiting and I dislike going there if I can.

The one close to where I work, on the other hand, is great. My prescriptions are always ready when they tell me they will be and I've never waited in line more than a couple of minutes either at the check-out up front, at the pharmacy or even at the drive-thru.

If you don't care for the service at the Walgteens that you were at, find a different pharmacy, either another Walgreens store or any one of the plethora of other places where you can get your prescriptions filled. A mass boycott of all Walgreens' nationwide just because you got poor service seems a bit of overkill, however.

[Stevenmarc]

9. Honestly, do you really have to come to a message board to figure this out.

Some things should be fairly obvious, and this is one of them.

[Maru Kitteh]

10. What a very vain and silly request.

I like my Walgreens just fine, thankyouverymuch. My alternatives are WalMart, KMart and a local fundamentalist whackjob Duggar family wannabe with 10 children, all dressed in those quiverfull, creepy outfits.

[sammytko]

11. How old are you? I'm 50 - women 25 yrs old look like teenagers to me

I doubt they have high school kids working in the pharmacy. There has to be a phamacist and pharm techs. That means they are out of high school and attended some kind of tech training. Well I guess they could be nineteen...

[pintobean]

20. Check his other thread

It may enlighten you on his perspective of age.

[sammytko]

37. OMG!! He's the kiddie porn poster!

That sure was creeeeppppyyy..

[pintobean]

13. Did you take your meds?

I'm joking, but posts 9 and 10 sum up my views.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. I get great service at my Walgreens

I can renew my prescriptions online or over the phone and go thru the drive through where I never wait more than a few minutes.

Also not everyone thinks homeopathic products are crap.

[mentalsolstice]

16. I love our Walgreen's...

I have a disability and it's extremely accessible. The ability to order a script online and drive up and get it is great (I know other chains have this, but I haven't seen any difference in service). Plus it has a lots of stuff, greeting cards, cosmetics, hair care, more than other local chains. It beats going to WalMart, that's for sure!

[CreekDog]

18. Hey, at least they're hiring

[TZ]

26. You know......

I hear that this product...
\
is cheap at Walgreens at SF...as we all can tell..


*Werthless Bastid*

[BeachBaby]

28. Hmmmmm......

[CreekDog]

36. Don't confuse me

I thought we're talking about Walgreens! :spank:

[Dr. Strange]

38. It's a natinal disgrace!

[CreekDog]

40. I give that an "0"

:hi:

[TZ]

41. I give your comment an i

Now youve gone and corrupted the good doctor too :grr:

[CreekDog]

42. you're supposed to be keeping an eye on the eclipse

and the boss cat.

[TZ]

43. I have it on good authority

That last night's Eclipse was caused by ---Brian Wilson's Beard! ([e-mail]) :rofl:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

66. To quote Congressman Elect Allen West:

"Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle. The modern industrial proletariat does not belong to the category of such classes."

Wait, I am now recieving word that Congressman Elect West did not utter that phrase. In fact, it was Vladamir Lenin. Again, Vladamir Lenin. My apologies.

And I think we all know that Allen West fans would never confuse a quote of Lenin with that of Allen West, right?

[Pathwalker]

19. A Meijer pharmasist disabled the Life Alert system to fill a script

that would have killed me! He killed their Life Alert system in the process. Should we boycott Meijer pharmacies, too? I was content to cuss him out during the rush hour while the crowd watched.
I then found another Doctor, because the one who prescribed it was drunk when I called, and asked me three times if I was allergic to any drug, and then prescribed the one to which I had replied that I had a life-threatening allergy! THREE times!

And you want me to boycott Walgreens because you're annoyed with them?!? Bah!

[Codeine]

23. It should be illegal to sell homeopathic "remedies."

That said, some Walgreen's are better than others. The one I use occasionally has multiple pharmacy folks and lightning service.

[FLAprogressive]

30. +1

[MedicalAdmin]

59. Don't want em, don't buy em.

How about this? If homeopathic remedies should be not sold then what else? Candy? Cigarettes? Pot? (oh wait) Automobiles?

The question I have for you is "why" should homeopathics be illegal to sell? Keep in mind that you would need to prove harm to ban something from market.

[Major Hogwash]

24. They're picketing them here for some reason, so I just pass them by.

And go to a different store. I didn't buy there much very often anyway.

[Texasgal]

27. I don't get it

Sorry.

Are we supposed to boycott Walgreen's because you received less than stellar service?

Just need to get my boycotts straight. Thanks.

[blondeatlast]

58. Hey, could you also boycott the pizza place on 7th Street and Happy Valley Road?

They put black, not green, olives on my pizza last week.

I know you're in Texas--that should make it easy. :rofl:

[pinboy3niner]

29. At McD's this morning, my eggs were cold and my coffee was too hot

Should we start a boycott of McDonald's?

[Liquorice]

32. If I don't like a store, I don't go there, but I don't tell others that they must not shop there. nt

[HEyHEY]

33. A boycott? For employing teenagers? Those bastards!

[neitherherenortheirs]

34. nah...

it's just a testament to how stupid people are. the ones in trouble should be whoever lets these types of things go on the commercial market to begin with. walgreens is at the very bottom of the chain.

also boycotts don't work anymore. there was a time in our nation's history where people had that kind of resolve. People didn't even truly Boycott BP.. not even for a day.

[TwilightGardener]

35. Boycott, for hiring young people to ring up my

gum and cosmetics, or for selling crap I think won't work? Um, no. Because then I'd have to boycott...pretty much every fucking store, everywhere.

[EFerrari]

39. I tried to report the Walgreen's on Irving Street in San Francisco

for putting the wrong label on some meds. Or, for putting the wrong pills into a labeled container. It turned out to be impossible. No one at the state house would take the report.

I don't know about a boycott, but I'd watch any prescription filled there. They could have killed my husband. :scared:

[undeterred]

44. Change your Walgreens.

I've been going to a Walgreens pharmacy for 30 years, 10 years in Wisconsin, and the pharmacy is the best thing about the Walgreens as far as I'm concerned. If you ask the pharmacist about the quackery on the shelves (I asked one once) some of them will tell you they think its quackery. Its not their decision to sell it. The stores I've gone to have great service, and are extremely patient with people. I'd never change.

[elehhhhna]

46. i have 2 teen daughters. if I boycott Walg's, they will go under overnight.

seriesly!!11!!!1

[noamnety]

47. Homeopathic "crap" I got from them changed the quality of my life.

I picked up a few bottles of melatonin from them a couple weeks back when it was free there, and it's the first time in decades that I've been able to get a consistent night's sleep without battling insomnia for hours. I don't have words to explain what that means for me. I wasn't taking anything for insomnia in the past because the FDA approved stuff all seems to be addictive or leaves you feeling drugged or both. Drifting off to sleep without spending hours tossing and turning night after night is an amazing gift.

On a side note: I was getting carded all the time right up into my 30s, and once when I was traveling with my daughter I had someone comment on my passport saying they were so relieved to see my age there, because they looked at me and thought I was about 14 and already had a kid. It's silly to make assumptions about people's ages based on appearance, and the flip side is that it's rude to ask them personal info like how old they are.

I would avoid calling for bans of businesses based on who they hire; the broad brushing rarely comes off as appropriate, whether it's based on age, gender, race, religion, etc. I am sorry you got bad service though. I would call in and complain about it or complete the online survey that printed at the bottom of your receipt. Just recognize that bad service can come from people of any age - as can good service.

[superduperfarleft]

51. Melatonin is not homeopathy. n/t

[noamnety]

53. perhaps you're right

I tend to lump all the non-FDA-approved supplements into that category.

[MedicalAdmin]

60. There is homeopathic melatonin.

Not that our clinic prescribes it. We use a liquid suspension.

And yes, for some people, it works wonders. I don't like it personally because every time I have tried it I get the most horrifying nightmares.

[superduperfarleft]

62. I think this person was talking about actual melatonin, not a useless vial of water a la homeopathy.

[MedicalAdmin]

63. Duuuuuuuuh. No kiddin?

I was just commenting that both exist and can be purchased. As I said we use the liquid suspension of melatonin at our clinic as well as a SR version. Each at at 3 mg doses / pill or 3 drops.

Sorry about the snark in my subject line. Happy Holidays.

[bigwillq]

48. No

Just go somewhere else.

[hobbit709]

49. If I boycotted every place that has offended me about something

Pretty soon I wouldn't be able to buy anything anywhere.

[Phlunk]

50. Be careful what you wish for

While there, I saw just *TONS* of flat-out quackery on their shelves for sale.
Homeopathic crap.
"Health" bracelets.
Etc...

It's up to the customer if they want to buy that crap or not......do you really want the government telling them they cant? Where would it stop? Who would make the decision on what should be sold and what shouldn't? Do you want a repug making that decision for you?

Let them see whatever they want, it's up to us to buy it.

[Spike89]

54. Yes, I really do want that

When it comes to health issues and medical claims, I certainly do want the government to perform scientific testing and to put regulation in place. Sure, quakery can be "harmless" in some cases, but in others, it can be extremely harmful. There will always be snake oil salesmen, but that doesn't mean we should encourage them to fleece the most vulnerable among us.

[MedicalAdmin]

61. The concern I have with that has to do with the revolving door at the FDA

Between industry and the FDA there is revolving door between big industry and the agency that is supposed to regulate that same industry. Much like we see in finance and defence we also see in pharma.

And do we really want those RW asshats making decisions about safety when they have proven again and again that profits trump safety? So I don't think that the FDA, as currently constituted, with it's reliance on pharma insiders on committees and as advisors, to do an even half assed job with anything except pharma and their next big salary cushy industry job.

I am curious if you have any of the same concerns.

[Spike89]

64. Certainly! I agree that politicized regulations are weak

However, the answer isn't to say "regulations don't work, let's stop checking for safety and effectiveness". The real answer is to attempt to put more objective rules in place that may make it more difficult to game the system.
It is the basic republican strategy to do everything to subvert policies/agencies that they know the majority supports. Once they've succeeded in causing problems (or perceived problems), they trumpet the weakness and push for abolishing the entire program. Just because some companies can and do influence (bribe) their way to approval from the FDA doesn't mean that we should just give up attempting to regulate medical claims and allow any quack to sell anything to anybody.

[MedicalAdmin]

76. Yes - exactly.

However I default to the position that if something will not cause harm (and there is no evidence that homeopathics cause harm in and of themselves - the continuum from bad medical advice to outright fraud is another legal issue, don't you think?) should not be banned.

However I would like to clean up and clean out the regulatory agencies so that what they purport to do (or what they are supposed to do) actually happens. There shouldn't be a revolving door and folks with stock options shouldn't be making regulatory decision in the same industry that they benefit from - conflict of interest and all that rot.

Cheers.

[Phlunk]

67. Where would the line be drawn?

There would be no good outcome to regulation of what we can buy. We the people decide what we want to buy and from whom. If we don't buy it, they will stop selling it. It's a simple system that works.

[Spike89]

72. We're already regulated, and it works just fine

The system (no regulation over what is sold as medicine/food) you describe did not and would never work. That is precisely why the FDA was created, and a major reason life expectancy has risen over the past century or so. People can't know by looking at something if it is laced with lead, arsenic, radioactive waste, etc. You're living in a libertarian dreamland if you really believe we don't need continued regulation to protect public health.

[Phlunk]

73. Sorry for the confusion

I didn't mean we shouldn't regulate drugs or food. We have a system in place. I was referring to the other stuff the original poster complained about being sold at Walgreens. The stuff that's not a food or drug.

[Spike89]

74. Cool, that makes more sense

I think we might still have a discussion on the "woo" stuff, but I'm in basic agreement. I do think that there is a need to ensure these quack things are harmless and that they do not make overt claims they can't back up. In other words, I have no problem with "health" bracelets per se, but if they try and sell them as "AIDS-prevention" bracelets, I'd want the government to prevent the deception. The deception really bothers me as it preys on the desperation of the sick and the ignorance of the uneducated.*

* Not everyone who uses woo-based products is desperate or ignorant.

[Dreamer Tatum]

52. By crotchety old you, sure. As an organized protest, give me a break.nt

[Renew Deal]

55. Not over this.

Some people like quackery. :shrug:

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blueamy66]

69. I hate Walgreen's pharmacies.

They never have enough staff. There is always a line in the pharmacy. And they charge you your min copay for scripts.

I go to CVS.....where I can get the same generic script for $2.53....that costs $10 at Walgreen's.

[Bluebear]

70. The "girls" at Walgreen's pharmacies are always very cordial & helpful to me.

[deaniac21]

75. Go for the girlcott, e i e i o!

[HuckleB]

77. I don't recall seeing any teens working at Walgreens around here.

But if I got that kind of service, I wouldn't go back. We switched our prescriptions from Fred Meyer to Walgreens a few years ago, because they made too many mistakes at Fred Meyer. So far, Walgreens has been fine.

As for the scam of selling homeopathy and other worthless remedies, I'd like to boycott stores that sell such items. However, if I did, I'd have to grow all my own food, make my own toothpaste, use the newspaper to wipe my arse, and, well, you get the point.

There are times when one can't boycott, and it does suck.