Walgreens

Walgreens are known for being racist but this one is a little extra. Old white guy behind the counter gave me the creepiest stare.

Can’t say enough about the folks in the pharmacy. I’m so grateful this is my local Walgreens. Everytime I pick up and drop off I am impressed by the professionalism and bedside manner by every person behind the counter. I would go out of my way to use this pharmacy. A special thank you to Dan G. Pharmacy Manager. Thank you for helping me navigate a challenging prescription issue.

Location is convenient, but the customer service is awful. The cashier didn’t say a word to me. No «thank you» or «hi.» Just handed me my receipt. She didn’t even push my bag towards me. Unfortunately, the pharmacy isn’t so friendly either.

In the last three or four years, this place has gone from being a totally cool and quirky, service-​oriented branch of an otherwise generic chain to a miserable dump with a few good people and a lot of bad policies. I live next door, but I’ve started walking to the CVS two blocks away just to avoid this idiotic place.
It’s a shame, because the place was firing on all cylinders a few years back. They had crazy, competent cashiers with personality (ask the locals about Maureen), but they fired the best of them for reasons unknown, and they brought in a group who were competent but not much fun.
As of August 2015 or so, however, the mood down-​shifted dramatically — with too many idiotic instances to count. Can’t wait for Mariano’s to open across the street.

I have been coming to this location for over a year now, and here is the break down of my experiences to date:
SERVICE — depending on who is working. Some days are good, while others are bad. It all boils down to the individual employee (s) working.
SELECTION — a big selection of drinks, so-​so for groceries but then again, it is a drug store — not a grocery store.
PHARMACY — same as any other pharmacies I have been to. Need a prescription medication, drop off your slip and wait for the medication to be filled or come back to pick it up.
HOURS of OPERATION — ²⁴⁄₇ is great to have in the neighborhood, as you can stop in anytime when you are in need of supplies for those late night parties.
I can’t say anything more than this, as it is a convenience drug store located at a corner of Belmont and Broadway. I would never expect these drug stores to blow my socks off in terms of service.

To make my hatred even more extreme for this place, the cashier commented on what I was buying! Yes, I was buying chocolate. Get over it!

This Walgreens has a decent selection, is clean and the employees are nice. However, every time I go in on a Friday or Saturday night, or heck, just about any night of the week, there are lines. I’m not sure why they can’t figure out to have all registers open (front, photo, make-​up) but it drives me nuts every time I go in during a busy time and the line is 12 or 15 people deep. Sometimes I end up just walking out.

5 stars for the service I get there.
I pop in fairly routinely in the morning as it’s next to my boxing gym. The folks there are just plain nice. Always asking about my day and offering to help. Not too long ago I still had sweat dripping from my brow from my workout and the associate offered me a paper towel because «he could tell it was bugging me».
Then this morning, I was grabbing a bottle of water and my associate, Kenneth noticed the bottle was warm. He offered to go grab one form the back of the refrigerator so I could have a cold one.
It’s a little thing — but it started my day off great. I appreciate things like that and it will keep me coming back!

Rarely have I looked at a business and said «I wish this was a Walmart», but this mediocre Walgreens leaves me with that feeling.
Located in something of a dead zone between grocery stores (Jewel-​Osco and Treasure Island to the north and Walmart Neighborhood Market and Trader Joe’s to the south), it would seem that this location would do well with a nice-​sized grocery department. Instead, they stock only the bare necessities while maintaining an aisle of seasonal knick-​knacks like off-​brand Crocs and miniature children’s surf boards. It’s also not uncommon to find them completely sold out of milk or other items. To their credit, their beverage and liquor selection is fairly generous, though.
Amazingly, this location somehow manages to have a line of at least a dozen people at almost all times of the day. This would be fine for a grocery store, but for a «convenience» store, it feels a bit sluggish. Walgreen’s obnoxious check out system further slows things down with a number of menu prompts before the cashier can process your credit card. A few exceptionally cheerful and helpful employees on staff do make the experience more pleasant, however.
I still appreciate having a ²⁴⁄₇ store here, but in my opinion, this Walgreens needs to shift to a more grocery-​centric model and speed up their checkout lines to reach its full potential.

Convenient location but they always seem to be stocking the shelves in their extremely narrow aisles during peak hours. Very annoying.

Since it is literally across the street from me, this is my Walgreens. That’s right, I claim it! Seriously though, it’s a pretty standard Walgreens with some pretty awesome staff. I really like the craft beer selection and the fresh goods. The only downside is that there is a perpetual line, so don’t think you’re just going to run in «real quick».

My «go to» spot for almost any need. After hundreds maybe even thousands of visits to the Walgreens on broadway and belmont, the store earned a review. The staff is friendly, helpful and professional. This probably sounds corny, but I really think the staff cares. I know how that sounds, but after five+ years of multiple times /​week visits, it seems apparent.
I really love the fresh food option they now offer, however there are some cons… The lines are long and sometimes the clientele is… Interesting. Most of the time they are fun to watch, but that is not always the case. If you’re going for anything advertised in the flyers — its often out of stock quickly. I try to make my visits either early morning on the weekends or before 6pm on the weekdays to avoid the lines and interesting clientele. For me the cons are outweighed by the overall, consistently good experience.

Everytime im here no matter what time it is, i have to wait in line at least 6 – 10 minutes, which is a long time when you are just trying to grab something quick. Im sure anyone who has been here would agree. The lines are always huge. Cant they hire more people? All the workers they do have are so sweet though!
Also, ever other walgreens in the country is new or rebuilt, this one is still old looking and out dated. I just dont get it all for being such a busy walgreens cant they afford to hire new workers and renovate the place?!

If you go to this Walgreens for no other reason than to be entertained… it’s well worth it. The crazy check out lady that sings while she bags your items, one time I got «ohhhh look how pretty you are in your ID, Dec **, that’s when my cousin get’s outta jail»…interesting, but always amusing. She’s a riot.
Good service, always busy though. Seems to have more of a selection than most Walgreens (fresh fruits, sandwiches, etc.). And they have never made a big deal about me waiting inside for a few minutes waiting for the 77 bus when it’s raining or freezing. And they’re open ²⁴⁄₇ which is always a plus.

Walgreens: you can’t really review the store itself, which is pretty much cookie cutter convenience at decent prices, other than to say whether it is a new fancy one or an old standard one. This one is old standard. However, the location makes a key difference: this is on a crossroads for the East Lakeview/​boystown crowds, making always for interesting people watching between the 1) Jewish folks; 2) Gay folks; 3) Cranky old homeless looking men folk; 4) drunk young folks. I am not sure if she is still around but they had a darling cashier that appeared to have severe OCD that continuously talked to herself and the money while she folded and recounted it over and over… she was so nice! At times the line gets quite long but they speed it up quickly; it was long today and cranky old homeless looking man had something to say about that.

Well it’s Walgreens there’s not much to say. Convienant, close, has the basics you need. Of course my wife likes Walgreens and I go to CVS. Not much difference other than the points programs are a bit different.
Read an interesting article in WSJ a few weeks ago. For prescription prices they broke the major chains into three levels of cost. Most expensive was Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aide. Tier two was Wallmart, Target, etc. Tier 3 was CostCo and Sam’s.
Apparently Costco is the way to go for prescriptions showing a 20−35% lower prices than Walgreens/​CVS. This is due to the fact that Walgreens is a pharmacy first to make money store whereas Costco makes their money on everything else. It went on to indicate that no matter what you get for a prescription that you would wait 45 minutes at Costco as they want you to wander the store to buy other things. If the cost is a big deal to you it’s recommended to look to the warehouse stores for the best prices. None near me so I end up at W or C.
Just what I recent read.
I’m fine with Walgreens as it’s 2 blocks from my house ;)

Total chaos in the pharmacy department regarding the flu shot. That was after not being acknowledge for several minutes. I went to CVS for the flu shot. Much quicker and less chaos.

A while back I wrote a relatively bad review of the Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont… I really put some effort into it as well. It’s been quite some time since that review and I’ve still been shopping there, initially reluctantly, but over the last couple of years nonetheless.
I really had to update that they’ve become such my neighborhood store. It’s hard to say that about a big chain style company but the people that work there have progressively become so friendly. It’s got to be one of the busiest locations in the company but they’re able to handle it pretty well operationally and they do so with great attitudes.
It’s the easiest and most convenient place to pick up things that I really need as far as walking distance. I appreciate that it’s no longer a place I dread spending my money in for stuff I need but it’s now kinda a really good experience.
Thanks!

**This is part 2 of a 27 part series: The convenience stores of Lakeview
Give yourself a high 5 ladies! You run the best convenience store in Lakeview based on my reviews so far.
My previous review, the 7 – 11 on Waveland and Broadway brings a lot to the table. No question. BUT. the Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont takes the cake and eats it too.
Don’t get me wrong, the 7 – 11 on Broadway and Waveland is good. There’s nothing wrong with it. But the Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont is a madman. $ 500/​gram sht.
So if you never had it… what’s the Choco like? In a word: Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful
The store is well lit. So many older convenience stores have bad lighting. I hate that
The floors are very clean. This is not easy to do. Especially when you have so many sodas on display that can fall over and spill. Walking around on a sticky floor is no fun. Yuck!
As for the candy selection. very much above average. I think they carry almost every type of skittles. That’s impressive
Also, the layout of store is fairly intuitive. Most times, I can find what I’m looking for in 5 minutes or less. I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into the store design.
Note: Once concern I do have is regarding the sales tax. It seems to be a little on the high side at times. Ranging from 2.25%- 12.75% (Thanks for doing the calculation Simon F.!!). I really think Walgreens dropped the ball on this one. 12.75% is just too much.
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Now this next part of the review is strictly for the fellas. Have you ever had a lady come over on short notice? You got no wine and no time. Well, from now on, I’ve got that problem solved. The Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont is ALWAYS fully stocked with wine, candles, candy, and all of that. If you want to seal the deal, you go to the Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont.
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I have to admit, after seeing the 7 – 11 on Broadway and Waveland, I thought I knew what a five star convenience store looked like. Nope, I was wrong.
The Walgreens on Broadway and Belmont has re-​set the bar. The next 25 convenience stores I review definitely have their work cut out for them.

Must keep frozen pizza in plastic bag and not lodged in the cashier’s head.
Tuesday morning, 1:30am
Me, walk up with left hand holding Jewell plastic bag of groceries, right hand holding Walgreens shopping basket. I set shopping basket on small counter in front of cashier.
Cashier: «You need to take those things out of the basket.»
Me: «I don’t have a free hand.»
Cashier: «I’m not ringing them up until they’re out of the basket.»
Me: «Look, it’s 1am. Help me out – I have one free hand, and there’s no where to put the stuff.»
Cashier gives me a «I am going to be better than you eye-​roll.» A few seconds go by… a mini-​standoff ensues. I take the basket, flip it over so all the contents dump all over the small counter, some of which land on the floor.
Cashier: «If you do that again, I won’t pick ‘em up. I’m not a dog.»
Me: «I didn’t mean to do that, but you are also not Jewell – there’s no where to put stuff, so why don’t you just deal with the basket?»
Cashier gives me more eye roll. I pay her and leave.
Bad karma to «Jackie.»