Walgreens

This is my go to Walgreens when I need something during the work day. The cashiers are always friendly. Some of them seem to not want to be there though but try to strike up short conversations. The lines in the morning, before 8, are always long but they move quickly. I can always find what I am looking for along with other stuff that I don’t need to buy but do anyway. I use the photo department a lot. I order online and they are usually ready for pick up within a half an hour! Super fast!

I had high hopes for this downtown W’s, as the design still clings to a 20-​year old model, at least, and I love that. Good selection here, but the checkout is insane. 5 ladies have open registers but customers are shuttled through a roped off line, and nobody hears the calls of «Next!»
I can’t believe I was wishing for a self-​checkout station or two! I think next time I’ll hover by Cosmetics, pretending to look at lip glosses waiting for that overhead announcement of «No line, no waiting in Cosmetics». Yeah, that won’t happen. To this Walgreen’s I say, «Next!» and also a hearty «Good Day!»

The checkout lines are notoriously long here, but the pharmacy makes up for anything bad people could say about this location. The pharmacy staff knows me by name (perhaps I shouldn’t be admitting that?) and they are quick, efficient and really nice! They genuinely cared when I broke my foot and hobbled in there every few days for new meds or supplies. The store also stocks kitschy souvenirs, snack food (and real food!) and alcohol. What more could you ask for?

I know what you are thinking — why bother to review a Walgreens? It’s a chain, they are all the same, right? No. Trust me, they may be on almost every corner, but some are clearly superior to others.
This Walgreens meets my needs in many areas, but predominately in the pharmacy department and candy aisle. The pharmacy staff are very kind and helpful — they will call the most recalcitrant doctor back as many times as needed to get your prescription info. They also help when I absentmindedly try to get my monthly meds before my insurance company feels I need them.
This Walgreens is one of the larger ones in the western part of the Loop, so they have a good selection of candy, snacks, and other things to peruse while your prescriptions are being filled. There’s always sales on make-​up or almonds or something else you decide at the minute you cannot live without.
Finally, there are several cash registers open all the time, and the workers are quick. Even when the line looks out of control, it moves speedily.

I’ll go out of my way to go to a Walgreen’s because I love the store so much. Luckily, this one is right by my office.
The cashiers are always friendly, always helpful. They usually strike up quick 30 second conversations that make me smile.
The employees on the floor do not make me smile. It takes awhile to even get their attention. Once I needed assistance, and I tried getting help from these two women who were so completely involved in their conversation that they did not hear (or at least acknowledge) me for several minutes. And the only way I got their attention was by making comments about their conversation. («Really? He said that to you?!»)
I also had a huge problem at the pharmacy. They tried telling me that my birth control wasn’t covered by my new insurance, and in fact that my new insurance didn’t cover ANY birth control. I paid $ 200 out of pocket. Thankfully I’m the person who gets upset at stuff like this, so when I called to voice my opinion to my insurance company 5 minutes later, I found out that Walgreen’s made the mistake, that it IS covered, and that I only owe $ 20 for a 3 month supply. I can only imagine someone who wouldn’t take the initiative to call and end up being out the money that should have been theirs.
All that being said, I still love Walgreen’s. I can’t help it.

Whilst working at 1 N Wacker, this was my go-​to drugstore, satisfying my every whim of cheap nail polish fancy, my every prescription, my every candy jar run. The lines can run long, but most of the time a clerk will open up a register in cosmetics (albeit usually obviously begrudgingly).
Bonus points goes to a manager who drug out some 4^th of July stuff for me in October a few years ago, when my boss became a US Citizen and I wanted to decorate his office. That was pretty above and beyond, for a Walgreen’s.
The pharmacy staff there have always been pleasant to me and have been ever-​patient with people in front of me who had a million stupid questions («Now, can I take this with water, or should I take this with orange juice? What? The patient consultation window? Whassat?»). What I’ve liked about them the most is that they were proactive when a prescription got called in with my former last name. They somehow figured out it was supposed to be for me and called me to make sure they were on the right track.