Awful experiences at the CVS on Main

I’ve had so many terrible experiences here. At first, I just tried to let it go because I know how overworked and stressed pharmacists are, especially at CVS which is known to operate a skeleton staff. Whenever I go there, they do seem to have a decent number of staff though, generally four techs and two pharmacists.

I used to think each mistake was just a one-off event, but it’s become a pattern that is shocking and makes me think it must be happening to others. I’d like nothing more than to not have to go to a pharmacy regularly, but I have to because the prescription is for controlled ADHD medication. This specific CVS has a way of making you feel awful about just picking up the medication, and I dread going there. I used to go to the Safeway, but they typically had supply issues. The Bartell’s near QFC was the same with supply problems. The CVS on main has never had supply issues, but it’s just the technicians and pharmacists there that are awful.

They keep making mistakes again and again, and this is despite the doctor writing specific instructions on the RX and me calling them ahead of time. You can’t reach them on the phone directly, but a tech calls back within an hour usually after leaving a voicemail. Due to the issues, I started contacting them ahead of time just to make sure that they know to fill it according to the doctor’s instructions (which always seem to get ignored). Inevitably when I get there, it’s still wrong and they have to redo it (which they are pissed about). It’s so bad, I start to wonder if they are intentionally screwing it up. When they don’t make a mistake with the medication, it’s always something else – like someone on the phone telling me (at 9am) it will be ready at 1:00pm. Then the pharmacist snaps at me when I arrive there at 3:00pm, telling me come back in 3-4 hours (but then she had it done within 5 minutes when I said I’d wait at the store). They’ve also told me to wait while they fix a problem, and then forgotten about me after I was waiting there for an hour or more. Someone comes up to me confused and asks what I’m waiting for, and then I have to explain the whole thing again.

I try to be so patient with them, never raise my voice. All I want is to pick up the darn medication, the way the doctor prescribed it, and get out of there. When they make these mistakes, I’m polite but persistent about trying to find out why it wasn’t done correctly and how it could have occurred, despite both myself and the doctor trying to make it super clear and easy for them. They look at me with a dead face and constantly try to gaslight me (both the techs and the pharmacists) by making me think it’s me that messed up or that the doctor did it wrong (she did not).

Does anyone know of a decent pharmacy I could go to? The options in DT aren’t great, and we don’t have a car. I’m thinking I’ll try taking the bus to the Costco in Kirkland from now on if this continues.