Rite Aid

I ordered pictures online and got an email about an hour later saying they were ready to pick up. Went it about an hour and a half after that and my pictures were sitting half printed in their machine. They said the machine had run out of paper (two hours ago) and called somebody to come replace it while I waited. Most of the pictures had little white flecks all over them but I had been waiting so long, I didn’t have time to wait to have them reprinted.

A good place to get more «Stuff». This rite aid is located in very convenient location. Staff are friendly, the store is clean and has an ATM. Parking is plentiful, but getting out from River Street is sometimes a challenge. The Putnam/​Whole food entrance looks confusing with the arrows directing traffic to the left side because the pharmacy drive up is on the right. Cars passing through to WF (from River st) also drive on the left (their right). I feel like I am violating a rule when I drive in from that side.

This is a review for the pharmacy, with which I’ve had two contrasting experiences.
A year or so ago, when I needed a lot of special order drugs for 6 months of global travel, the pharmacist went out of her way to make that happen (which included having to call my health insurance each day for three days to to get special permissions). AND she kept me posted with voicemail messages the whole time.
Recently, I was in a car accident and arrived straight from the ER at 5p (closing time), politely explained my situation, and the assistant wouldn’t even ASK the pharmacist if she would fill my scripts. I even said I would totally understand if the pharmacist said no but could the assistant please just ask.
Not sure if management has changed or there has been staff turnover, but customer service seems to be going in the wrong direction. That being said, I do love the automated text messages when your prescription is filled — so if you do go to a Rite Aid I recommend signing up for that.

We visited this last weekend as we were in the area visiting a well known seafood place. Compared to the many other Rite Aid stores that we have visited, this place needs some freshening up. However, by itself, it seems to be fine as it is well stocked. The item we were looking for was sold out but that is to be expected in an urban area.

Eh, it’s a pharmacy. It’s sort of dark and the employees are not particularly helpful. I’ve never had to make a line longer than two people except the one time an employee cut in front of me to buy some snacks.
I guess it must say something about this Rite Aid that it’s the closest pharmacy to me… yet I prefer to pick up my prescriptions and other items at CVS in Harvard or Central. They have a drive-​thru pharmacy that I’m sure is great if you have a car and I have no reason to doubt that they practice sound vaccination methods.
The cosmetics section is pretty well put together. I’m much more likely to find my mascara or nail polish here than at a CVS for whatever reason.

Had the worst experience here last week dropped off a prescription and pharmacy told me insurance wouldn’t fill it (they have filled it for years) waited half hour was told to come back tomorrow. Called my insurance company stayed on the phone with them for an hour to realize it was approved and the pharmacy made a mistake (which is what I had been trying to tell them but instead was told it’s not ready and to come back multiple times)
So finally pharmacy says it’s ready after I did their job and called the insurance company for an hour. I check the website to see what time they are open until because I work late it says 10. Perfect I get out of work at 9. Roll up to the pharmacy at 9:20 it’s closed at 9.
This is where it gets bad because I understand insurance companies can be complicated and mistakes happen. I walk in after work dressed in my suit and ask to speak with the manager in a very calm way (I am also a manager in the customer service industry) and he won’t even give me the time of day he basically says if I want to talk to him I have to follow him around the store. The kid wouldn’t even stop walking for me to tell him my issue and he did look like a kid. I’ve never felt more disrespected and I would never return to this joke establishment. They should knock this place down and make it a cvs or walgreens I’ve never had a problem with those drug stores.

I don’t understand all these negative reviews, I get all of my shots at this rite aid and I’ve never had a problem.
I came here for a tetanus shot last year and the staff was very accommodating. I was in and out within 20m, and the pharmacist took the time to answer all of my questions.
I don’t take any medications, but I plan on getting my flu shot here again this year.

Wow… look at all the bad reviews for the pharmacy… and here is yet another bad review for the pharmacy.
I have been coming to this pharmacy for a while and tried to overlook the super unfriendly staff who will always tell me «I’ll be with you in a minute» in order to finish up their private conversation about a cute dress they saw at the mall or whatever tv show they saw last night. What was the last straw for me was when they started making mistakes on my medications.
The first mistake was that they accidentally gave me a regular acting medication when I needed extended release. Okay, no big deal. Easy mistake. As soon as I got home and noticed the mistake, I went right back since I am a quick walk away. I told them that I was just there and that they accidentally gave me regular versus extended release. SORRY– I took the medications out of the store so they cannot take them back nor could they give me my medication without a new prescription from my doctor (even though this was just a refill from my previous extended release medication).
The second mistake is when they shorted blood pressure medication. So when I was nearly out, I call the automated system for a refill. I go to pick up the medication a few days later and they tell me it’s too soon and that my insurance won’t pay. How was it too soon when I am out? And it’s blood pressure medication, I kinda need those. They said to come back in a few days and I could pick up my full prescription. I was completely out so I paid out of pocket for a few days worth. I go back and surprise, still too soon. I told them this is impossible as I am out and then argued why no one is calling me to tell me this before I actually physically show up to the pharmacy? They have me sit while they looked in their computer system. Turns out, they shorted my last prescription because they didn’t have enough of my medication on the day that they filled it and forgot to tell me. Yet, they charged my insurance for the full amount of my prescription and I got charged a full copay. They filled the remaining amount that they were supposed to give me but when I asked for a refund on the amount I paid out of pocket due to their mistake, they refused.
The final mistake is when I went to pick up my next refill of blood pressure medication and they told me that they shorted me because of the amount I paid out of pocket from their previous mistake when they shorted me before. I asked the pharmacist how they can keep shorting me when I paid out of pocket due to their mistake. She couldn’t explain it nor did she care.
I am not a pharmacist. I should not have to recount my pills because they may be shorting my prescription. I am DONE with Rite Aid.

Rude, slow, refused to be helpful when going on vacation. Asked where I was going and then insisted there were enough Rite Aids in the area that I could just fill it once I got to my vacation spot. Done with this Rite Aid.

Let’s start off with the positives:
1. Rite Aid is a 1 minute walk from my house
Now that we’re done with that:
1. The pharmacy staff is terribly unfriendly and rude. I called them up a month ago and asked to transfer my prescription from CVS to there (I was having allergies and I didn’t want to walk to Central Square). They explained how I needed to call my CVS and have them transfer it. WRONG. I’ve worked at a pharmacy for 6 years and that’s now how it’s done. I won’t fill there ever.
2. The front staff is terribly unfriendly. I don’t think I need to say anymore than that.
3. The store is cold and usually filthy. (But underneath all the disgustingness is exactly what I need — cat food, apple juice, deodorant, and a quick fix of mac & cheese).
4. If I had a stop watch and timed how long I waited in line (behind, say, 3 people) I could play a full game of solitaire, run a marathon, and eat a veggie burger with bacon and cheddar cheese before being waited on.
Humph.

the pharmacy staff is either overworked or just plain mean. we call it wrongaid at my house.

This pharmacy is far too conveniently located to my life for me to ignore it, but let me just say that I would if I didn’t have prescriptions to fill. Instead, I must deal with the obnoxious pharmacy staff, which is a less than pleasant experience, to say the least. Most of them are just sadly clueless or poorly trained (or perhaps both). There is one woman there, however, who has such a short fuse that she goes from 0 to ballistic in a matter of minutes. Usually this process is tripped by a simple request on my part, such as «is my order ready for pick-​up?» I am not sure how people with this level of antipathy for interpersonal interactions end up in retail.
Fortunately, there is one breath of fresh air among the staff, a sweet-​faced younger woman who takes care of business with dispatch and aplomb. When she is there, I am relieved. When she is not there, I cringe.
The other positive element of this Rite Aid is that their front-​end cashiers are remarkably cheery. This, and the inexplicably constant good humor of the second pharmacy tech I mentioned, makes up for the offensive behavior of the other pharmacy staff, and saves their store from a single-​star rating.