Walgreens

I like this Walgreens! It’s located right on Saint Charles Avenue, and it always has what I need! I frequent here often, and each time, it’s easy to find what I need. When I go for little things like something to drink after a work out, I make a b-​line straight to the refrigerated drinks section, and I have my choice of water, gatorade, power aid, or other more fancy beverages. I’ve come for things like passport photos, and haven’t had complaints about their photo center. They let me see the picture and get an «OK» before printing it out, which is nice, and they let me check out there, so I avoid the lines in the front. They have a great pet section, where you can get food, kitty litter, toys, or other random essentials fairly conveniently. They sell cookies and candy, which is always a plus, and their card section is booming with expressions of love! Yes, there’s a local panhandling scheme outside almost every day, but hey… the panhandlers must love this Walgreens too!

I usually end up coming to this location when I am watching the uptown parades, as it is literally right on the route. Even during Mardi Gras season, the store is surprisingly not trashed. Not exactly clean, but not a disaster zone. The staff is quick to assist and check out. The motto seems to be to get everyone in and out as quickly as possible, and just get them out. The panhandlers out front are generally jerks, and it is surprising. You would think they would be nice to make bank.
Be careful of parking in their lot if your just there for the parade. You will always see interesting characters here, and it leaves for some scope of imagination for the back story of these folks. Don’t expect awesome service, and you will not be disappointed.
Funny story. I was checking out yesterday, and remembered to ask for stamps. The lady checking me out asked what I was using them for, and seemed surprised that I was actually going to put the stamps on an envelope and mail something. She then asked if that was something people really did. I stated no, I am from Mars, and humans didn’t normally mail letter. She didn’t say anything else. I would say that is a great success!

The only reason this gets 1 star is the pharmacy is open 24 hours and it’s walking distance to my house. Otherwise, by far the worst run pharmacy I have ever experienced. Pharmacy staff have attitudes and each one tells you something different. Latest example: brought prescription in after work around 8 pm. Asked if I could leave it and pick it up in the morning. Pharmacy staff: «you can’t leave this over night it is a controlled substance.» (Just had surgery and needed pain meds.) ok fine, I will get it filled before work tomorrow at 9 am. Come to get it filled and am told by a different person «you can’t fill this now, you can only get it after 11 am today.» Asked why, she said «you can only drop this off.» I am in the medical field and thoroughly understand controlled substance laws, only thing at play here was laziness or incompetence. Only got it filled after waiting 40!!! Minutes!!! and asking to speak to a manager. Absolutely ridiculous.

This pharmacy is the most incompetent group of people I’ve ever had to deal with in the medical field. The only reason I go there is because there’s a drive through. I’ve been here numerous times and they’ve told me they don’t have my script, oddly enough after a usually 10 – 15 minutes it miraculously gets found. I feel safer with the competency of a Walmart greeter then the individuals working here.

Four stars — because they had cotton Hanes unders when I needed them, and here super cute. Maybe my new faves.
Also, because CATHERINE at the counter. She made sure that my friend got her $ 1 coupon off of her purchase even though the transaction was done. And she was an effing delight through the whole thing.
This one experience was basically NOLA in a nutshell: «be nice or leave.»

My friend was asked to leave his backpack at the front counter just because he was suspected as a Moslem. This was very discriminative and rude.
Costumer service is horrible

Worst run pharmacy. Had two prescriptions called in in two days and each day they had not filled it and kept losing my information in the system and had to wait and wait with poor communication.

Clearly, by the fact that I gave it two stars, I’m not a fan of this Walgreens. That said, I come here pretty often. I live in the Lower Garden District so when I need cigarettes, Red Bull, cat food, toilet paper, Sharpie markers, or any other variety of drug store wares, I can walk here. That’s one star right there.
Being open ²⁴⁄₇ gets you a pretty solid second.
However, standing in line at this Walgreens is reminiscent of being at the DMV. For example, I’ve been standing here, in line, at this Walgreens, long enough to become bored enough, think up, and write this much of a review. What the Hell is going on up there at the register?! There are two cashiers! Let’s move this thing along!
Also, why is it that Rite Aid can sell alcohol but Walgreens doesn’t? We’re on St. Charles Street in New Orleans. I can get an Old Fashioned at a laundromat in this neighborhood but can’t get a sixer of Buds from a drug store? There are 75 varieties of ribbed condoms but a single pinot grigio is out of the question?
Put some pep in your check out clerks, replace your garbage pre-​made sandwiches with something that can get me drunk, and run off the homeless oogles asking me for 60¢ (why is it always 60¢?!) and this would be a great place to have to visit once or twice a day.

Plusses:
Still ²⁴⁄₇ pharmacy
New cosmetic offerings
Minuses:
Not enough open checkout lanes
No coffee with chicory
No booze

Far from home and of course, I forgot a few things. I always do. No matter how well I think I’ve prepared, etc. Luckily, the thing I’ve forgotten can be easily obtained either at the hotel or a convenience store nearby.
After our delightful dinner, we made our way here. I immediately found the item I needed and then for some reason, probably because I haven’t seen the bride in forever, we spent an unnecessary time just browsing the aisles and talking about all sorts of life issues.
This store is brightly lit, well stocked, and the staff is super friendly. More of that southern hospitality that I had come to love. It’s near the hotel and also open ²⁴⁄₇ just in case I found out that I’ve missed something else off my list.

I was a pharmacy customer at this Walgreens for 2 years before I just could not deal with the inefficiency any longer and made the switch to CVS on Prytania. I rarely write negative Unilocal reviews but this place deserves a special place at the One-​Star-​or-​Less table. I only give it one star because there is no way to give it negative stars.
The pharmacy techs are rude, inattentive, and completely distracted all the time — and I usually visit during off-​peak hours and never during known rush times. Whether this is an issue of being understaffed or just an issue of staff incompetence I am not sure. But either way, it needs to be addressed.
There were multiple times when I would call the pharmacy to try and talk to someone and instead of just picking up the phone and putting me on hold until they could speak with me, they picked up the phone and LEFT IT OFF THE HOOK until I got so discouraged I hung up. I know the phone was off the hook because I could hear the techs talking to one another and would try and get their attention (at first thinking this *must* be an accident, right?) to no avail. After experiencing this at least 4 different times (on different days) I realized that they were — to my utter disbelief — actually taking the phone off of the hook on purpose, just to make it stop ringing. At an establishment that manages customers’ medication and their health, this is particularly disturbing.
Another issue was the fact that they literally never had the correct amount of at least two of the medications I need regularly. Every month I would bring my prescription in only to be told «we only have 20 of those pills, not 30. Do you just want the 20? It will be the same price as if you’d gotten the full amount and you can’t come back for more when we eventually restock.» So I was constantly running to other Walgreens locations in the area, and every other pharmacy I went to had zero problems filling my prescription.
After 2 years of this ridiculousness I switched to CVS on Prytania and am so pleased. Even thought it’s twice as far as Walgreen’s on St. Charles was, it is entirely worth it because they always have my medication, are super polite and helpful, and never take the phone off of the hook when I call for assistance.
Do yourself a favor and skip this Walgreens location altogether.

I don’t normally review drug stores but today’s interaction with one of the employees was just too awesome. First I asked where I could find something and not only did she tell me, she slowly walked me over. After a couple of minutes she found me again to tell me that I could check out with her in the cosmetics section. So I go up with my purchases and one of them was a bag of Penguin crackers with the easy re-​seal sticker over the barcode which I hadn’t noticed. I saw her trying to remove it and I was like «oh, that’s just to close the bag up easily again once it’s been open,» to which came her epic reply:
«I know what it is… I just don’t know what it’s doing here! I ain’t got time to ask what this IS… shiiiit…I don’t need to know!»
There were a few more versions of the same thing said after but I forget exactly how it went. Long story short, this was not disrespectful in any way. It was just her being her and being funny. She knew she was making me laugh.
That was fun.

I moved away from Walgreens for 18 months, and it was a sad time. I ached for their Hallmark card aisle and actually sent less mail. Where else can I have a cashier insult my weight, compliment my outfit, and over-​charge me several different ways while offering me good discounts on the things I want to buy?
Where else can I run into a stoner, a ranter, and a lady with three kinds of Christmas lights wired into the boombox on her bicycle buying false eyelashes? All of these things are true about Walgreens on St. Charles, and I wouldn’t trade this store for anything.
It’s the late at night/​early morning/​all day solution and entertainment all in one, with a very good card aisle.
Three stars for the aforementioned insulting and somewhat inaccurate cashiers.
Accessibility notes: automatic doors. No Braille signage or public restroom. Low counters.

I still go here because it’s easy, but this has to be one of the more poorly managed Walgreens you’ll find. Half the time I come here I end up buying something that was on sale and I didn’t even know it because there’s no signage. Isn’t that the point of a sale? You tell people it’s priced lower and they buy more? Instead, I’m willing to pay full price but then they discount the item (s) at the register… don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy to pay less but if I knew it was on sale I might have bought more items or more of the same item. That’s just bad business and whoever manages this store clearly doesn’t appear to be doing their job very well — plus the guy who’s often outside begging for money makes me feel a little strange at times. Just sayin.

Hey it’s Walgreens… but here we go:
The GOOD:
OPEN 24 hours (one of very few places #intheNOLAbaby that is
Location is central, easy to access
Lots of good, quick finds
Lots of New Orleans Branded Touristy items
Lite-​weight security
The BAD:
The prices are a little more than the average Walgreens
The UGLY:
The check out lines always SUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
Easy Peasy!!!

So I mostly end up at this Walgreens late at night and that’s why it’s getting a review… a 24 hours shop on St. Charles… excellent location for people watching. Drunk tourists, random local nuts (waves), and folks who just want to chat with you at 2 in the morning while you are in urgent need of… whatever. AND the staff handles all this with aplomb and amusement.
This location does have a huge makeup selection. And some good local stuff, including souvenirs and then there is the random things like sundresses or scrubs. Weird.
In summation, I think it’s probably a 3 star store, but the people make it worthy of 4.

This review is primarily for the pharmacy. I recently got really fed up with the complete and utter mediocrity (and that’s being very generous) that was the Walmart pharmacy and took my business here instead. I’m really glad I did — the pharmacists have always been helpful, and since Walgreens is in my healthcare Rx provider network, I’m finally getting some prescriptions for free (oh yeah, Obamacare!!) I really dig the «Reply to this email and we’ll refill your prescription» thing. Nifty.
Usually the wait for prescriptions (if you’ve already requested a refill) isn’t too long. And since the pharmacy is open 24 hours, I kind of like knowing I can go there at 4:00 am, even though I’ve thankfully never needed to do this.

Consistently the worst customer service I have ever received. Every 2 months for the past three years I have been filling my prescriptions here because the location was convenient. Today I switched to a different pharmacy.
Sadly, I have a list of complaints to share about the Pharmacy (the rest of the store has never been an issue):
~prescription has been screwed up twice (wrong dosage, wrong qty)
~atrocious customer service (even for New Orleans)
~the wait time is extra long (If I call it usually takes around 10 to 15 min to get assistance… if they don’t accidentally hang up on you while you are on hold. If I opt for the drive through pharmacy I know to shut my engine off, again its about a 15 min wait if there are NO cars in front of you. Going inside tends to be slightly faster, but you have to, well, go inside.)
Over a week ago I attempted to drop off my prescription and was told they didn’t have it in stock & they could not take the prescription from me & call when it was filled. I was told that I had to keep trying back. I have called every other day and they keep telling me they don’t have it in stock & they don’t know when it will be back in stock. Today the lady told me to try back in another week… and that I have to get lucky & drop it off the day their shipment arrives because a lot of people fill the same prescription. If it’s filled by so many people, why don’t they order more!!!
Ok, so if this was superficial like wanting a pair of shoes or something I wouldn’t put up with their service. But this is medical. I need to take that prescription every day so I don’t get sick. And they want me to wait over two weeks & gamble that they might fill it someday?
So I’m going to sacrifice the convenient location for a store that provides decent service. Thank you CVS :)

I guess I should review this place since Unilocal keeps reminding me that I have been here a bunch.
This is my go to Walgreens in the city. Sure I visit other locations, but for several reasons I tend to end up here. Some of the reasons are:
It is close to work.
It has an ATM machine (Chase).
It has reasonably friendly cashiers.
It has all of the items Walgreens is famous for.
The parking lot is easy to get into and out of. There is a traffic signal on the corner so you wont be stuck waiting for loads of traffic to pass before you can exit.
So whether you need hairspray and a comb to fix your hair, cash, beer or cold medicine, check out this location.
Note: I have encountered some very interesting people here. Depending on the time of day, you may need to look out for panhandlers in the lot, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

Walgreens is great for the everyday tourist because you can buy:
3 or 5 day streetcar pass
anything you forgot at home
postcards
Plus they have a Chase ATM inside the store which is extremely convenient (unless the person in front of you is slow and not so bright… which is what we experienced most of the time).