This review is for the RiteAid Pharmacy in Monroe, WA - I have visited other locations and not had problems. I have come to greatly dislike the Monroe RiteAid Pharmacy, enough to take the time to write a review of them for others to see (which I don't do). I began using them because their drive-thru pharmacy was very handy with 3 small kids (6 years, 2 1/2 years, and 8 months). But their staff is so unfriendly and perscriptions take so long I would rather park, get out of my car, unload the 3 kids and walk into a store rather than give them my business. I have 2 kids with cronic ear infections so I have to fill perscriptions a lot. This review is not a result of just 1 visit, but about 20 visits over a 2 year period. My husband has also experienced the same poor service.
The staff at Monroe RiteAid Pharmacy act as though they are ""put out"" to help you. I never get a smile or a friendly greeting when I arrive, even though I smile when I pull up. They have a less then friendly tone of voice (sometimes to the point that I would say they are rude) and I get the sense that my visit is a disruption to their busy schedule instead of the reason they are in business. They don't display any sense of urgency in working with me, I get the impression they hate their jobs and don't want to be doing what they do. The average time to fill a prescription is about 25 minutes, that doesn't include the time I wait at the drive-up window for them to acknowledge me (usually 3-7 minutes, one time 12 minutes). This is true of all the people that work there (at least the ones I have come in contact with - 5 different workers). If they are out of a prescription they just say that and give me back the prescription. Other places OFFER to call around and find another store that has the prescription before I leave. I have asked Monroe RiteAid Pharmacy to do that and was told they don't do that. Once my doctor's office called in a prescription to Monroe RiteAid Pharmacy before I left the office and I arrived at Monroe RiteAid Pharmacy 45 minutes later and it took them another 10 minutes to find that the prescription had been called in.
You might ask, ""why did you continue using them""? The answer is first their drive thru is convienent and second I thought to myself ""maybe I was just in a bad mood and unfairly judged them"" or ""maybe they were having a bad day and it was just a one time thing"". So I would revisit them thinking I'll give them another shot and this time it will be better - but it never was!
I don't know if the poor customer service is a result of a bad manager, bad trainging, being unstaffed or what but I have truely never had such continued bad service at a pharmacy before.
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