I have never taken the time to write a negative review in my life, but my recent experience at the…read moreCVS in Black Mountain, NC was so egregious, I feel the need to spread the word. I've never had a problem at the pharmacy. I live less than a mile from the store & use the drive-thru from time to time. My wife, 5-year-old son and I visited this CVS at about 2:00 pm on 9/28/25 for the simple task of having my wife's passport photo taken. When we entered, the store appeared to be empty, aside from the manager (confirmed later in our visit) performing some stocking/tagging tasks at the front of the store. First of all, I found it a slightly off-putting that we were not greeted and stood at the photo counter for a minute before I understood the manager was not going look in our direction, let alone ask if we needed help. I brushed it off & approached her, asking politely if we could have a passport photo taken. Her response was "yeah" or "yep", still without looking in my direction. All good - we just need to get a simple photo & get out of here, I thought. The manager calls an employee named Ally (or Allie, or some variation of that name) to come take the picture. I could tell immediately by Ally's body language (again, no greeting, no eye contact, hurried & dismissive) that she did NOT want to help. As Ally & my wife proceed with the photo process, I am keeping my 5-year-old son occupied by self-checking jellybeans. My wife politely requested another attempt at the photo, for personal preference (not uncommon for women, honestly... You're going to be stuck with this representation of yourself for 5 years). Ally immediately and shockingly became VERY agitated. She argued that the initial photo met the gov. requirements, she didn't need to take another one, there would be no difference, etc. I could see my wife was flustered & humiliated, but she still politely requested another attempt. Ally shouted to the manager, still performing whatever menial task just steps away, not intervening, "Do I have to take another one?!" At first the manager lobbied for Ally, stating the same thing about if it meets digital requirements, you don't need to try again. This is when I tried to politely & diplomatically intervene, explaining that we fully understand the requirements... not our first passport/visa photos... this is more personal preference. I tried to bring some levity by mentioning how ladies like their photos to be just right, especially when you're stuck with it for 5 years. After some huffing & puffing, Ally submitted to taking another photo. This is when I noticed her aggression elevating against my wife. She was bossing her around very rudely & aggressively on where to stand, what to do with her hair & posture... "move this way! No, that way!" etc, etc. My poor wife was getting emotional & looked like a deer in headlights. This is last thing you would expect when you go, in high spirits, to have a photo taken. As I'm also watching my son, I then notice Ally throw up her hands, step away from the kiosk and yell to her manager something to the effect of "I can't do this!" The manager, rather than send Ally away on a break & resolve the issue & help the customer, starts yelling at us to go to the passport office to have it done (THIS IS A STANDARD SERVICE CVS EMPLOYEES ARE PAID TO PERFORM, and are telling us to go elsewhere!) At this point, I had heard enough of the attack on my wife, in front of my son & Papa bear instincts kicked in. I stepped in and spoke over Ally & the managers raised voices and said something to effect of "Your attitude is way out of line, this is a simple request from a paying customer, if you don't want to do your job, we'll just go down the road to the next drug store. We don't need this kind of disrespect", and beckoned my wife let's get the heck out of here. My wife remained as steadfast and calm as possible, determined to get this simple task completed. Finally, the manager & Ally disappeared to the back of the store, and a lovely employee named Rhonda appeared and effortlessly resolved the issue. Gave the photo another try... was cordial & polite...great result... done. I'm baffled that this "manager (wish I caught her name) didn't immediately do what a manager should do & excuse the disturbed employee and appease the paying customer. They ganged up on my wife... in front of me & my son! For absolutely no reason other than either discrimination, or they simply don't want to be there, or they have no common decency (in a customer service position!). The experience traumatized our whole family. I'm tempted to litigate for emotional distress, discrimination, verbal assault/abuse, etc. Absolutely appalling, inexcusable, shocking & disturbing behavior from 2 individual employees at the CVS in Black Mountain, NC, store #3860. Ally and the Manager present on Sunday 9/28/25 @ 2:00 pm. Big thank you to Rhonda for stepping in and helping us with the type of professional courtesy you would expect.

I stopped by to pick up a prescription and a woman behind the counter was lowering the shades for a…read morelunch break. OK, I just needed to pick up a prescription and leave. Nope, she said they were closed and lowered the shade in my face. Looks like the customer comes last here. My experience at the Swanannoa CVS was much better.