I came here on a pilgrimage walking from Alta Bates Hospital to my therapist's office a few blocks from here. You see, what had happened was I was walking the 4 miles for almost 2.5 hours from point A to B because of a recently diagnosed concussion that's left me temporarily unable to drive. I thought I was treating myself with some gentle walking by myself until I tripped on a curb and fell AGAIN and broke two fingers, skinned part of my palm off, and started bleeding through my pants where my hip hit the pavement. It's been... a life. Lemme tell ya. So I came here to get peroxide and gauze pads and more adhesive free wraps until I could get back to the hospital so they could do the same thing for my broken fingers as they did for my broken nose: Absolutely nothing. This CVS is super spacious, extra wide aisles, somehow doesn't smell like pee despite being so near downtown Berkeley and having carpeting. I found what I was looking for on my own thanks to their supremely organized aisles and when it came time for my to check out, the cashier was definitely a little shaken but my stitched up face and bleeding arm, but they still treated me with compassion and not like a scary junkie like a lot of other places did. So, thanks for the humanity, CVS. I'll gladly stock up on band-aids and pads and tampons from your honorable location when I'm in the area. read more

Tiffany H This review is for a gentleman named Solomon that works at the 2655 Telegraph Ave CVS. The store ran out of ink so they could not process holiday cards and were delayed over a week, but his customer service well exceeded the norm in rectifying my photo card situation. I commend him for his hard work and dedication and going above and beyond, he is a huge asset to this stores location and company in general, and I hope upper management will see this review and know they have a keeper and take care of Solomon like he takes care of his customers. Thank you Solomon for such great service, I truly appreciate it and wish you and your family a wonderful holiday! read more

This location had super sweet service and this CVS unlike the weird downtown location had a cashier - which I appreciate when I need to use coupons. I honestly don't understand why some locations are switching to no-cashier only checkout lines, especially with a pharmacy. It just seems unwise. This location had everything I needed and everything was easy to find on a deadline. All in all a pretty typical CVS experience made better by the fact there was a live person there to speak to. #Cashiers4Ever read more

Clean well-stocked store with a large selection of items. Staff was friendly, lots of parking, short lines.

Pharmacy is chronically understaffed. They never answer their phone. I was on hold literally on the drive from Oakland to San Francisco and they never answered. So, when you go in person, they say, "come back in a few hours. You will receive a text." Then they don't text. So you return the next day. And it's still not filled. This has happened multiple times. Only the pharmacist can helped with controlled substances, not the techs. But the pharmacist is giving vaccines all day. Literally taking about 30 minutes per shot. Some of the techs are nice. But the short lady and the tall white guy are down right aggressive from jump, before you even say anything. I know it's not the staff's fault they are understaffed and they probably get yelled at by customers all day, so I try to be nice. But, is it too much to ask for the bare minimum level of service? I don't want to be a Karen, but I hope the pharmacy manager reads these scathing reviews. More pharmacy staff are needed. In the meantime, I'm looking for a new pharmacy. Safeway, no; Walgreens, no. Both have the same problems. I'll look for a mom and pop next. Sigh. read more

This was one of the best CVS I have been to. Everything was well organized and the middle lane section of the store that divides the store between stationary and facial products with groceries and medical supplies was so clean I thought it was the "red carpet" for customers. The staff was extremely cordial and knowledgeable on where al products were, especially the pharmacy. They were on point when it came to knowing what they did and didn't have in stock without having to look up the products. Will come back if in the area. Plus, who doesn't like receiving endless amounts if receipt paper?! read more

If your doctor submits a prescription to this pharmacy, they will NOT work on filling it until you go there & wait in line to request it, then wait around for it to be filled and then wait in line again to get it. Or, they might automatically fill it a week or so later. God forbid you have pneumonia and no one else around who can pick it up for you - you'll be in the hospital by the time they bother filling it, unless of course you can drive yourself there with a raging fever and request they fill the prescription that your doctor already requested that they fill, and wait around and in line two times. There's no way to request status on the app, it just continuously says "pending". So I had to call the pharmacy to request status on an urgent medication. After a few minutes someone picked up and said there were 4 people ahead of me in line. I waited an hour and a half, until they closed and finally answered. I asked what was up with that and was given new info that people in line all have priority and they won't pick up the calls on hold until there's no one in line. It would have been nice to know that when they first picked-up, rather than an hour and a half later. It feels like they are intentionally trying to get rid of customers, not retain them. read more

This is an OK CVS. I wouldn't go out of my way obviously (I live nowhere near Berkeley) but if you need to stop by for random supplies this will do. The hairbrushes are pretty expensive though (like$11-$15) - is that the going price these days?! The checkout line is kind of weird. They only had one counter open and it wasn't super clear where the line started. I do like that there is a large parking lot here. Parking is definitely a premium the closer you get to Berkeley. There were some vagrants hanging out around the CVS outside. I guess it can't be helped given the neighborhood. read more

I frequent the CVS on Shattuck primarily because it's a block from my work. The CVS on Telegraph is actually nearer to my home but my first visit to this location was last night. First off, I LOVE that it has a parking lot! That's a HUGE bonus. I parked right outside the front door. It is extremely spacious, bright and clean. As other reviewers noted, it doesn't seem to have a lot more selection that the smaller Shattuck store but I guess having liquor available is a bonus (if that's what you are in need of). I only popped in for one item and when I couldn't find it, the cashier at the front quickly told me exactly where I could find it. Since this was in the late evening, the store was pretty empty, except for a pack of homeless people milling around the front of the store. Now that I know how quick it can be to shop here at night, I can envision some evening shopping runs here in the future. read more

This place is a joke, they won't even pick up the phone for my doctor, and i've been out of meds since last week. Went in person and they treated me like a junkie. I'd switch to an independent but they don't stock what I need. read more

Super sloppy pharmacy. They forgot to return my insurance ID card, and then called me to tell me they had it. When I went to pick it up they had a haphazard stack of cards, but they lost mine. Good luck getting the right medication. read more

The pharmacy failed to help me transfer my prescriptions there. I was really dissatisfied with the time it time waiting to talk to the pharmacist only to have him tell me to have my doctor call and give the prescription even though I had them in hand read more

This place is horrible. Worst customer service in the Bay Area. Rude pharmacy techs. I has to use this pharmacy because its close to where my friend works. I'm disabled, I can't drive ,so I have to depend on.my friend to pick the drugs up for me. I was treated with a dismissive attitude, completely rude "service". They hung up on me three seperate times. A prescription transfer should not be so unnecessarily complicated. And it usually is not . But here, they can't seem to get it right. . Once I get this current problem dealt with, I WILL NEVER patronize this CVS again. And it REALLY puts a bad taste in my mouth towards ALL CVS stores. read more

This CVS Pharmacy is the absolute worst and most incompetent pharmacy that I have ever had the displeasure of interacting with. Their pharmacist is an absolutely negligent and unhelpful dishonor to the medical field who on multiple occasion neglects to inform emergency room and doctors of being out of stock for key pain medications such as hydrocodone. I had a massive injury today and got prescribed a bunch of medications by the ER and was told by the doctor that if any pharmacy was out of stock, that they'd contact the ER immediately to state they were -- specifically because it was sent electronically and the pharmacy had over two hours to deny it. The pharmacists unempathetic response and lack of compassion for the situation was beyond reproach and she continued to simply state they'd be out of stock till Monday and that it's not her job to inform patients if they don't have the medication despite the ER stating that it was. She also continued on to not recommend any further action and failed to detail how I should approach the situation. Her assistant simply repeated the same information but lacked the competence to formulate her own recommendations. To contextualize -- I was being assisted and limping with a cane. They were both so unbelievably RUDE, INCOMPETENT, AND NEGLIGENT BEYOND BELIEF. It is honestly a shame that people with so much control over the management of a patient's quality of life post-hospital can be so ruthless and lacking of compassion and professionalism. Worst experience with any medical/pharmacological professional ever. read more

They consistently don't have my prescription and hang up on me when I try to solve the issue. I'm not sure what else I can do other than middle manning my doctor with cvs (even though my doctor has sent my prescription over) The meds I take prevent seizures and without them I can get serious brain damage. This is highly irresponsible for a place that is supposed to provide health care services. If you're thinking about getting your prescriptions filled here I would highly recommend any other pharmacy. I have gone to many pharmacies (most of which cvs) and have never had this poor of service before. read more

yeah my gf and i walked in w our scooter (because berkeley dangerous asf and i dont want my scooter stolen), and the security guard told me to park it in the front of store. dude was straight up disrespectful and was giving me hella attitude, i didnt wanna cause drama so i jus parked it in the front. minutes later some dude walked in with his scooter and the security guard didnt even bat an eye. like why do u gotta go out of ur way to mess with me when u cant even do your job consistently. hire a better security guard jesus christ. read more

Ive had it with the pharmacy at CVS at 2655 Telegraph. I go in to get a refill and the tell me I need an authorization from my doctor and that my insurance won't cover it until November 8th. That's fine. I come in on the 8th and the kid working says I can't have it until the 9th but he assured me they would have it ready for me. That's fine. Maybe I got the date wrong. Come in the 9th and the guy says he can't read the authorization fax and doesn't want to give me my prescription, which by the way, they never got ready. I tell him the original prescription has all the refill info and he says he'll fill it this time. Gotta wait 10 more minutes after standing in line for 25 minutes. I'm changing pharmacies read more

This place can never seen the keep my insurance information on file much less fill a prescription in a timely manner. To make matters worse, somehow it's my fault that they are this grossly incompetent. I'd encourage you to fill you prescriptions elsewhere read more

i quite literally have never had a positive experience picking up my prescriptions here which i have to do at least twice a month. the people are so rude and so unhelpful and not sympathetic towards their customers at all that are frustrated and just trying to get the medication they need to live. read more

This pharmacy does not answer the phone. They put me on hold for 20 minutes without ever answering. I figured they were just busy, but for three days at various times the same thing happened. I went in and was told there were only 2 people working the entire pharmacy. The counter person Diana is usually busy either stocking the shelves. She cannot remember customers even if a person has come in repeated times. "what is your name, your birthday" Over and over. She has trouble spelling a last name, so I generally write it down for her. read more

Following outpatient surgery yesterday, my doctor prescribed an antibiotic and a pain medication which I should start taking immediately. He called them in to CVS on Telegraph at 10am. I checked my account on the CVS website at noon - no sign of those meds. So I called the pharmacy to ask when they would be ready and waited 25 min on hold - no answer. I then asked the doctor to call them in again which he did at 2pm. At 3pm I checked the CVS pharmacy website again - still no sign of the meds! Another call at 6pm with a 30 min wait on hold. By evening I'd missed two required doses of the antibiotic and the pain was intense. Next morning I check the CVS website at 8am, and see they finally have one of the meds waiting for me, but not the other. Treating customers in need of medications like this is so inconsiderate, unprofessional and potentially dangerous. I will never go back to CVS again! read more

The service at this pharmacy is so bad it has made me cry. I have never in my entire life of being chronically ill had so much difficulty refilling a prescription or faced so much contempt and rudeness when trying to fix the issue. Go to literally any other pharmacy this one is certainly not worth the time. read more

The guy at their pharmacy was so awful to deal with, he dropped the ball (angering both me and my doctor who had to hop on the phone twice to deal with his incompetence). Thanks to this CVS I had a nearly 2 week delay in medication. I really should have just gone somewhere else. To make matters worse, their customer service refused to even acknowledge or respond, which tells you something right there - they don't care at all. Such a bad experience I'll never spend money at this or any other CVS again, I'll only go to Walgreens or frankly anyone else. A shame, I used to come here all the time and they lost me forever as a customer. read more

This pharmacy is complete garbage. Snobby pharmacists working, completely rude people. Avoid at all costs.

If I could, I would give this pharmacy and store 10 stars! I don't understand the bad reviews because I had a successful visit. I am traveling abroad tomorrow morning for a school program and the program coordinator just informed me that my COVID-19 booster shot I took last year is no valid. I had been calling multiple CVS and Walgreens for an available walk in appointment with no luck. Feeling defeated and afraid I had to cancel my flight I decided to come over here. They first told me I needed to have an appointment but after explaining my situation to Pharmacy Technician Diana, she sympathized with me and went above and beyond to explain to lead pharmacist and doctor Guillermo. They both were so nice and and were able to help me so I didn't miss my program. Thank you so much Diana and Guillermo. Hopefully this will be the last time I put you in this situation and have an appointment for next time. But I thank you for your patience and for your service. Bonus: I purchased a bottle of water and the cashier lady was extremely nice. 10 of of 10. Will be coming back!! read more

The pharmacist in this store refused to refill one of my prescriptions without even bothering to consult or inform either me or my doctor. The pharmacist had, perhaps, a legitimate concern about how this refill related to a new prescription I'd had filled a couple weeks prior, but he should have talked with one or both of us about that, rather than simply making a unilateral decision with little information. If he had asked, I would have chosen to stop taking the new med, rather than abandoning the old med (the refill he had refused to provide), because the older med was definitely helping me, and the new one was just an experiment that we weren't sure would work. I certainly would not have just stopped taking it in favor of trying something new. By making this decision in isolation, this pharmacist abruptly took me off of a longtime, proven-effective medication with no warning. In fact, by refusing to provide this refill, the pharmacist put me at risk for serious withdrawal effects, and the withdrawal effects of this particular medication include depression, severe anxiety, and extreme outbursts of emotion. If the pharmacist had bothered to consult with me or my doctor, he would have learned that I have a history of suicidal ideation, and he might have stopped a moment to consider the fact that abruptly taking me off this medication might actually lead to me KILLING myself. But he didn't bother to get any of that information; he just refused to fill the medication. My doctor was, of course, upset at this decision, and he really went to bat for me. He apparently had to argue extensively with the pharmacists (apparently there are two, though I've only ever dealt with the one older guy) to get them to give me any of the older medication. Finally, they relented. During this whole situation, I had been having arguments with the pharmacist about his decisions, and he was not very cooperative or sympathetic. I felt like he wasn't listening to my concerns & was insisting on defending his own perspective regardless of my specific situation. My husband, at one point, lost his temper about the fact that this pharmacy was actually endangering my health instead of protecting it, and he told them bluntly what he thought of their actions. He didn't yell, but he let them know that he was angry. As a result of all this, I stopped using this pharmacy and transferred my prescriptions to Walgreens. A few months later, just a couple weeks ago, I found myself in an acute health situation and had to make an emergency appointment with my doctor on a Saturday. I needed my medication quickly, and this CVS pharmacy was directly across the street, so I bit the bullet and went in. I was willing to give them another try. Despite my past experiences, I was calmly friendly and treated the staff as I would anyone else with whom I had an exclusively business relationship, but from whom I needed help. The pharmacist (the older guy again) actually refused to fill any prescription for me and sent me away with a smirk and the childish comment, "You made it clear you were disappointed with our service, and I would hate to disappoint you again." "I would hate to disappoint you again"? What a smart ass! Not only had he AGAIN made my life more difficult in an already difficult time, but he implied that it was my own fault. I was standing there with a medical need, and he just made a flippant comment and sent me away. I think the pharmacist in this CVS is arrogant and unprofessional. I will never again go to this pharmacy, even in an emergency. There are numerous other pharmacies in Berkeley, though I don't drive & they are all further away, and so they are considerably less convenient. That's less important than trusting my health care professionals. To be frank, I think this pharmacist should be fired. I don't think he should have the power to make these kinds of willfully uninformed decisions that affect customers' lives in crucial ways. I think he has no empathy, no compassion, no humility, and no willingness to work in cooperation as one part of a customer's multi-person health care team. In short, this pharmacist sucks. Don't trust him. Go to one of the many other pharmacies in Berkeley. read more

I had high hopes for this CVS as it was under construction. They had such a big space, I thought it would be pretty impressive once it was done. They've basically laid out the store with space and aisles as a priority. Which is nice and all...except it means they don't really have much of anything. The only real difference between this CVS and, say, the much smaller one on Shattuck, is that this CVS carries alcohol. Which, I mean, great, I won't say no to drinks. But it's also a pity that there isn't really anything here I couldn't get from the much smaller one. This store had great potential... but falls flat. As far as pharmacies go, pretty mediocre. What a waste of great space--literally. read more

Guard kept following me and I was just trying to buy body powder. He was so busy following me for 15 minutes, he missed a young girl with blonde hair walk out with something. He stopped to go on break and obviously sent a cashier to to talk me and asked if I needed help. I rarely visit this store and now I will never visit it again. read more

I've been using this CVS pharmacy monthly since it opened....and all I can say is: DO NOT bring your business here. After reading the reviews from LisaD. and HilaryS. and KimberlyA., my story completely overlaps and often repeats their exact frustrations. I don't know how the Pharmacist deemed himself the Pope of everyone's business, but it's unethical and the "rules" change daily. We really must write to CVS HQ, because it goes waay beyond inconvenience... It's almost like Management sent the most righteous dumbbell Pharmacist who is about to retire to the Pharmacy where "there will be lots of kids from UCB coming in here...and you know what that means..." "Gatekeeper" is totally on mark. If you have ANY prescription just outside aspirin, be warned: it's your nightmare. You must keep track of everyone you talk to, know their names (because you will be asked who helped you when they lose your prescription) and be prepared to checkin by phone so you don't waste trips. Being a convenient location has NOT been a worthwhile trade, and I never had one issue or problem at the now-closed Broadway CVS. Unsolicited info. from my Dr. in Marin: "Oh yes, they're (CVS) is a nightmare...I'd go to Target." read more

If you posses an out of state ID, look elsewhere to purchase your liquor. They will not honor it. If you have a passport or a green card (USCIS Form I-551) to verify your age, then carry on. read more

I came here on a Saturday night..in line there were some frat Bros buying 21 thirty packs of keystone light and then some drunk college girl chased my car out of the parking lot repeatedly yelling "F*CK YOU" and flipping me off as she did....the experience drove me to drinking that night..anyways I've been back since and bought some deodarent. read more

The manager Paul is very nice and willing to talk with anyone who shows up for a long period of time. That's great, unless you have been waiting for a prescription to be filled for your spouse who is sitting deliriously in the car after oral surgery waiting for a painkiller - which was promised 25 minutes ago - and requires a quick check from Paul. I recognize that he wants to be nice, but there was a giant line of people waiting for prescriptions and he spent 10 minutes talking to a guy who showed up (after everyone else) to discuss the finer details of over-the-counter eye drops. And then a guy who showed up later to discuss over-the-counter nasal spray. And then...on and on. Given that he is the only one who can approve all of the waiting prescriptions, maybe it would be better to have one of the other workers do this? This has happened to me before by Paul. If I can, I will switch pharmacies, but this is the closest one, so that sucks. read more

I cam here today to print some pictures off my Facebook. It took god awful for fucking ever because their computers kept crashing!!! An hour and a half of my life wasted. This really shouldn't be happening. Get your shit together. And what the hell Kodak??? You automatically zoom in on my pictures so when I print them out they look like SHIT? The program should automatically skew the photos to fit the frame. Get your shit together because I wasted too much of my fucking time individually zooming out all my photos. Anyway, the older Asian lady who works at the register seems senile and works hella slow, meanwhile the line behind me is just getting larger and she's the only open register. Seriously, get your shit together! The conveniences of this place however are the open pharmacy and being open until 10 and all the coupons for shit I actually buy. I dig that. Bottom line is to get your shit together. read more

Pharmacy: Got my flu shot here. Didn't have to wait long. Even got a 20% coupon off any purchase here. Store: ONLY BUY CEREAL. My apartment has a thing for cereal and this is where we go to fulfill those cereal cravings. They got cereal on sale every week and not going to lie, the selection and pricing for these cereals is great. GET A CVS CARD. If you live on Southside past the Units/Crossroad, this place is definitely the place you want to go. Pretty sure Walgreens next to Subway has everything CVS does but 20 cents more expensive and ridiculously long lines. read more

Every worker here I've had an encounter with over the past year has been unhelpful or condescending, even the ones I've assumed were managers. They'll constantly ignore what you're saying, or claim that they don't carry something that I've went back later and found on my own. read more

Don't use this pharmacy unless you have a prescription you don't need much and you have a lot of time. They regularly put me on hold for 15+ minutes. I can put up with that, but twice this year they have put my doctor on hold for 20 minutes when she was calling in renewals for my prescriptions. Both times I wound up missing one or two days doses before the confusion got resolved. My doctor refuses to deal with them again, so I'm finding another store. read more

This place is super convenient because it's on my way home (if I take Telegraph instead of Shattuck) and it has decent hours. I often stop by for milk and eggs if I don't want to make a separate trip to the grocery store. They have all of the standard stuff, including a small asian section with a bunch of soups and noodles that is nice if I ever want that kind of stuff. It always seems kinda empty, but they seem to get enough business. Also, the last time I went in, I bought the last dozen eggs and last gallon of non-whole milk. It WAS the Friday after the first week of school was back, but I wish they were better stocked. They usually have random sales on stuff too, which definitely defines what I buy. Your receipt also comes with a bunch of coupons (kinda a waste of paper), but it's nice, I guess. read more

Just had the most racist and classist experience at this location with store manager Richard. I'm a handicapped person who sent a healthcare worker into the store to ask a question about my vaccine. Unfortunately, Richard and Corrine only saw a young black man in their way. Richard rudely accosted him and told him to get out of his COVID line (something my provider wasn't aware that he was in) and then refused to answer any questions he had regarding my vaccination appointment. When I called to inquire about his rudeness and disparate treatment, he said that my healthcare provider was "an adult... and could've said something." I'll be contacting the local and federal agencies that monitor the vaccine distribution in this store, but be aware that racism is an issue with Richard and his store employee Michael. read more

The staff is super helpful here and super nice. I like the convenience of this store and I come here often. The pharmacy staff is very with it. read more

I would avoid this store during the pandemic. The only place I have been asked to TAKE MY MASK OFF since Covid started. This was for an alcohol purchase but this has yet happen to me for any reason in the 8+ months this has been going on. I wasn't even the one buying alcohol, and the person I was with and I expressed discomfort at the idea of de-masking and he made us anyway, while other store team members assured us that only this one guy was making people de-mask. Must add that usually the people who work here are very friendly and follow protocols, but I won't be visiting again for safety reasons. read more