I liked 'em in the beginning, and I still think the hours are great and the selection is decent, but the service...dear Lord, the service! It seems like the last few times I've been in there, the lines have been 10+ deep at the registers. With the time-consuming Extra Care system and the slow-moving checkout people, it's a mess, even if you don't get stuck behind some eccentric elderly North Berkeley woman who holds up the whole line while haggling. We can't bring back Longs, can we? read more

Took them a week to get my prescription refilled, and I called several times during. Until I started hassling them they didn't bother to fill it, and I only found out about the refill when I called them - they never bothered to callme. What a pain. HUGE PROBLEM, though - I finally got this prescription and I looked in the bottle. Half of the normal amount of medication was in there. I checked the bottle - counter's mistake. I took it back, and not only did they not apologize, they didn't give me the prescription bag and receipt until I asked them. Talk about professional. read more

Terrible under staffed, the old lady they have working is soooooo slooooow, and she is very rude to customers and incompetent

This place was really nice. I never would have gone there if not for farmers market. It was nice that I could get what I wanted from both farmers market and cvs while parking in the parking lot. I have to admit parking is not easy during farmers market and I don't know if it's always like that because I've never tried parking in the cvs parking lot and other time. The line at the cash register was a little long but the customer service was fast and efficient. The cashier was nice and considerate. I hop this is the cvs on shattuck with a parking lot and not the one without a parking lot on shattuck. I might be giving the wrong review to the wrong place. read more

I dread going in here every time I'm forced to. I don't know how it can take 10 min. to check out when there's only three people in line. Beware of expired sales tags too. I just spent 5 min. at the register, had to have a manager come up, only to tell me that there's no sale. I went back, grabbed the sales tag, handed it to the manager, and he just looked at it and said "expired tag." They have no concept of customer service. I believe in the decency of human beings with the exception of people that work in this store. read more

My husband gets his prescription filled here. If you sign up for the refill service, you get a phone call telling you when to pick up your meds. Sure beats waiting in line! I like how this place is one of the few establishments that's open before 8 am. I'm a bit of a morning person, so it's nice to be able to get a few errands done before the family's up and about. Sometimes they have some acceptable wines, even for my disciminating palate. I never buy them, but my husband does stock up when he feels the need. They've been carrying Burt's Bees and other natural body and skin care products for a little while now and that makes me happy. read more

It seemed like a great idea, a mailing center in the drugstore where you can mail packages after the post office has closed. I saw the signs and asked the cashier when the mail center closed. She said 8 p.m. and so I planned to return the next day with my package. Next day rolls around. I return to CVS and present myself at the Mail Center where the drama begins. The call goes out across the floor: Does anyone know how to operate the Mail Center equipment? Blank faces and mumbles. Kind hearted Russell, who has worked at this location for years(although under the prior Long's ownership) has not been trained in using the postage meter/register. The only trained employee is called over, but he also can't figure it out. I ask to speak to the manager who has no idea how to determine postage and seems to have no concern that no one else does either. He offers no apology or interest in solving the problem. Russell has been very helpful and has tried to help, but in the end, I leave with my package unsent. Guess it's back to trying to squeeze in a trip to the P.O. at lunch or on Saturday. Sigh. read more

Never in my life have I ever been racially profiled in a corporate chain store, not even in the most redneck parts of Northern California until I set foot into this CVS! I walked in looking for a USB cable. Not soon after clearing the theft detectors I hear "**inaudible** walk the floor!" which means security/available store personnel monitor the aisles, a person or persons are suspicious and are probably trying to steal something. The person responsible for this was Fatema a shift supervisor working the photo/customer service desk. After hearing her announcement I looked over, she glared at me then continued to help a customer in line. After finding the cable in a matter of seconds I got in her line, bought it and inquired when her manager would be in. Should be an interesting conversation. No worries, Walgreen's has always been #1 in my book and I will gladly walk to Cedar and Shattuck next time :) read more

Love this location - has a parking lot, pharmacy, and right there in the gourmet ghetto to enjoy yourself after. They usually have a line but they work hard to make sure that the line is moving. read more

They're supposed to be open until midnight, but last night when I showed up at 11:55, two employees were walking out of the darkened store. "We're closed," said one of them. "You're not open until midnight?" I asked "Yeah, but nobody stopped by, so we closed early," she replied. I pointed out that, "I stopped by!" But she said, "the alarm is already set; Safeway is across the street," as if I was expecting her to open up again for me and I could just go get what I needed at Safeway, which was also closing at midnight. I understand when the mom and pop store on the corner closes early. I don't understand when a chain drug store closes early. If the employees were walking out at 11:55, they probably had closed 10 minutes earlier. I know 11:55 is cutting it close, but it was the soonest I could get there and I would have been in and out in 2 minutes, so I was counting on cvs being open until midnight as posted. Had I known they would close early, I would have gone elsewhere instead. I don't know who made the decision to close early, but is it asking too much for a chain drug store to keep its hours? Unfortunately, the closest drug store open at that time was a Walgreen's in Oakland. Thanks, cvs. When I was little, this store was a Lucky Market with sawdust on cement floors. It was a nice upgrade when Bill's Drugs renovated it (installed linoleum floors and bright lighting) and moved in from their previous location on the corner of Shattuck and Vine. Unfortunately, every time it's been swallowed it up by another corporation, it has gotten worse. With the new mini-target open downtown, I shudder to think about what corporate store might someday replace this CVS. read more

The employees are wonderful and kind. The pharmacy manager must be a piece of work. First, CVS has eliminated medical privacy in its California stores--constitutionally required medical privacy. Second, the employees are worked into the ground-literally. Third, there are always lines of elderly and disabled people waiting to pick up prescriptions--the pharmacy manager has cut costs on the back of his employees--by understaffing the place so badly that I pity everyone who works there. Someone needs to stick up for the elderly, disabled, employees, etc. read more

I walk in this store and a cashier greets me with a smile and says how can I help you. I ask her where something is and she rolls her eyes and says aisle 14. I shrug it off, maybe she's having a bad day. I find what I'm looking for and something on sale for 75% off. Score! I check out with another cashier than the one that greeted me. I ask her if my sale item is 75% off. She says, "Well I haven't rang it up yet." I let that slide. She proceeds to get my CVS number and rings me up for the items. After she rings me up I ask her if my items were 75% off. She says no they weren't. I tell her the price on the shelf was lower. I ask her if she is willing to walk to the shelf with me and look at the price or if I can take a cell phone picture of it. She tells me to take my items and go to the price checker. I go to take a cell phone picture and she tells me sir come back. So I walk back. She tells me I've left her hanging at a check out screen and I can't do that. At this point I tell her "Well if there is a price on the shelf you guys should honor it right?" I proceed to ignore her calls to return and take a picture of the price tag. I return and I ask her who I should talk to, because at this point I want to talk to a manager. She lets me show her the price on my phone. She says "Ohhhh! It's a clearance item you should have told me it was a clearance item" ......... 1 star because one we don't need to tell your cashiers it's a clearance item one other point, the correct response when a customer asks you for a price is to tell them the price one more point, i know cashiers may have a bad day but that is no excuse to treat me like they did, i.e. telling me to go check the price on a price checker instead of confirming the shelf price one last point, it shouldn't matter if we leave a cashier with a purchase screen Start to finish I used up to 2 minutes of the cashiers time. As she was finishing the transaction she had the nerve to tell me that things just take time, find another job lady, you shouldn't be working "customer service." read more

It's time to update my previous review and give these hard-working folks a fifth star. Everything I wrote before still applies, but I want to call specific attention to two outstanding staff members who consistently go so far above and beyond the call of duty for me that they practically deserve canonization. The first is Lorrie, who has bent over backwards on multiple occasions to help me get vacation overrides and to work out various snafus and snags with my insurance company. The amount of time this very patient and persistent woman has spent on the phone pestering my pesky Part D provider is truly astounding - I just hope she knows how much I truly, deeply appreciate her monumental efforts. Without her, I would have had to go without my medication on more than one occasion, and that would've been like crashing on a smut-stained sofa in the most ass-tacular apartment in Suck City. In short, she has worked her butt off to save me a lot of unnecessary suffering, and she rocks. The second Saint of CVS is Eliz, a relatively new addition to this pharmacy. Seeing her smiling face behind the counter always brightens my day. But she's not simply a cheerful employee - ohhhh no. The only way to convey how awesome she is is to tell you what she did for me last week. I was leaving town the next day and was out of one of my medications. However, my crapalicious Part D provider was not willing to fill said medication until the following day . . . which was obviously a problem because I'd be gone by that time. It was about 15 minutes before closing time when Eliz discovered this problem. She said she was willing to ask the pharmacist to try to put through an override, however, there wasn't enough time left to do that and fill the prescription before closing. Could I come back early the next morning? I could not - I had an early flight. She frowned and seemed genuinely concerned. I assured her that I would figure something out and left. Ten minutes later my phone rang. It was Eliz. She offered to bring me the paper copy of the prescription so that I could get it filled at another pharmacy while I was out of town. That's right, she was going to get in her car after she got off work and drive to wherever I happened to be to deliver the prescription to me - just so I wouldn't have to go without my meds. I think my jaw hit the heavily-waxed floor of the Safeway where I happened to be shopping. I challenge any one of you to name a Bay Area pharmacy where the staff is willing to go the extra mile the way that Lorrie and Eliz have for me. As far as I'm concerned, these two wonderful women have re-defined what it means to provide excellent customer service, and I will continue to patronize this store for as long as they continue to work there. read more

Beware!! It's said location is everything...NOT! Have been using this "location" for years; very convenient. However after the take over by CVS (formerly "Longs") there has been a very steady decline of customer service and an alarming disappearance of long term employees both in the store and pharmacy; no longer a neighborhood feel. My experience with the pharmacy has been sub-par lately to say the least. They've been lacking in communication. (Sorry CVS, repeated text messages stating the order has been made and we will text you when it arrives does not work when it doesn't "arrive.") Would really appreciate some "customer service" if there is an issue, preferably a human.) Also, when phone contact is made with the pharmacy to inquire, be prepared to spend over an hour on hold, have the call dropped or have the call held until after they are closed. And, when phone contact is finally made at another time the "sorry for the inconvenience" doesn't work; even if repeated ad nauseam. The employees either don't want to assist, or are not properly trained, or are not properly supported by management. I think it's the latter. Staff needs direction and management. At this point with two prescriptions very maligned I cannot recommend this pharmacy. CVS I hope you track these reviews and listen...seems to be no other way to contact you....scary. read more

Contrary to what another reviewer has said, I found the employees to be very welcoming, helpful and polite.

I agree with so many things others have said. I miss Long's (actually, I miss Bill's, predecessor to Long's, for those of you old enough). The pharmacy seems to be the same, and that's good - pharmacists and staff are extremely friendly and helpful. But the rest of the store! So junky! Many favorite items have disappeared. CVS brand, as another reviewer said, is terrible quality. And this ExtraCare Card, or whatever it is, is a nightmare. The 2-ft long receipts. The "$2 off your next purchase of shampoo if you buy it by next week!" It would be much easier, and save paper too, to just put the shampoo on sale for $2 off, really! And it's time consuming. Lines are longer as customers and employees alike struggle at the cash register to figure out ExtraCare. I really think they should get rid of it. I will continue to use the pharmacy, but avoid the rest of the store. read more

I have been getting my prescriptions here since it was a Longs Drug Store but I think that that era is now over. I have have had several recent problems involving the pharmacy submitting requests for prescription renewals that I had not authorized. In one case, I got a call saying that the prescription I had ordered was not in yet when I hadn't ordered anything. On another, I was told over the phone that I could pick up medication I had ordered but the prescription was not available when I got there. I recently had an injury which made it more convenient to temporarily pick up prescriptions at another CVS. Accordingly, I called yesterday regarding a prescription that I needed immediately but that needed to be renewed. I specifically requested more than once in the conversation that they not put in the renewal request, that I would have that done by a CVS close to where I was at the moment; but when my doctor tried to do fill the prescription, it was blocked by a request from the Shattuck CVS. This was distressing because my doctor was leaving for the holiday weekend at the moment when I discovered what had happened. I called CVS. The person answering the phone said that she had forgotten to cancel the request - a request I had never made. She said that if I couldn't reach the doctor, I could buy the prescription. I asked to speak with a manager, who was sorry, but essentially on the same message. There was not a hint of willingness to assume the burden or their own mistake. People make mistakes. That's absolutely understandable, but not taking responsibility is not understandable, which is why I am going to take my business elsewhere. read more

I've been going to this location for years and I've never had a problem here. Shocked to find all these unpleasant reviews. It's been months since I had to fill a prescription, but yesterday I had to. I love the changes they have made to the remodeled pharmacy section. There is one CVS employee I always look forward to seeing, Bernice. She always makes me smile and we share a laugh or two on my visits. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the parking lot. I wish there was some way to monitor the people that park in it. Most of them aren't even CVS customers, they are just there for the surrounding businesses. :( read more

Arrrgghhhh! I am beside myself with self pity because my health plan no longer covers Walgreens for prescriptions and CVS is the only reasonable alternative. I've been there twice now. Parking is bad even though they have a lot. Lines are long. Staff are clueless. They wanted me to overpay for my brand name prescription. When I explained I had always paid less at Walgreens, explained the circumstances, etc it didn't matter. They weren't interested in finding a solution. I had to call my insurer. Turns out the clerk at the pharmacy made a coding error and it was easily fixed. Now back for my next trip to pick it up. Staff is sour or clueless. read more

I will NEVER, EVER return to this store again. For one thing everyone uses their parking lot for surrounding business and restaurants and CVS does nothing about it. But the main gripe is the pharmacy department. I've gone three times now, and every time I go there is a massive line to drop off and a massive line to pick up and there's always some problem with every customer. Check out some of the few remaining independent pharmacies. Support local business. If your insurance is paying for it, why support a horrible mega-chain like CVS? read more

It is hard to believe the pharmacy service at CVS could get worse but it has. Their app will not refill my prescription, and I have experienced 20+ minute hold times trying to reach the pharmacy. When I call the front of the store, they deny any responsibility for the pharmacy department. I'm giving Walgreens a try. read more

For the past 8 years, I've been going to the store on Shattuck and Rose St. in Berkeley to get my prescription. For 5 months, the pharmacist has filled out and signed an insurance form for me because I am covered by 2 insurances and wanted to get my co-pay refunded to me by my insurance company. After 5 months of successfully doing this, today the woman (elderly African American) at the pharmacy counter told me that I had to fill in the form myself, when the form's instructions clearly stated that the pharmacist was supposed to fill it out himself. She would not listen to me, kept shaking her head, and was rude. I will NEVER go back to that store for any medication in the future. Even when I tried to explain that they've been filling out the form for me for 5 months already, she still denied it. I don't appreciate being insinuated that I'm a liar. What rude service!!!! read more

This has always been my favorite CVS, mainly because it used to be a Long's drugs and before that it was a local store called Bill's when I was very young. I have to write this review because I literally just waited TWO HOURS for a flu shot!! Several people were allowed to cut in front of me, and then they casually let another woman TAKE MY PLACE. I guess they decided she could just have my 32 bucks worth of flu vaccination. I damn near asked for my money back but I don't wanna die of the swine flu. So. Instead I just caused a stink, called everybody a b*tch several times, and finally got my shot. I will never go to this pharmacy again. read more

This review is for the pharmacy. I have a allergy prescription with refills, but I only take it as needed, so don't always need the refills. When I first filled it, I distinctly said I didn't want auto-refills. Guess what happened a month later? "Hi, your prescription refill is ready for pickup". Ugh. (We ended up resolving that pretty painlessly, but annoying.) Then, they called back twice over the course of a few weeks/months to remind me that I had refills left, until we finally agreed to put the prescription 'on hold' since I didn't expect to need it until next spring. This morning, they called again, with an automated message that said there was important information about my prescription. It didn't sound like the previous refill reminders, so I actually moved ahead to hear what it was - maybe my medicine was recalled? Maybe they gave me the wrong medicine? Or something else 'important'. Anyway, I had to punch in my birthday and verify I was the prescription holder as I waited expectantly, only to then hear something along the lines of: 'Did you know that some allergy medications take weeks to take effect? You should start taking your medicine before you expect symptoms. Do you want to refill now?' Wow, CVS. Is that really the important message you had me verify my identity for? Thanks to you, I'll start to ignore even more automated messages. Hopefully, there won't be any truly 'important' messages that I miss because of this. Moral of the story: stop calling me. read more

CVS Pharmacy is a friendly neighborhood pharmacy/convenience store in North Berkeley. It has a pretty generic layout--pharmacy in the back, makeup/toiletries on one side, food toward the opposite side, photo kiosk near the cashiers. While there is nothing extraordinary about this CVS, it still has everything you could need from a convenience store/pharmacy. Before you go, remember to bring your CVS card and/or Green Bag Tag. The CVS card gives additional savings on regularly priced items, and the Green Bag Tag will save you $1 for every four times you bring a reusable bag to carry your purchases out. Some of their prices are hit and miss. There are a few items that are really cheap compared to competitors, while other items are really expensive! For example, I have found sesame oil, dry udon, and water chestnuts for really cheap here. The prices are comparable to an Asian grocery market! Really random, I know. Another well-priced item at CVS: one gallon of milk. For some reason, it's about $1 cheaper here than at Safeway! read more

Appallingly long wait at a pharmacy consulting window with a pharmacist and staff conscientiously avoiding eye contact with me like busy waiters in mediocre restaurants. A mere "we'll be with you in a moment" would have sufficed. I eventually walked away. read more

Very poor customer service. My prescription was not filled on time, causing me to have to return at another time. On another occasion, someone at the pharmacy was very rude and condescending when I asked her to be sure that I got the right number of pills in my bottle because I ran out 4 days before I should have. She scoffed. And on still another occasion, a woman at the check-out counter in the main part of the store laughed at what I was buying when I was in fact quite sick. I am going to look into using another pharmacy. read more

Bleh. This store annoys me. It's got low-quality goods, slow check-out agents, and it is full of gimmicks. Actually, it's the pricing gimmicks that really annoy me. They put items on sale, and print a new sticker over top of the original sticker with the new price. But if you take that item to the cashier, without a CVS card, they ring up some significantly higher price. Now, first, I'm annoyed by stores who charge you ridiculously higher prices if you don't have their "big brother" discount cards. I have no interest in letting them data-mine me; I prefer my privacy, thank you very much, and any store that charges 20% more if I don't use their "big brother" card is too sleazy for me. Second, I find their stickers deceptive. They don't print two prices, and clearly label one price as only if you use a CVS card; they cover up the non-CVS card price, leaving the implication that the discount is for everyone. I don't like buying from stores that play deceptive games like this. I really miss the old Long's, which had higher-quality items and didn't play these silly games. The CVS store has one upside, though. The pharmacy at the back still seems to be as good as it ever was. That's the one item of the old Long's that seems to remain, and the one reason why I'll keep my prescription drug business here. But for the rest, I think I'll try to buy online or at my local grocery store instead, whenever possible. I've had enough of the CVS baloney. read more

Service at the pharmacy seems to have gone downhill since CVS took over. Sunday now the pharmacy closes at 6:00 pm! When I complained, I was told, "all pharmacies close at 6:00 pm on Sundays." I guess they haven't heard of the Walgreen's at 51st and Telegraph (open 7x24). read more

I miss Longs! CVS clearly is not oriented to their community and its needs. Products pushed on the endcap displays are highly scented and toxic cleaners (so not Berkeley), The new Kodak-only photo processing does not seem to be compatible with Mac computers. Even the tacky "used car lot" flags in the parking lot seem so out of place. Plus, I can no longer find natural products that I found at Longs. CVS, do a little research on your community, will ya? read more

If you're using the pharmacy - they don't answer the phone but put you on hold 30 minutes. Hang up call back - they say "please hold" and then put you on hold for 15 minutes and then disconnect you. Then you call back and get a human saying "please hold" and you say "no" and the still refuse to help you. FYI - they left mixed messages about a prescription - yesterday "it was ready for pick-up" and today "won't be ready until next week - needs MD authorization" - which is true? Who knows. Abysmal customer service. They may be understaffed, in which case it is up to CVS and the store manager to make sure they have adequate staff and quality control. read more

I wish I can put zero stars. But since this is the minimum. I came in to spend money buy a few things and leave but suddenly I had the to use the rest room. So I asked the staff if I can use the rest room. Denied. The excuses was we lost the keys to the rest room for a few days now so we can't open them. I was like that's one way to turn away customers. If you asked me. That was the worst excuse I ever heard. I had to drop what I was going to pay for and rush home. Not a very good feeling. Note to self do not go to this cvs Pharmacy on Shattuck in Berkeley. Customer service is terrible. read more

This review is for the store and not the pharmacy, which I stopped using a few years ago due to rudeness and a condescending attitude by the person (man) working there. Staff has been very nice and attentive, the manager has been helpful, and things have greatly improved in my opinion. I'm glad as I live just a few blocks away and it's so convenient. read more

Pharmacy staff is rude. The store is way too packed full of merchandise but not maintained at all. They rarely have adequate staff working the registers. This store is in need of some serious tlc and makeover. read more

This review is for the CVS photo department. Photos I uploaded to CVS.com did not print out well at the store (the colors were very distorted). However, Ken at the photo department was so nice about it. He recommended that I print the photos from a flash drive rather than uploading to the website. So I did that and he reprinted the photos at no charge. They came out well! And when I went to pick them up, Ken had wrapped them up nicely and set them out for me even though he wasn't there. So don't use the CVS photo website feature. But the employees at this store are great and printing from a flash drive worked. read more

They have gotten their act together over here, yay. Better customer service and more consistent overall service. It's still an ugly store and there is always a line but it moves faster now. read more

If there was another CVS nearby, I would never come here again. Whenever I approach the cashier, this white lady by the name of Celia always gives me a bad attitude and is constantly sighing. She treats the customers in front of me all bubbly and actually conversates with them, but as soon as I check out, she flips the script and puts on a bitch face. I don't know if she's just pmsing 24/7 all year long or whether she just hates Asians, but she needs to go whether she's a manager or not. The only reason why I would conclude that she is a manager is because I always see her and only her at the cash register. I'm very discouraged from going to this CVS. This is probably the worst service I've received at any drugstore in my life. read more

This review is for the pharmacy only. The rest of the store is fine, but the place is called "CVS Pharmacy" so I'm reviewing the pharmacy. 1) My complaint against the entire chain: The company has instituted a new Robo phone calling campaign so when you pick up your prescription they ask you to APPROVE Robo calling. I assume most people press the buttons at the register and sign without reading what they're agreeing to. Even worse, the system is currently designed so that it is IMPOSSIBLE to leave the screen unless you approve. The clerk had to MANUALLY go into the computer in order to to indicate I refuse to receive Robo calls. It's a disgusting policy and I'm done giving money to CVS. 2) As for the specific location, I asked how much the medication was going to be before having the prescription filled. The answer was $16. I am 100% sure her answer was "$16" because my friend asked me,"Did she say $16 or $60?" I had clearly heard $16, and had the prescription filled. When I went to pay, the cashier asked me for... $116! Either the person at the drop-off desk didn't say the "hundred" part... or... not one but TWO people mysteriously didn't hear her say it. She didn't say it. I hate CVS. I hate CVS. I hate CVS. I hate CVS. read more

I truly loathe this place. If there is one person in line, or twenty, prepare to wait. I've never left here less than frustrated and I don't generally mind waiting. Today was the last straw. I should have known better than to try to fill a prescription here. I'll walk the extra few blocks to Walgreens. read more

I really like this store for general shopping, however, it houses the WORST pharmacy I have ever been to. The pharmacists and staff there are not only incompetent but rude as well. Every month I come here to pick up the same auto-refill prescriptions, and practically every month they manage to mess it up so that I have to wait an additional 30 mins or so for them to fix it (which sort of defeats the purpose of the auto-refill). Once, I got two prescriptions filled at the same time, they gave me two bottles with the correct drug names on them, however, they filled BOTH bottles with the SAME medication so that I was double dosing on the one and not taking the other at all. It took me almost a week to realize and when I took it back to explain to them what happened, all I got was an "Oops. Here's your replacement meds." Considering how blase they were about it, I imagine that these errors must happen there frequently. Being from the east coast, I love CVS and have never experienced problems anywhere else, but this particular pharmacy is just terrible, and I have since transferred all of my prescriptions to Target. read more