I suppose the employees total lack of enthusiasm about their jobs has to do with working at "The Devil's Island" of CVS! This must be store that only the worst customer service representatives get banished to. Last night I called and asked what time I could make an appointment for a flu vaccination. Something they promote. They said they don't make appointments, despite what the web site says. Ok. What time then? They said come at 8:00pm. While asking the pharmacist a question about the vaccination, I was told to wait in the consultation area, and that she would help me after she had cleared the line behind me. It ended up taking me an hour to get a flu shot. As there is no floor manager to complain to, I had to just suck it up and wait. Forget asking to use the bathroom during this time. This is the only CVS where customers are banned from using them. I think it's because of all the homeless, trying to get in. This CVS Is a disaster. read more

CVS Pharmacy - The Halloween Superstore!!! - Drugstores Near Me - SANTA MONICA, California

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Terrible customer service. Please put some chairs next to the drop off area for the elderly

Kinda limited on merchandise but they always have sales on Scott brand toilet paper and paper towels. Plus, they are situated in a shopping center with a laundromat, Whole Foods and 99¢ Only Store, so you can really get all your shopping done in one stop. They also have a good selection of seasonal items and the pharmacy was quick when I brought in my prescriptions. Plus, the pharmacist took as much time as I needed to talk to me about some medication I was unsure about taking. read more

I have been a loyal CVS Pharmacy customer since 2005 when I frequented the College Park location. I remained a loyal customer even after I graduated and moved to DC and routinely drove out of my way to visit their bright, clean, informative locations over peer competitors! **Let me begin by saying that this review is not a reflection of the sales associates or the sales management. All of my experiences with front-end staff have been friendly and courteous.** Why 2 stars? This location off Lincoln Avenue is dirty and is frequently loitered by panhandlers. They should probably have a staff security guard at the entrance. I would never, ever go to this location after dark for safety reasons. As a national brand, I am consistently impressed by CVS's commitment to value and quality, which is why I've been a loyal customer for 12 years until moving to the neighborhood. I love that they moved tobacco from their shelves. CVS remains my #1 choice in other parts of the country, but not in my backyard. My husband now walks 3+ miles to a location in Brentwood for and I make our household (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, body wash, makeup, hand soap, light bulbs, trash bags etc.) purchases on Amazon Prime. I've transitioned prescription medicine to delivery via my healthcare provider, because this pharmacy does not meet basic expectations. Pro Tips: - Ladies, do NOT go to this location at night or walk in the parking lot by yourselves - Find a different pharmacy for your prescriptions or request delivery service from your insurance company - They are still excellent for buying your seasonal treats, accessories and decorations read more

People at this Pharmacy do not pick up the phone. Sitting on hold waiting to speak to someone for 30+ minutes is ridiculous. Called twice and it happened each time. If you can, I would go to a different CVS than this one. Management needs to improve customer service here. read more

This is my default CVS, due to it's close proximity to my home. In sum, I have few issues with the store itself; it's typical of most CVS stores: the stock/ inventory is satisfactory, the front desk staff/ cashiers are quite friendly, the prices are appropriate for Santa Monica. My issue is actually with the pharmacists (whom, in an ideal situation, would be those most responsible/ informed/ impressive). To the contrary, the pharmacists at this location are either (a) not well educated/ informed, or (b) not sober. In any case, they are indefinitely checked out; specifically, pointing to a newer (Iranian?) female pharmacist who is incapable of basic tasks. Dear CVS, when your front desk cashiers are more knowledgeable than your pharmacy staff members, you may want to reconsider your hiring practices. read more

Very rude cashier, it was a woman. Angry tone, at first didn't acknowledge that I was there and asked if I was in line when I was at the area where it said the line began. The entire purchase was unpleasant and I felt uncomfortable with the tone and half ignoring she did. The women who work at the pharmacy were great, they had great recommendations and also extremely helpful. next time I will avoid this cashier, the parking is great here. read more

I have never waited less than 30 minutes to pick up a prescription here. There are usually only 2 staff members and the pickup line is usually at least 5 people deep. If you call here they pick up about once every 3 calls. Also, I once came here an hour before they closed and there was puke in the beer aisle and none of the staff seemed to be making any moves to clean it up. Hire more staff. read more

Literally the worst CVS pharmacy ever. Pharmacy has extremely long wait lines, rude and inept customer associates, horrible and incompetent pharmacists. They rarely pick up the phone, and if they do you'll be on hold for 20-45 minutes. Have your doctor fax in the prescriptions at 310-319-1328. They refuse to share the fax number with patients. Well SUCK IT CVS!!! read more

This CVS is a magical place. Rarely have I encountered a workforce so determined to ignore the basic societal norms governing interpersonal interactions. The pharmacy desk is, from an existential standpoint, fascinating. Once you enter the pharmacy department, you are greeted with....no acknowledgement. As the seconds tic by into minutes, you signal to the pharmacist that you exist. You look around yourself, you are the only person in line. Fifteen minutes has passed. You wave again at a pharmacist, then at a pharmacy technician. There will be no response. Not a word of recognition, not even a glimpse of eye contact. After twenty minutes in line, you begin to question your location in time and space. "Do I even exist?", you wonder as a cold terror crawls slowly into the depths of your stomach. You were certain of this fact thirty minutes ago... but now... Now your thoughts run towards your loved ones. Are they.. were they even real? Was there ever a life beyond the cold, clinical lights of the pharmacy desk? " NEXT" A voice tears into the eons long silence as you find yourself face to face with a white coat and name badge. You wonder, "How long has it been since I first entered this domain?" You drop off your prescription. Weary feet lead you slowly towards the golden sunlight streaming through the entrance doors. As you step into the fresh air, the setting sun warming your face, you catch a glimpse of you reflection in the glass CVS door... and stare in horror. Your eyes are now sunken, your hair has turned white with stress and age. Arthritic joints, creaking bones, and wrinkled skin have replaced your once youthful visage. With a deep sigh and great discomfort, you step back into the CVS to buy a walking cane. Enter at your own risk. read more

I had the unfortunate privilege of stopping by this CVS yesterday (01-05-2013). I was looking for a place to use the bathroom and kill sometime before a business meeting when I spotted this CVS. The one plus I was that I was able to find parking quickly. As I exited my vehicle I observed how dirty the parking lot was. If you CVS have a store that has a parking lot you should send your employees to clean to up but that was not the case. The parking lot looked as if homeless people were using it as a bathroom & shelter when this business was closed. As a matter of fact as I was walking to the front doors of this CVS a homeless woman asked if I smoked, I replied 'Hell no' and continued walking. As I entered this CVS I noticed that the inside of this CVS was no different than the outside. The inside was almost just as dirty, stained carpet, nasty looking employees that may or may not be smarter than a box of rocks. I asked one employee where the bathroom was, before I could finish my sentence he replied 'It is closed.' The employee asked someone who looked like a manager because the expression on my face was pure disgust, the manager said it was in the back of the store, through the double doors and provided me with the code. The bathroom is located in the stock room, a sign leading into the stock room said employees only and any person not wearing a badge will activate the alarm. Based on the looks and the state of this CVS I figured this level of Security here was just a bluff, I was RIGHT!!! I walked into the bathroom and found garbage scattered all over the place, graffiti scratched into the mirror, on the sink, on the toilet & on the door. I used the bathroom and used a paper towel to turn on the water, dispense the soap and open the door to get out of there. I was going to bring this to the attention of the manager but when I walked back up to the front of the store the manager and several employees were in a debate in front of customers in regards to the schedule and dropping expletives. I found this CVS disgusting, classless, nasty & foul. I will not be back. As I stated if you needed another reason to dislike/hate Santa Monica just stop by this CVS and you will find it. read more

One of the worst CVS locations in the country. I feel bad for the 1 pharmacist that works here and serves way too many people all by herself. Long lines, dirty, go elsewhere! read more

I first went to this particular CVS about 2 months ago after being so frustrated with the pharmacy at the CVS next to Whole Foods in Venice. These guys had it so together I couldn't believe it. I even waited until now just so I could go back a couple times and confirm it wasn't a fluke. Now that I've gone a few times I can report THIS PHARMACY IS GREAT. Everything I want (which isn't actually that much) short lines, short wait times, prescription ready when promised and nice staff. If only all CVS (and retail stores in general) could be this way. read more

I stopped by today on my way home to pick up a few snacks for a buddy's going-away party - pistachios, almonds, nuts, etc. After I got home I found that several of the "Gold Emblem - Wasabi Nuts" cans hadn't been sealed properly and were all wet and clumped together. I called the store and asked to speak to the store manager, but a lady named "Christina" said she was the supervisor and she would "help" me. Well, the only help I received was a curt "come back to the store", to which I replied "I don't have time to drive back to your store - why can't you simply issue a refund?". I thought this was a perfectly reasonable request. After all, we are talking about $10 in spoiled merchandise, not a $1000 television set. But, anyone reading this can probably guess what comes next: "We can't do that - company policy". Well, here is my policy. We live in the year 2014. If you can't issue a refund for a small dollar amount for spoiled product - which you can easily verify yourself by walking over to your shelf of tainted merchandise and opening a can of your own CVS house brand (!) of almonds - then you, CVS, have not earned my business. Or the business of anyone else reading this review. After all, we have many alternatives to your stores. Shame on you, CVS, for not taking ownership of this problem and fixing it when you had me on the phone! read more

Avoid this location! The staff is rude and incompetent. They did not want to help me to find anything and showed me how boring am I to them. Extremely slow cashiers and without any smiles. Worst! read more

Worst customer service I've ever experienced. I felt like the employees were doing a me a huge favor by answering my questions and helping me out. I did, however, mildly enjoy the homeless woman with inappropriate stains in her special places who seemed mesmerized with dog-food aisle. Unless you know exactly what you need and what aisle it's in, don't bother coming here. read more

I've never written a review for a CVS before because, well, it's a CVS. You know what you're getting. That being said, this is probably the nicest CVS I've ever seen, in terms of customer service. I've been coming here for over a year now, and I don't think I have ever entered this place without someone asking if they can help me or if I need assistance. It looks like the bad reviews for this place are based on the pharmacy, which I have admittedly never used, but the rest of this place is great and I'm always happy to walk in here. read more

Wow. I went here today and saw some suit-y looking guys poking around and talking to employees... I decided to bring up my beef about the checkout line I wrote about in my last review. They were SO nice. (As expected but still...I appreciate it!) They totally agreed about the line and said they might be redesigning the check out system. YAHOO! Before I left the District Manager gave me a $10 CVS card for the helpful insight. I said no at first but then gave in. teheehhehe I think it's a very nice gesture and really appreciate how open they were to a bit of criticism. Thanks CVS, you guys ROCK!!! read more

I visit this pharmacy every month. Usually the staff is extremely nice and helpful, which is why I go here. The pharmacists always call my insurance company to work out my refills for when I'm traveling. Most recently, Heather (who is a CVS technician) answered the phone to help me fill a prescription. I asked the same insurance question and she refused to call the insurance company for me. She said they never call the insurance company and I had to do it. I explained that this is always done for me and she just refused. I asked her if I can get the refill today. Heather said "I don't know, are you going to call your insurance company?" She was extremely unprofessional. I asked to be transferred to someone else and luckily I spoke to Maria, a pharmacist. Maria gladly called the insurance company for me and helped my situation. I recommend using this pharmacy, but if someone named "Heather" answers, I'd asked to be transferred to someone else. read more

A lot of homeless people begging in front. The store is kinda clean, the staff are relatively friendly (especially for having to deal with the weirdos that come into this location), and there is a decent selection of items for it being a smaller store. They go to the extreme when promoting the self-checkout, sometimes not even having the regular checkout open at all. It takes forever to get thru the damn line, and if you're in a hurry - go elsewhere. It'll only piss you off if you get stuck in this line. Parking lot is tiny, and sometimes you'll need to cross over the alley in the back to the overflow lot. The pharmacy staff is friendly. read more

The pharmacists here are all really great. Despite it being usually a very swamped pharmacy, they always keep their cool, and never compromise their great customer service. And they are extremely informative and helpful. Even if it's not about your prescription, they are willing to answer any questions you have regarding all medications, and will recommend over the counter meds. They will actually walk you to the aisle where it is located! Now that is great service! 4 stars only because I think they can use more help. If you go between 5-7pm, there is usually a long line and the staff their seem overwhelmed! The customers in line seem very frustrated. Rightfully so! read more

The best pharmacy in Santa Monica - super helpful pharmacist and clerks ! The line always goes quickly bc the staff are very well trained.

This is a review on Victoria, one of the helpers in the pharmacy section. Victoria is extremely rude and condescending, she has terrible people and communication skills. She is not helpful at all and creates more issues than necessary. Avoid her at all costs, she's a nightmare. read more

Nice size. Decent inventory. Rudest and least helpful associates and managers. Spent $20 in cash and $6 on a "money card" (store credit). I wanted to return an item on that receipt and they absolutely refused to return the debit transaction/cash. One manager was absolute rude. Ultimately, Christina (a different manager) actually displayed some level of competence and customer service, though she was unable to make the return for cash (I found a suitable nail polish and decided that wasting anymore time in this store would be far more costly than my $6 return was worth). Two stars and not one because of location, selection and Christina. Everyone else - strong thumbs down. read more

I would love to give no stars for this place. Its dirty, its rude, its late, its unsafe. Here is what i mean by that. The pharmacy is so slooow. They are understaffed which makes them for the most part pissed off. The place is so dirty and messy for the most part. They waste your time by telling u "its ready cone and pick up your prescription in 15 minutes" you show up two hours later and its still not ready. Then she gets lippy with you when in shock i asked "really? Its not ready? But i called". God forbid u talk back to them. Geez, im gonna go somewhere further just so i dont deal with these people. Oh and theyve also charged an insurance profile of mine that was from 2 years ago!! Now im stuck with the run around for their mistake! Thanks!! read more

Use to go to this pharmacy to pick up a pain medication. Heard tons of stories about people drug profiling people as in a chronic pain illness can't happen to someone that is young and looks on the outside healthy. So the pharmacist drug profiled me. I have gone in to get this medication I have another friend who is in a wheelchair physically and exterior looks handicapped and in pain. I went in to get it refilled and had the written rx we are currently unable to get it and I had to go to another pharmacy that did and still does have it. My friend went in the same day less than a hour later. Sir let me check was there response and guess what they filled it that day for him but the same kind and amount for me they didn't have. These people are terrible picking and choosing who they help and who they don't. I would and will never go here again. Especially with there stupid checkout process. Got a bag of chips there is no one able to check you out and of course this damn place forced me to use the machine self checkout which had a issue I started to freak out o hate machines luckily the guy was nice and just said here come to the checkout I'll do it. He even stated he hated those damn machines. One of there own employees just the worst cvs read more

There has been an improvement. I still don't use this pharmacy, but do shop here occasionally. Creepy manager is no longer there. The manager is creepy, sneering at customers as they come through the door and the pharmacy incompetent. Kept me waiting forever on a prescription insisting they could fill it, only to be told that 1. my insurance only covers the brand name, even when I told them that was the case, and 2. they did not have enough to fill the entire prescription, but they could fill "part" of it, but then I would not be able to return and have the rest of it filled. read more

Your basic CVS. Their stock seemed a little picked over on a Monday afternoon, at least in the sun care aisle, and the stationery aisle -- particularly notebooks -- was in a faint disarray, but otherwise, it is what it is. Despite a long line -- six or seven deep -- there was just one person working the registers. And he was slooow. Eventually, they added a second person, and that helped make things go a little faster, but not much. This is super close to where I work, but I'll need to figure out when their not-busy times are before I make this a place I pop out for a quick errand. Because it took way too long for what I needed to do this afternoon (buy a memo notebook and suntan lotion). Should've been in and out. read more

the pharmacy here is actually not bad. it really depends on the staff, and the asian female pharmacist who works here is very good. she always refers to me by name (you can tell i forgot her name already), and she knows my prescriptions. that's nice, because i had the same service in the NYC one where i frequented when i lived there. my one niggle with CVS is that the corporate side of it stinks. beyond the 6' receipts that you get for buying a single tube of toothpaste or pack of condoms or stick of gum or whatever you are buying that day, the automated system telling you that your prescription is ready is pure horseshit. there is no sync in even pseudo real-time between that and the prescription database. as a result, you could get a call three days after you picked up your prescriptions saying that you have prescriptions waiting. if your prescription refill schedule is staggered like mine, that makes for a real fucking headache. if CVS at least had an option where you could hit one button and be connected to the pharmacy, that would be extremely helpful, but it's the equivalent of a no-reply@cvs.com email in automated message form. the answer i got from CVS corporate after emailng them was typical boilerplate horseshit, too: Dear customer, Thank you for contacting us in regards to the automated calls you are receiving from CVS/pharmacy. I have documented your feedback for reporting purposes. I would also like to let you know that I can opt out your phone number so that you no longer receive the order ready calls. If this is something you are interested in please respond to this email confirming the phone number and I will be happy assist you with this. Have a great day! Christine CVS Customer Relations The reference number for this contact is (redacted, but it might as well spell out FUCKYOU on the phone keypad). read more

Pharmacy is slooooooowwwww. Even for a drop-off, you will never get in and out of here in less than 20 minutes. Always a lineup for both drop-offs and pick-ups -- they seem overwhelmed. read more

I am scared to come into the store at night and then I'm scared to leave the store and walk to my car because the parking lot is dark and there are so many people hiding and begging. Please add light, CVS! read more

Lisa and Mercedes at the pharmacy are A+. I was a real pain in the butt getting a discount on a prescription, and they did a great job and worked hard to call various companies to get my discount. Thanks ladies! Tom read more

This is the absolute worst CVS I have ever been to. The pharmacy is incredible disorganized and they make you feel like it's your fault. I always head over on my way home from work, about 30 minutes before they close, and often end up being turned away because they "aren't allowing anyone else in line." read more

I called to get important information regarding my prescription medication and waited on hold for a long while. When someone finally answered, she was not the pharmacist so she put me on hold. Then when someone answered again it was still not the pharmacist. I don't know what they're doing over there but this is very unprofessional. Especially when people are specifically calling the pharmacy about things that could potentially be fatal, if there are interactions, it is crucial you get this right. Please fix your communication so people feel safe coming to you guys. I will be taking my business elsewhere. I wish I could give 0 stars. read more

This CVS was very clean and the pharmacists were extremely friendly. They helped me get my prescription quickly and also gave me a flu shot. All in all I was in there less than 10 minutes. The parking was easy and I didn't notice any homeless people near the entrance. I'd recommend this CVS to anyone in the area. read more

This is a review of the pharmacy ONLY. Let me just start out by saying, I have 7 years of pharmacy tech experience prior to furthering my education. Usually I wait in line for 20-30 minutes. Pharmacy technicians are preoccupied refilling prescriptions rather than checking out customers who are already there. Most times I feel like I'm a bother, I'm ignored. Then when they finally check you out they aren't friendly at all. But today Jasmin checked me out, this is the second time she has checked me out, she is efficient and friendly. If I weren't for her I would give this place one star. I cannot recommend this pharmacy. read more

Service is despicable. Pharmacists stand behind the desk and stare at you with no greeting at all. Slowest service ever

If there's worse than the word worse, that is this CVS pharmacy. They will put you on hold for 10-15 mins and then hanged up on you and if they know that you're still the one calling they'll literally just hanged up. The male pharmacist and I supposed a latina phtech are so rude. Don't know why these kind of people is in this kind of business! Very unprofessional. read more

I never really thought I would be reviewing a CVS but here I go. This is for their pharmacy. I have been going here for several years and the staff has really gone down hill. I can't remember the last time I went to pick up a prescription and it was actually ready on time. Today I called in a prescription I needed to transfer from another pharmacy, which only they can request. They told me it would be about an hour. Three hours later I called to confirm it was ready. I spoke to the same woman I had spoken to earlier and she had no idea what I was talking about, nor had they called for it. I understand they are very busy - I have seen it in person, but my experience has been negative far too many times. read more

I was never in love with this place, but because it's so close to where I live, I just put up with the more-than-occasional inconveniences. Until today. Things I've liked about the place: convenient location (both for picking up Rx's and occasional sundries), sometimes run great discounts on beer, maybe a bit less than 1/2 the time I get someone behind the pharmacy counter who is friendly (read non-comatose) and seemingly sufficiently competent. My complaints have been: Sooo SSlllloooowwwww, frequent longish lines (which, again, they move along soooo sllllooooowwwwlly . . .. ), indifferent counter people incapable of handling any issues ("but our computer system is telling me . . . "), and the fact that THEY CAN NEVER GET A PRESCRIPTION REFILL AUTHORIZATION ON THEIR OWN. Oh, and I'm only talking about the pharmacy staff. Their main store staff is consistently scant, inadequately trained or informed, and fundamentally just unhelpful. I just don't generally interact with them as often. But back to the pharmacy, and today's deal breaker: Seriously, every time one of my regular prescriptions comes up for renewal, I'll be told "oh, we sent in the authorization request but haven't heard back from your doctor", and then I'll call the doctor's office, and they'll say they never got a request, but will call my pharmacy with the authorization. I've given CVS the correct phone and fax numbers for my doctor, and warned them that if this happened again, I'd switch pharmacies. Until today, I never kept my promise. But it happens again today, a prescription I actually called to check on with a live person a few days ago to be sure they had the refill authorization, and was told they had, but then I show up, wait my time in line, then get told they're still waiting on my doctor's authorization, that he hasn't responded to their refill request. That's it. Finally I say, ENUF, and when I call my doctor's office it's with an instruction to send the refill authorization to a new pharmacy (I'm going to give the Von's just a block away a try). I'm open to the possibility that this could be an issue on my doctor's side, but having spoken numerous times on this very issue with both pharmacy and doctor's office, I don't have much doubt that this is an issue with the pharmacy. But hey, if I have the same problem over at Von's, then I'll give my doctor grief, go back to being a CVS customer, and remove this review. If my review is here, you'll know CVS was still the problem . . . read more