Avoid this store! Awful customer service, disorganized pharmacy and completely disengaged staff. Walgreens closed the wrong store!

This review is specifically for the pharmacy at this location. It seems understaffed and overworked. As a result, there's always a very long and slow moving line that's being assisted by just one person behind the counter. The staff also lacks customer service skills. Most recently I had a very poor experience getting flu shots here. I showed up an hour before the pharmacy closed, waited in line for 20min only to be told that they stop doing flu shots an hour before they close. I mentioned this wasn't indicated anywhere and it would be helpful if they had this info online or on all their big signs advertising flu shots. At first the walgreens person I was talking to ignored me, until I finally said "I see you don't care" and then she responded there's nothing written about the early flu shot cut off time because this can change depending on the day, sometimes they finish 1 hour early, sometimes 30minutes earlier (not helpful at all - so just heads up you should show up earlier in the day if you're doing a walk in). We were told to make an appointment, so we did, came back the next day, waited in line again (for about 15min this time), and finally got up to the window but despite having already filled out all our info online, we had to wait some more while a new trainee spent 10min trying to figure out what to do. Finally, he gave up and grabbed the pharmacist, who took care of everything in 5min. We finally got our shots & when the shots were done, the pharmacist didn't even say anything, just scribbled away on his papers as we sat there waiting until I finally asked if there was anything else and he said no. No bye, nothing. Really unfriendly and 0 bedside manners. I get it, he's busy, but also rude. From beginning to end, this was definitely my worst Walgreens pharmacy experience in terms of efficiency and customer service. read more

I wrote a stellar review years ago, but times have changed. The cashiers are still great. But the pharmacy staffing is atrocious. It's gone downhill. Lately it seems to be always understaffed. Most of the times I've seen a lone cashier trying to attend to a very long line. I've seen managers- those in gray vests- at the photo area with the line 20 people long, snaking by them and THEY DO NOTHING. I've seen elderly customers wiped out and exhausted by the wait. It wasn't always this way, this used to be my favorite Walgreens. I think management at this store needs an overhaul. I waited 35 minutes, and that's after having opted for an express pay, it made no difference. It's like waiting for concert tickets. If you must come, do bring lunch, water and a book or some knitting, plan to be here a very long time. read more

Avoid this pharmacy at all costs. To be fair, they are clearly overwhelmed and unhappy. That said, after waiting 15 minutes in line only to find that my daughters medication was not ready for another day, the pharmacist said I would have to get back in line to get my other prescription. It was so rude and a complete waste of time. read more

I spoke with the pharmacist from this Walgreens on the phone about a prescription that was incorrectly sent under my name and she seemed uninterested and annoyed that I called. The way she quickly gave me the phone number of the doctor who prescribed the medication seemed like she was trying to push me away. I know pharmacist and overworked and under-appreciated but that does not mean they can project that on to others. I personally would not go to this Walgreens for my medications. read more

4 out of 5 times, I have to wait over ten minutes to pick up my prescription. Despite the fact that it's always ready and takes all of 30 seconds to dispense. Consistently understaffed. I'd suggest picking another pharmacy as your regular. read more

Guy at counter refused to fill out my prescription. Said they were closing in 10 minutes. I told him my finger had just been cut off and I just got out of the ER and please help me out. No he replied. I would understand if my prescription was not urgent. But seriously horrible customer service. read more

Walgreens - Severity of me getting antibiotics and pain medicine - Drugstores Near Me - Berkeley, California

Avoid this pharmacy unless you are desperate. I think they are woefully understaffed and the line is always out of control. I waited minutes for my prescheduled vaccine appointment (some of which was wasted waiting at the line that said vaccination check-in, but JK, you need to wait in the longer line but there is no signage). A good reminder why I go to CVS unless I am desperate. read more

This Walgreens's used to be a normal, functional store, where we shopped frequently. Then, a couple of years ago, a terrible change came over the store (probably a new manager). Whatever the cause, the results have been disastrous. First came the ridiculously long lines at the cash registers; sloppy displays of merchandise; an interminable re-organization of the retail space; and wave after wave of plastic bins clogging the aisles and looking terrible. The quality of the workers plummeted: all the energetic, helpful ones disappeared, and in their place came a seemingly constant turn-over of sluggish, dopey workers. One cashier in particular is so listless in her movements and confused in her thought-processes that she seems to be recovering from a stroke. The store now has vast stretches of empty space, with skimpy stock that runs out, even when high demand is predictable. Last Christmas I could not find scotch tape--not even in the "office" department. Scotch tape! At the most intensive time of year for wrapping presents! Tape is not perishable. What possible excuse is there for running out? Standards of cleanliness and maintenance around the building are taking a nosedive as well. When we shopped there recently, the sidewalk on the east side of the building was littered with trash and debris. The little concrete planter boxes on the premises, that should hold flowers or bushes, instead contained discarded clothing, food wrappers, half-eaten food items, and other trash scattered across bare earth. The cumulative effect of all this neglect was disgusting and depressing. I complained to the acting manager, but she received my complaint with a grudging attitude and did not appear ready to do anything about the problem. As a result of all these factors, the long lines at the cash registers are now gone. The formerly-crowded parking lot now has plenty of room. There are many other places in Berkeley to buy what Walgreens sells, so customers seem to have gone elsewhere. We now refer to the Adeline St. Walgreens as "the worst store in the world." We shop there only when we absolutely have to. read more

Absolutely worst Walgreens I've ever been to. Hands down. ONE-THIRD of their shelves are completely empty at all times, which is a solid indicator of understaffing. They lock up deodorant and beef jerky, and their security is worthless. They never stock, so you can't look forward to buying the same thing twice in a row. And ringing out, oh lord, ringing out... Patience. Count to 10, do some breathing exercises, and then get in line. GOOD LUCK! read more

This Walgreens store is extremely dirty. There is always a very long line at the pharmacy.

Do not go here for your COVID-19 vaccination. My son had a 9:25 a.m. appointment. We arrived at 8:55 a.m. and finished at 10:15, not waiting after the shot, since they had no chairs set up...obviously hoping to force you to shop. By the time we left there were at least 25 people waiting. They had only one person to administer it and he didn't put the bandage where the shot went in! Their signage was insufficient and people had to leave their place in line to check in once they were told or saw the badly placed sign. Their doing it on the cheap and it's extremely arduous. They also do nothing to keep the line chairs clean after people sit in them, so we stood the whole time. Disgusting and should be shut down if they aren't going to make a good effort. When I went to Moscone for mine, I was in and out in a half hour and proper precautions and accommodations were taken. read more

Terrible, unhelpful pharmacy/pharmacist if you have any problems. Go to Safeway instead.

Pharmacy is horribly understaffed and shelves are horribly under stocked. This place is awful. read more

Walgreens - The types of line you can expect at the pharmacy. - Drugstores Near Me - Berkeley, California

Worst Walgreens in the world! I spent $500.00 and I was not able to carry my stuff to the car using a cart because they have what they call a "necessary" precaution of having carts with a long tube or with the wheels locked and you just can't take them out to the parking lot. The cashier and a security guard took my stuff to my car but that took a long time and I told them repeatedly that this was absolutely ridiculous. The cashier said he was willing to do it but not in a kind way. He is a heavy weight man and I told him this was not fair for me nor for him. To the managers: to protect the carts is more important than the commodity of the client? This was the last time I go there! read more

They have the best chili pistachio nuts. But do not eat them because you might get food poisoning, this is real, not because I want them all for myself. read more

The worst pharmacy experience I have had in a long time. I do NOT recommend that you come to use this pharmacy if you have the ability to go to another option close by. 1. Wait lines are very long unless you come early or late. 2. Medication is expensive. unless you can join the prescription savings club or covered under great insurance. 3. Cheaper if you join the club. But, don't join the club unless you know you can use the card. They have given me the run around and after 3 times of trying to retrieve my cat's medication on the card, I have given up and today i have transfered my prescription to another pharmacy. I called Walgreens to cancel my card. 4. The worst thing is the one recent time, their pharmacy assistant had their mask underneath their nose. I mean. If you work at a pharmacy do you not believe in science?? I told the pharmacy assist that I really can't talk to her if she doesn't pull her mask up. She just said, I'm so sorry but it totally fogs up her glasses. I'm sorry that is happening but why are you putting others at risk? Why is the store not providing their employees with better masks or training about COVID19? 5. I should have read all these other reviews about the pharmacy. I second the review that called out an unhelpful pharmacist named Iris. 6. Walgreens HQ, you might want to consider re-training or providing them appropriate resources for your team here to do better. In the meantime, I am no longer going support this business. read more

DO NOT SHOP THIS WALGREENS I went in today since I needed to buy batteries that were behind the locked glass. When I approached store employees for help and they insisted that I should just press the button and call for help. However, the button on the glass did not work. So, I politely asked a nearby employee for assistance, and she called for assistance when she could not locate the keys to the locked case. She called for assistance on the loudspeaker three times. NO answer. Finally, she flagged down another employee, who ignored her. I waited a full 15 minutes for help to arrive in the form of the security guard! who politely apologized for the poor service. He opened the case for me. Finally, when the manager on duty walked by - to get the keys, (a Latina woman -of short stature), whose name was similar to Yesenia, or Yemenia. Her last name started with an E. I casually mentioned how disappointed I was in the service, and she shrugged her shoulders and walked away. When I asked her if she CARED about my patronage, she said no and walked away again. I rushed to get her name but was so upset at that point, I could not read the name badge quickly enough, and then I simply wanted to leave. This is not untypical for this store is what I am coming to understand from neighbors, and based on my own past experience. I will shop here only rarely when I cannot conveniently get to CVS. I was a former loyal Walgreens customer, who spent thousands of dollars per year shopping here. I have cut way back nowadays. I deserve better service This is by far the worst Walgreens store of them all, in the Bay Area. It should be closed completely, renovated from the current dilapidated conditions and reconstituted with all NEW employees. Sales would escalate for the corporation, and we would all prosper. 6/28/19 5:49 pm Walgreens #04614 Acct: 9098 Sequence: 4614231810 read more

This is the last time I'm going in this store, especially the pharmacy. I've been trying to get prescription refilled, my doctor has sent it multiple times and we can't figure out what's wrong. I went into the store this morning to try and get my meds (that I need), explained to the person at the pharmacy, and asked if we could figure this out together so I can get my medication. He looked at me like I was crazy, and with a raised voice told me that the doctor wasn't doing his job, and it was not his job to figure out how to get me the medication I need. I looked at him dumbstruck, and said that they'd done this in the past, to help figure out the issue and he just shook his head and walked away. I cannot believe that he thinks his job is literally not helping me get my medication. I went to CVS and they were immediately interested in making it right for me, and even apologized that I'd been spoken to like that. read more

The pharmacy is ALWAYS understaffed. The closest store closed on San Pablo a few months ago and they didn't hire enough staff to manage this pharmacy. The store is nice though. read more

Pharmacy: they don't do EXPRESS PICKUP. There's a sign that says they do, and you can get a pass on Walgreens website, but they do not honor it. No point in having express pickup if they don't honor it. Plus they are super short staffed and waiting a while is very common. read more

I was counting on the pharmacy to be open on weekends, and suddenly it is not. Why? The lines will just be longer, and working people need weekends to access the pharmacy. What is the problem? read more

Took an hour and a half to get passport photos because workers would start the process and then disappear for 20 minutes at a time. They all said they hate their job. The store was empty and I was the only person waiting to be helped in photo. read more

I literally just had my best experience at a Walgreens to the point that I'm actually writing a review. For all beauty products make sure to find Sabita Shrestha. She is SO sweet and knowledgeable. I literally ended up getting so many things based off what she shared. She really is the GO TO person! I live 45 min away from this Walgreens but I think this is my new go to Walgreens! Worth it for her service! read more

Went to pick up a prescription for my son. Not ready. When is it ready? 20 minutes. Ok I'll come back. Come back three hours later. Not ready. Come back the next day. Not ready again. That was 26 hours ago! Waste of time. While I was waiting about 3-4 other people had the same issue. read more

All Walgreen's are not created equal! I sometimes torture myself by going to the 16th St Mission Walgreens, for some context, so this 'greens is like a sanitary, sane, clean and spacious experience in comparison. I declare this one of the best Walgreen's in the Oakland/Berkeley area. If you want a 'Drugstore Brand' cosmetic you just peeped in a fashion magazine, and want to be sure you get the color you want, this is the place. Great hair accessories and travel size section, too. What led me to write a review about a drug store was this weekend; I had a great customer service when I asked about a special product I was looking for (Palmer's Scar Serum, if you must know). The lady working at the Cosmetics counter offered to special order it for me, or, at least request a special order, and gave me a great Oil in the meantime. It's been helping with a wound. She wasn't able to place the order yet, but I just really appreciated her offer. Hope it works out. read more

The slowest place on Earth!!!! The item i wanted to buy turned out not to have a price tag. I waited for 15 mins at the counter. The manager was checking the price. I even found a price online, but it was not accepted. Therefore, i had to leave. Wasted my time read more

I've been a customer at this Walgreens since it was first built, about a decade ago, and I've always appreciated the selection and the prices, but -- unfortunately -- things have been slowly changing over the last several months. They've stopped carrying many of the lower-priced options (the brand of cat litter I used to buy, the brand of body soap I used to buy, etc.) and increasing the prices on many of the other items. In fact, their prices on many items are up to *twice* what I see at other similar kinds of stores. Are they trying to make Walgreens "high class" or something? Good luck with that! Also, this location's pharmacy is closed for an hour or two in the middle of the day on weekends, which I find utterly unprofessional. Hire another pharmacist if you don't have anyone to man the place during lunch! It's not like this is a little local mom-and-pop store, after all. You're a major chain, Walgreens -- your pharmacy should not close for lunch! No other large and/or chain drug store I've ever seen has routinely closed their pharmacy in the middle of the day. In addition, recently, this location's pharmacy seems to be having great difficulty filling prescriptions on time. I've always appreciated Walgreens' phone-in refill service, which allows you to specify when you will be there to pick up your prescription, and the system was always reliable in the last several years. But lately -- two months in a row, in fact -- I've phoned in refills, arrived at Walgreens HOURS after the time I'd specified, and been told to sit and wait while they prepared my order. What's the point in calling ahead? This, too, seems unprofessional. I've really liked this Walgreens -- and its pharmacy -- for a great many years, but I'm afraid that next month when I call in my refills ... I'll be calling CVS and switching everything over to them. So long, crappy Walgreens! You have betrayed me! read more

Nice and clean Walgreens everything was tidy . 3 Cashiers so no lines. Well stocked also even on sale items. Employees are even friendly.

Photoshop understaffed and not equipped to provide service. I waited 20 minutes for service. Then I was told camera is not working so come back later. Employees polite but it was a waste of time and rude of management to run a poor service. read more

This place is alright. I came in for milk because it was a bit expensive at Berkeley Bowl, so we got a gallon for $3.19. The only problem was that they only had fat free or whole milk left in stock. Either lots of other people ran into my same dilemma or they're just poorly stocked. I was also happy to see that they still had Christmas stuff and it was 75% off. I LOVE anything peppermint, so I bought anything candy cane-flavored that I could find. Luckily, they had one more Dark Chocolate Peppermint Covered Pretzels. These little treats are literally the best thing ever! It's the perfect balance of chocolate, peppermint, and salt. The first time I had them, I just happened to walk past them and bought them out of hunger, but now I will go back to look for them every winter! I also found some Mint Ganache Chocolates that I thought I would try, since they were 75% off, or so I thought. When I was walking out of the store, I realized I got charged $4.19 for this tiny box of of chocolates, so they definitely weren't on sale, although they were right in the middle of the Christmas sale section. Good thing there's 18 chocolates packed into the box and they taste pretty good, or else I would go return them... read more

AVOID THIS PHARMACY. The store itself is perfectly fine, perhaps even good. Clean, generally well stocked, haven't encountered too many lines at the cashiers. It does not sell alcohol, unfortunately -- with is pretty annoying considering Berkeley Bowl closes at 8 and the 2 nearest corner stores also do not sell alcohol (I don't get it, maybe because of underage Cal students?). Despite the store itself being fine, this Walgreens gets 1 star for consistently bad Pharmacy service. The last time I went, I dropped off my (small, not out-of-the-ordinary) generic prescription and was told it would be 45 minutes to an hour. Okay, that's pretty long, the CVS near my parents' takes about 20 minutes but maybe they're busy. I come back 2 hours later and find a line about 8 people deep and one poor intern trying to get through customers but having to stop every minute to wait for the pharmacist to authorize this or that. I sat in line for about 30 minutes. Finally, 2 and a half hours after dropping off my prescription, I get to the front of the line and they tell me they haven't started to fill it, and that it'll be another hour. Upon being asked by the intern about my prescription, the pharmacist exasperatedly says to me 'we've got a 4 hour backlog, be patient'. Fun. I come back 2 hours later and they've managed to count the 60 generic pills for my prescription. I pick it up after a brisk 10 minute wait in line. This is unfortunately the norm. I've been told to come back later more times than not, when picking up a prescription. I don't know what the issue is, maybe they need more people? It's a large store in the middle of South Berkeley, so they probably get a decent amount of business. Walgreens: you need to hire more pharmacists. Or something. It's pretty ridiculous. If you scroll through the reviews here, they get pretty decent reviews mixed in with 1-star reviews, and nearly all the 1-star reviews mention or are specifically about the pharmacy. I live across the street, it's super convenient for me to walk to Walgreens, but next time I have a prescription I need to fill, I'm unfortunately going to be hopping in my car to go elsewhere. It's just not worth the hassle. read more

Line is always way too long at peak times between 4-7pm. Should staff way more people.

WORST PHARMACY ANYWHERE. For years this Walgreens branch has had an incredibly MEAN and rigid, unhelpful pharmacist named Iris Paw. She goes out of her way to put roadblocks in the way of simple kindnesses she could offer Walgreens customers. I remembered her from years ago when every chance she got she made it difficult for me to pick up prescriptions for our daughter. Today I made the huge mistake of signing up to get a flu vaccine at this Walgreens and once again was forced to deal with her poor social skills and unwillingness to be of any help. When we have choices as to which pharmacy we do business with this is the last pharmacy I would visit again. This staff has no idea what customer service means and they deserve to go out of business, keeping on horrible people like Iris Paw year in and year out. read more

No air flow in the store. Super hot and super unsafe during covid. Not worth the risk going into the store

I called ahead of time to make sure some medications were in stock. The girl said yes. I had my dermatologist fax over the prescriptions. On my lunch break three hours later I go to get my pills. The girl tells me they don't have them, although my doctor requested generics. After I told her I was annoyed and that my face was swollen and hurt only then did she manage to find the pills. And get this! It took less than 5 minutes to fill it! The other prescription apparently was a discontinued product but they didn't call to tell me or my doctor, they just waited until I showed up for the prescription. I went back to the doctor and she found me some samples because the product was discontinued although they could have substituted it, and they apparently never called to verify. Walgreens gets 1 star for long lines, shitty parking and no common sense. read more

Only park here to go to Walgreens or else you may find attractive new footwear on one of your wheels. I laugh at all the jackholes who park here and then mosey on over to the B Bowl. Suck it up and park farther away lameass! read more

The pharmacy staff here just doesn't care. I have tried to get the flu shot here twice. First time, they had me fill out the paperwork and wait for 45 minutes, the person that gave the paperwork was the person that gives the vaccine...turns out she clocked out and left. I had returned the paperwork within minutes. The staff should have known someone was waiting for them. Second time, I show up and I get there on time, close to the cut off but still on time, they refuse to give me the flu shot. They said I was late, I told them I was on time. The Assistant Manger Wendy Ung, said just mechanically apologized and went about the transaction. I just got the sense that they get complaints all day long and just don't care. It just seemed like, yeah, another dissatisfied customer, let's finish the transaction, next! Also, I was there for an hour, the line moving at snails pace. Part of the reason I didn't make it in earlier to the register. I am going to transfer my prescriptions. The are overpriced in their regular items and the pharmacy is terrible. read more

4 stars for the store because it's huge. 1 stars for the security as they don't have security cameras and thus didn't see the bastard who hit and ran after hitting my car while I stood in the parking lot. 3 stars for the staff for kind of caring. But not really. read more

Huge store with large selection and despite location there's usually easy parking. They don't sell alcohol however which is my only disappointment read more