CVS, RiteAid, or Walgreens...

[keepingthehope]

CVS is ok because the hours are pretty flexible if you need time off for appointments or something, you can always call someone to fill in for you. Walgreen is probably better pay though

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[Drimzcomtru]

I work at CVS and I hate it! I haven't worked in any other pharmacy so i can't compare though. I don't get enough hours (15 or so a week) and getting broker and broker by the week, I'm in school, have to pay my rent, my car and insurance, only 2-3 techs work at a time, so i'm almost always stuck at the register and haven't been able to learn much. It gets so busy sometimes we have to get someone from the front store to help out. Yet, techs in the pharmacy want to work more hours. I'm just staying till i get my tech license ( i wonder how long that will take since i'm not getting much training). As soon as i get my license, i'm gonna apply for a job elsewhere.

 

[uncinmyheart]

I would'nt recommend CVS either. I worked there for 2 months. I was new to the pharmacy field and had never worked before as a tech and they put me alone with a rotating pharmacist who didnt know the rules either. We had a drive thru too and it was horrible!!! I managed to learn a lot though, but I wouldnt want to work there again. I think it depends on the store too.

lol, that sounded almost like me when i first started working, but i work for Rite-Aid. The first week on the job, they put me alone with a pharmacist, sometimes a floater, and i was still new to the pharmacy field, so i didn't know anything. We had a drive thru too, and 2 registers, and it would just be me and the pharmacist. And this store does on average 350-400 scripts a day!! It was absolutely suicidal.

 

[glowinglimabean]

Has anyone ever worked in a Costco? There is one that just will open where I live. I am tempted to apply.

 

[jasmine0211]

lol, that sounded almost like me when i first started working, but i work for Rite-Aid. The first week on the job, they put me alone with a pharmacist, sometimes a floater, and i was still new to the pharmacy field, so i didn't know anything. We had a drive thru too, and 2 registers, and it would just be me and the pharmacist. And this store does on average 350-400 scripts a day!! It was absolutely suicidal.

That was my experience with Walmart. The only great thing about Walmart is their computer system which is so easy to use and definitely helps with reducing error. However, it's easy to become Pharmacy Manager since people are constantly leaving

 

[xxLILOx07xx]

I've been with Walgreen's through all the steps, scary as it is, and like them. What I heard about Rite-Aid and CVS is rather discouraging in general... though grocery stores tend to be slower, if you don't like/can't handle stress. Target also pays their interns better and has much better tuition reimbursement, but Walgreen's pay for pharmacists is better.

Exactly.

I love Walgreens. I was actually thinking about switching to CVS when I first started at Walgreens because I wasn't getting enough hours (maybe 5 per week) and CVS guaranteed a minimum amount of hours as wells a salary match, but I turned them down to stick it out with Walgreens.

I'm so glad that I did, because I eventually received close to full-time, and the CVS I was to work for actually was bought out by Walgreens.

From what I hear, Walgreens pharmacists are very well taken care of.

And at Walgreen's (don't know about other places) even if you work very part-time, you accumulate vacation and seniority, so if you start in pre-pharm, by the time you graduate you have three weeks of vacation and can be placed into your own store quickly.

Also true, from what I've heard. Except, my district has an abundance of extraboards, some of which have been floating or years, and our district manager is CONSTANTLY asking our staffed pharmacists to take vacations. The chances of getting your own store after graduation is to work in a district that isn't as saturated, so location is key. =)

 

[Transformer]

If you are a young and energetic pharmacist, you can consider CVS. CVS does wear you down. When CVS took over Savon in the west coast, many pharmacists left CVS.

For pharmacist, CVS literally monitors every single prescription you fill. The District Managers know how long it took you to fill it and its recorded on paper. This means the company knows your performance inside out and your bonuses and sometimes your salary may depend on these recorded performance. Some say this is fair but for many, its "big brother" watching and squeezing maximum amount of output out of its workers.

For example, most pharmacists want to finish filling their waiters first so there won't be a long line out the door and patients can go home quickly. But, CVS's push for shorter filling time presents an competing incentive to finish the prescription that was received first. This means you can't do it your way; you have to do it strictly the CVS way.

I'm sure there is good and bad to any place.

I recommend you work at a private hospital (I recommend Kaiser. I heard they pay really well)


If you like to work at any retail pharmacy, try to get a pharmacy manager position. Make sure you have a good staff of pharmacists, techs and clerks. Work hard and aim towards becoming a Pharmacy District manager. I heard they get paid like an MD or more

 

[Sparda29]

If you are a young and energetic pharmacist, you can consider CVS. CVS does wear you down. When CVS took over Savon in the west coast, many pharmacists left CVS.

For pharmacist, CVS literally monitors every single prescription you fill. The District Managers know how long it took you to fill it and its recorded on paper. This means the company knows your performance inside out and your bonuses and sometimes your salary may depend on these recorded performance. Some say this is fair but for many, its "big brother" watching and squeezing maximum amount of output out of its workers.

For example, most pharmacists want to finish filling their waiters first so there won't be a long line out the door and patients can go home quickly. But, CVS's push for shorter filling time presents an competing incentive to finish the prescription that was received first. This means you can't do it your way; you have to do it strictly the CVS way.

I'm sure there is good and bad to any place.

I recommend you work at a private hospital (I recommend Kaiser. I heard they pay really well)


If you like to work at any retail pharmacy, try to get a pharmacy manager position. Make sure you have a good staff of pharmacists, techs and clerks. Work hard and aim towards becoming a Pharmacy District manager. I heard they get paid like an MD or more

I automatically put everything in at a 3 hour wait, but we finish them like in 30 minutes so it makes us look good.

 

[Transformer]

I automatically put everything in at a 3 hour wait, but we finish them like in 30 minutes so it makes us look good.

I think every CVS does exactly what you said so they won't go into what we call the "red" zone in RX2000 system.

Try to stay away from putting everything as a 3 hours wait because I heard CVS higher up bosses want to see certain percentage of Waiters and non-waiters. If your a tech or clerk, it won't matter, but if you are a pharmacist, your bonus is on the line.

 

[mrsfarmgirl]

Just out of curiousity, are there any independent pharmacies in your area? Everyone talks about how horrible chains are but no one has suggested trying an independent. Granted, most don't have the benefits package, but if you are looking for some experience with more flexibility, I feel independents are the way to go.

Most of the time with independent pharmacies, they are willing to work with you because often the pharmacist is the owner. He is probably more interested in seeing you succeed than the chain manager who is just watching the bottom line. JMO.

 

[Sparda29]

CVS is a bit of a paradoxical store. We just got listed as an "Excellent Store" for the Pharmacy department in December 2007. I think it directly relates to the fact that we have 2 regular pharmacists now.

Before, we had one pharmacist, and different floaters every other weekend, Mondays, and Tuesdays, so nobody knew what the hell was going on other than the regular technicians. I generally held down the fort as the lead tech on the weekends, but when the floaters were around, we were lost.

So yeah we did good from September to December because of the addition of a regular pharmacist, and no more floaters. But, CVS goes and cuts tech hours from 130 hours to 110 hours.

So yeah, now we're shorthanded. On Friday evenings, from 5PM on, it is just me and the pharmacist, and we get overwhelmed because this is when people pick up and drop off their prescriptions.

Both me and the pharmacist hate working the pickup line, so what generally happens is that, someone is always at drop off, and 1/2 the time the other person is at pick up, this results in production being shut down.

 

[104921]

CVS is ok because the hours are pretty flexible if you need time off for appointments or something, you can always call someone to fill in for you. Walgreen is probably better pay though

I don't know about this. If anyone at my cvs calls in sick it's an absolute crisis. I've never been able to find anyone to fill in for me before, even when it was weeks ahead of time. I also don't get enough hours (less than 25, even though I've been out of school since May and have requested more hours several times), and it doesn't make a difference that I've been accepted to pharm school. They're making me wait til the end of may for the switch. That's two months of wasted time making 3 dollars an hour less than I should be. Either way, I've decided I'm going to apply to some of the walgreen's around here. I've heard good things about them.

 

[mrblah]

You guys are aware all the criticisms leveled at CVS can be said about wag also. It depends on the store you work at and the district.

I use to work for Kaiser, and I went to CVS/Savon's. I hated CVS/Savon's, so I went to Walgreen's. I moved around a bit and worked at different stores. Some stores were a dream to work at, others suck. Last store I worked at, made me want to quit my job, in which i ultimately did. Working in a retail environment, made me wish I never left Kaiser.

Bottom line: the grass isn't always greener on the otherside. In the case of working retail, its the damn same grass.

Also: In Socal, Wag pharmacists are not salaried unless they work at a unionized store. If they work 30 hours, they only get paid 30 hours. If they work 47 hours, they get paid 40 + 7 OT hours. Graveyards work 70 hours, but with the graveyard differential, are paid 80 hours.

 

[Sparda29]

I guess it depends where you live. There are like 100 CVSs in the general area where I work, and it doesn't matter what district you work in.

If I am gonna be taking a day off, while I'm at work, I start calling the other pharmacies and ask if anyone needs some hours, I do this for about 20 stores, although one time my boss got pissed that I was doing this while on the clock.

 

[Transformer]

You guys are aware all the criticisms leveled at CVS can be said about wag also. It depends on the store you work at and the district.

I use to work for Kaiser, and I went to CVS/Savon's. I hated CVS/Savon's, so I went to Walgreen's. I moved around a bit and worked at different stores. Some stores were a dream to work at, others suck. Last store I worked at, made me want to quit my job, in which i ultimately did. Working in a retail environment, made me wish I never left Kaiser.

Bottom line: the grass isn't always greener on the otherside. In the case of working retail, its the damn same grass.

Also: In Socal, Wag pharmacists are not salaried unless they work at a unionized store. If they work 30 hours, they only get paid 30 hours. If they work 47 hours, they get paid 40 + 7 OT hours. Graveyards work 70 hours, but with the graveyard differential, are paid 80 hours.

I Can't believe you left Kaiser. But I understand sometimes people move and life happens. Kaiser and retail stores both work you hard. The difference is you get much higher pay at Kaiser and I assume a potential higher raise each year as well.

Just a side note:

If your job don't give you an annual raise; they are not compensating for inflation (the fact that the buying power of money is decreasing each year)

 

[Transformer]

CVS is a bit of a paradoxical store. We just got listed as an "Excellent Store" for the Pharmacy department in December 2007. I think it directly relates to the fact that we have 2 regular pharmacists now.

Before, we had one pharmacist, and different floaters every other weekend, Mondays, and Tuesdays, so nobody knew what the hell was going on other than the regular technicians. I generally held down the fort as the lead tech on the weekends, but when the floaters were around, we were lost.

So yeah we did good from September to December because of the addition of a regular pharmacist, and no more floaters. But, CVS goes and cuts tech hours from 130 hours to 110 hours.

So yeah, now we're shorthanded. On Friday evenings, from 5PM on, it is just me and the pharmacist, and we get overwhelmed because this is when people pick up and drop off their prescriptions.

Both me and the pharmacist hate working the pickup line, so what generally happens is that, someone is always at drop off, and 1/2 the time the other person is at pick up, this results in production being shut down.

Its unthinkable to read that on Friday night when you get "hit the hardest", its only you and the pharmacist.
The pharmacist won't mind since he or she is getting paid at least 55 to 60 dollars an hour(mangers make about 60-65 + bonus). That really sucks for you since you have to do all the dirty work and you get paid at most 12-14 dollars an hour at CVS.

CVS cuts their payroll cost (squeeze everything out its workers) and Maximizes revenue.

Get out of retail, and look for hospital outpatient position.

Good luck

 

[mrblah]

I Can't believe you left Kaiser. But I understand sometimes people move and life happens. Kaiser and retail stores both work you hard. The difference is you get much higher pay at Kaiser and I assume a potential higher raise each year as well.

tell me about it, lol.

 

[pharmdoc2012]

I would'nt recommend CVS either. I worked there for 2 months. I was new to the pharmacy field and had never worked before as a tech and they put me alone with a rotating pharmacist who didnt know the rules either. We had a drive thru too and it was horrible!!! I managed to learn a lot though, but I wouldnt want to work there again. I think it depends on the store too.

i agree it depends on the store

 

[jonnyboi303]

Can anyone enlighten me as to what an intern working in a hospital pharmacy would do? Specifically, what kinds of responsibilities would you have that differ from working retail? I've only ever worked retail and so was thinking about trying to get into hospital.

 

[panzer]

i think it again depends upon the hospital.. Some hospitals do really cool stuff that you have to find out for yourself.

 

[sierrawest]

I'm thinking of applying to Kmart and Costco in my area, has anyone had experience with them?

 

[twester]

I have worked for Walgreens for over 5 years and I love it. Their benefits/401K, etc are unheard of. I am going to stay with them as a pharmacist if I decide on retail pharmacy.

And I've had the exact opposite experience with Wags in Colorado. Goes to show how pointless this thread is.

 

[panzer]

party poooper..