Kroger or CVS?

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rx2010

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Hi everyone,

I received a job offer for Kroger and CVS (both in the same city). Which company is better to work for? CVS is offering $10,000/year more than Kroger, with Kroger having a 42 hour work week and CVS is 44 hours. I'm leaning towards Kroger, but would like some feedback about the two companies before choosing. Which would you choose? Thanks in advance!
 
all the krogers around here have a drive-thru.
 
What is the volume of the stores they are offering you? The $10,000 is also for working 104 more hours per year so you have to factor that in as well. Will there be overlap in the stores? Not enough information to evaluate the offers. I know that most people who have posted here have really enjoyed working for Krogers. The experience with CVS on this board is mixed. If you get a good store and you have good field management (RX Supervisor & DM) you will have a great experience (I do), if you don't it will not be as pleasant.....
 
gmuskie said:
all the krogers around here have a drive-thru.
Click to expand...




WTF!?!?!?!?!?

that's just wrong

can u all send through a gallon of milk, some ben and jerry's ice cream, toothepaste, and puppy chow while ur at it
 
jawnly211 said:
WTF!?!?!?!?!?

that's just wrong

can u all send through a gallon of milk, some ben and jerry's ice cream, toothepaste, and puppy chow while ur at it
Click to expand...

I did a rotation at a Kroger with a drive-thru. The only good thing about it is that it was a tube system, which limited it's usage as far as product size and type was concerned. Also, if it wasn't pharmaceutically related, we didn't send it through.
 
skeksis said:
I did a rotation at a Kroger with a drive-thru. The only good thing about it is that it was a tube system, which limited it's usage as far as product size and type was concerned. Also, if it wasn't pharmaceutically related, we didn't send it through.
Click to expand...

Where do condoms fall in? 😀
 
Old Timer said:
What is the volume of the stores they are offering you? The $10,000 is also for working 104 more hours per year so you have to factor that in as well. Will there be overlap in the stores? Not enough information to evaluate the offers. I know that most people who have posted here have really enjoyed working for Krogers. The experience with CVS on this board is mixed. If you get a good store and you have good field management (RX Supervisor & DM) you will have a great experience (I do), if you don't it will not be as pleasant.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. 🙂 I'm not sure of the volumes for each store, they didn't mention any details yet because they haven't assigned me a store yet, they only told me the area I would be working at. I just received the offer letters requesting a reply from me within 30 days...

Even though CVS is offering more than Kroger, I believe I would be happier with Kroger because I think it would be less stressful than CVS and the recruiter told me they offer clinical services such as immunizations, MTM, cholesterol screenings, etc., which I would enjoy. Also, I like the grocery store environment more than the stand alone pharmacy/convenient store environment that CVS and Walgreens has.

My problem comes down to my mom... She would be happy if I work for CVS because I can make $10,000 more compared to Kroger. She said since I'm young and single, she wants me to work for CVS for now and make money to pay off loans and later on switch over to Kroger when I get married and start a family.
 
rx2010 said:
Even though CVS is offering more than Kroger, I believe I would be happier with Kroger....My problem comes down to my mom... She would be happy if I work for CVS because I can make $10,000 more compared to Kroger.
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Ding ding ding! There is your answer. 10 k a year is not much after tax and it is certainly not worth the stress. The way I see it, for every year you work at CVS, you loss 1 month of your life. Not worth it.
 
Kumura said:
Ding ding ding! There is your answer. 10 k a year is not much after tax and it is certainly not worth the stress. The way I see it, for every year you work at CVS, you loss 1 month of your life. Not worth it.
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Until you know what store they intend to put you at, it may be more stressful than CVS. And don't sneeze at 10,000.00, after 10 years it's $100,000.00. You need to gather more information before you make your decision. Ask for it....
 
rx2010 said:
Even though CVS is offering more than Kroger, I believe I would be happier with Kroger because I think it would be less stressful than CVS and the recruiter told me they offer clinical services such as immunizations, MTM, cholesterol screenings, etc., which I would enjoy.
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You might want to go into a kroger store in your area and talk to a pharmacist and see how often MTM, cholesterol, BP and glucose screenings are really done before you believe the recruiter. They may "offer" those services but do they provide you with the staff to accomplish any significant amount of services or any at all?? In 3 years I have only seen a handful of MTMs ever happen between 2 kroger stores and after you factored in the cost of the pharmacist's time, kroger lost money on all of them. Not trying to discourage you, but you really need to try and talk to pharmacists in the area you would be working and get the good/bad.
Overall kroger has treated me well, full-time retail just isn't for me.

You need to think of overall happiness and job satisfaction, honestly I think both of those are challenging to find in Retail pharmacy but it definitely can be found with the right motivation and attitude!

What happened to wanting to complete a residency?
 
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PumpkinSmasher said:
What happened to wanting to complete a residency?
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I really want to do amb care working in a clinic, and I'm attending midyear to decide which programs I want to apply for, but since I'm not guaranteed to get accepted to a residency program, retail is my back up.

Also, I'm not sure if I should spend a year doing a residency because I heard there aren't many job openings for clinical pharmacists, particularly in amb care.
 
rx2010 said:
I really want to do amb care working in a clinic, and I'm attending midyear to decide which programs I want to apply for, but since I'm not guaranteed to get accepted to a residency program, retail is my back up.

Also, I'm not sure if I should spend a year doing a residency because I heard there aren't many job openings for clinical pharmacists, particularly in amb care.
Click to expand...

actually most times you need two years from what I hear. I would do retail to pay off my loans and then do a residency after.
 
rx2010 said:
Thanks for your input. 🙂 I'm not sure of the volumes for each store, they didn't mention any details yet because they haven't assigned me a store yet, they only told me the area I would be working at. I just received the offer letters requesting a reply from me within 30 days...

Even though CVS is offering more than Kroger, I believe I would be happier with Kroger because I think it would be less stressful than CVS and the recruiter told me they offer clinical services such as immunizations, MTM, cholesterol screenings, etc., which I would enjoy. Also, I like the grocery store environment more than the stand alone pharmacy/convenient store environment that CVS and Walgreens has.

My problem comes down to my mom... She would be happy if I work for CVS because I can make $10,000 more compared to Kroger. She said since I'm young and single, she wants me to work for CVS for now and make money to pay off loans and later on switch over to Kroger when I get married and start a family.
Click to expand...

Good thing it's your decision and not mom's decision.
 
I worked for Kroger for 6 yrs. They have a lot of stuff for you to do other than pharmacy. Meetings on your off time etc. Most of their upper pharmacy mgt. is cut from the Hitler SS mold. The good is less volume and no drive through. I have heard that since they started the 4 dollar RX program volume is way up though. They also love for you to immunize, which is another pain in the ass. Overall to all chains, you are just a piece of meat and disposable at that. You are a gear in a machine. Sometimes, even after 3 decades, I wish that I had never gone into pharmacy. The trouble is nothing pays as good. If you know anything about pharmacy, you realize how damn goofy your clientèle is. After all they are on drugs. They bad thing is that you have to pretend they are normal and get along with them even when a lot are pain in the ass lunatic freeloaders. Also, they may be crazy, but in the eyes of mgmt. they are never wrong. You always are.
 
Last edited:
rx2010 said:
Hi everyone,

I received a job offer for Kroger and CVS (both in the same city). Which company is better to work for? CVS is offering $10,000/year more than Kroger, with Kroger having a 42 hour work week and CVS is 44 hours. I'm leaning towards Kroger, but would like some feedback about the two companies before choosing. Which would you choose? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I got a similar offer too, except the difference was that CVS was offering $23,000 more per year compared to Krogers. The offers were in different cities. Yes I should probably gather more information such as the average volume of the stores I may be working at, whether the stores have drive-thrus, how much overlap time, etc before I make a decision, but the difference in salaries is tempting.

Krogers seems to be more of an advocate to giving immunizations and generally of a more relaxed environment compared to CVS. CVS seems to have a better benefits package and offer more avenues for advancement in the career. CVS/Caremark has mail-order pharmacy, something that I was looking to get into. Hmm...dilemmas.

I know there are some people on this forum who have strong feelings against CVS and that is fine.
 
Style said:
I got a similar offer too, except the difference was that CVS was offering $23,000 more per year compared to Krogers. The offers were in different cities. Yes I should probably gather more information such as the average volume of the stores I may be working at, whether the stores have drive-thrus, how much overlap time, etc before I make a decision, but the difference in salaries is tempting.

Krogers seems to be more of an advocate to giving immunizations and generally of a more relaxed environment compared to CVS. CVS seems to have a better benefits package and offer more avenues for advancement in the career. CVS/Caremark has mail-order pharmacy, something that I was looking to get into. Hmm...dilemmas.

I know there are some people on this forum who have strong feelings against CVS and that is fine.
Click to expand...

one very important thing. at kroger you dont have to bring your own sandwich or drive out to get food , you can just hit up the deli and bakery and have awesome freshly prepared food every day for lunch. cvs, you'll be stuck with your own stuff or mcdonalds across the street. something to consider.
 
type b pharmD said:
one very important thing. at kroger you dont have to bring your own sandwich or drive out to get food , you can just hit up the deli and bakery and have awesome freshly prepared food every day for lunch. cvs, you'll be stuck with your own stuff or mcdonalds across the street. something to consider.
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Lol. yah that's a great consideration for these grocery chains, but the greater question is probably if one will get a lunch break at Kroger, because I'm sure at CVS you don't or it may be difficult at times.
 
type b pharmD said:
one very important thing. at kroger you dont have to bring your own sandwich or drive out to get food , you can just hit up the deli and bakery and have awesome freshly prepared food every day for lunch. cvs, you'll be stuck with your own stuff or mcdonalds across the street. something to consider.
Click to expand...

McDonalds and kroger's deli/bakery are both gross, so I do not see any reason to factor in such a thing. Who cares if you can waddle over to get a plastic container full of mayonaise salad with some fried bread?:meanie:
 
BMadjuster said:
McDonalds and kroger's deli/bakery are both gross, so I do not see any reason to factor in such a thing. Who cares if you can waddle over to get a plastic container full of mayonaise salad with some fried bread?:meanie:
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Dude Kroger sells Boar's Head deli meat. $9.00 a pound but the best deli meat you will ever eat. Plus it is a Grocery Store. Anything you could ever want to eat is on the shelves.
 
type b pharmD said:
one very important thing. at kroger you dont have to bring your own sandwich or drive out to get food , you can just hit up the deli and bakery and have awesome freshly prepared food every day for lunch. cvs, you'll be stuck with your own stuff or mcdonalds across the street. something to consider.
Click to expand...

If you want real prepared food at a grocery store you need to work at a Wegman's. Anything else is just second rate.
 
MountainPharmD said:
Dude Kroger sells Boar's Head deli meat. $9.00 a pound but the best deli meat you will ever eat. Plus it is a Grocery Store. Anything you could ever want to eat is on the shelves.
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I was unaware of the quality of their deli...good to know. I am a frugal fellow so I am always brown bagging.
 
I just worked for kroger last month for my APPE hours, it was a great experience. I wish they were hiring, but as far as retail is concerned,anything goes lol

I would settle for low volume pharmacy anytime of the day as it doesn't wear you down,also overtime opportunities is always a plus for me.
 
will7678 said:
If you want real prepared food at a grocery store you need to work at a Wegman's. Anything else is just second rate.
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That's because Wegman's essentially has a restaurant built into every store. **** a deli, they've got a sushi bar, a sub shop, a pizza/wings shop, an Asian wokery, and a bunch of other **** to boot. Wegman's owns.
 
ValeUC said:
I work at Kroger now and I can say that I will NEVER work at a drug only store like CVS or Walgreens.
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Have you worked at CVS or Walgreens to make a comparison? If so, what was your experience like in both settings? I've worked at CVS and Walgreens before but never have Krogers.
 
Style said:
Have you worked at CVS or Walgreens to make a comparison? If so, what was your experience like in both settings? I've worked at CVS and Walgreens before but never have Krogers.
Click to expand...

I did some shadowing at a Walgreens and have plenty of friends that are interns at CVS/Walgreens. Working at a grocery with a pharmacy gives you a lot more freedom with your support hours. The Walgreens I was at had one pharmacist, one tech. Overworked and understaffed because the prescriptions are the main source of revenue.
 
I want this thread made into a sticky with my answer highlighted.

I will make this real simple for everyone. Any question that resembles this: Who should I work for X or CVS? (sub in Walgreens if you want). The answer is always X no matter what X is.

X could be:

- Anything else
- Sewer cleaner
- Septic tank cleaner
- Test dummy for a bullet proof vest company
- Ditch digger
- Garbage colletor
- Porta Potty Cleaner
 
MountainPharmD said:
I want this thread made into a sticky with my answer highlighted.

I will make this real simple for everyone. Any question that resembles this: Who should I work for X or CVS? (sub in Walgreens if you want). The answer is always X no matter what X is.

X could be:

- Anything else
- Sewer cleaner
- Septic tank cleaner
- Test dummy for a bullet proof vest company
- Ditch digger
- Garbage colletor
- Porta Potty Cleaner
Click to expand...

Haha, I know you hate CVS with a passion.

What company do you work with currently?
 
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