Retail Pharmacies

[tao08244]

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I'm starting to look for retail pharmacies that have openings for anything (clerk, technician, volunteer, etc.) that I can do to gain some pharmacy experience. Are there any stores in particular that anyone can recommend? I live in Los Angeles and the closest stores near me are: Sav-On, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Longs, and Target.

 

[npp71681]

Hi!
tao08244,

Try CVS/Pharmacy cos a friend of mine is working there as a Clerk.

 

[tao08244]

Hi!
tao08244,

Try CVS/Pharmacy cos a friend of mine is working there as a Clerk.

Thanks, but there isn't a CVS around here 😎

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Everyone I speek to seems to think Walgreens is a great company to work for. I can't speak from experience personally, I'm more of a hospital type of guy.

 

[spacecowgirl]

I've also heard good things about Walgreens. You'd probably have a better chance of getting hired there because they'd be higher volume than say Target or a supermarket store (but it wouldn't hurt to apply either). Walgreens is supposed to have great technology geared towards simplifying the process for the pharmacy staff and freeing up time for counseling and such...but like I said, I don't know personally, that's just what I've heard.

And unlike WVUPharm, I much more of a retail gal, I currently do both 🙂 Good luck!

 

[jdpharmd?]

I have to say that I'm surprised to hear such good things about walgreens. They are known as sweatshops around here, and many of my friends and pharmacists who took their loan/scholarship money ended up paying it back because they ran far, far away. Yes, they do have a good computer system, but it's because they love to crank out prescriptions. I've have good experience with target, or other supermarket type stores. (Avoid walmart)

 

[ultracet]

Did a rotation at walmart
run

i've heard wonderful things about walgreens here so i guess it just depends on where you are and your DM.

 

[LVPharm]

I have to say that I'm surprised to hear such good things about walgreens. They are known as sweatshops around here, and many of my friends and pharmacists who took their loan/scholarship money ended up paying it back because they ran far, far away. Yes, they do have a good computer system, but it's because they love to crank out prescriptions. I've have good experience with target, or other supermarket type stores. (Avoid walmart)

Absolutely luv Target! The store I was at was the closest thing to retail nirvana. Everyone, from the DM to the store staff were great, and it helps that the customers who shop at Target go there with smiles on their faces 😉 I'd gladly suffer through PDX to work there...if I was gonna go into retail
😛

I was OK with Vons...but it felt like the "store culture" was lording over you...you are constantly "getting shopped" by secret shoppers (we haven't been scoring too great lately), and right now they have some kind of promotional thing with some new "aged beef" product, and pharmacy staff may have to explain to the secret shopper that the beef has been aged for 10 days..blah blah blah. You also have to wear a pin (at least the tech does) advertising their new beef...like pieces of flair at TGI Fridays. Whatthe? Oh, they almost made me shave off my facial hair...I'll be gawdamm if they make me do that!

 

[GravyRPH]

I say the same schpiel pretty much every time, but, in summary, it doesn't matter the chain. The individual store staff, volume, etc. is what makes the difference. Probably the accompanying staff more than anything.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

I was OK with Vons...but it felt like the "store culture" was lording over you...you are constantly "getting shopped" by secret shoppers (we haven't been scoring too great lately), and right now they have some kind of promotional thing with some new "aged beef" product, and pharmacy staff may have to explain to the secret shopper that the beef has been aged for 10 days..blah blah blah.

Where is this, again? I'll be sure to never even think of sending an application within a 25 mile radius of one. That is just...ridiculous.

 

[chitowngyrl]

I worked at a Sam's Club Pharmacy. It was terrible! Most of the customers are cash customers, b/c the drugs are really cheap. And those are the worst. It doesn't matter how dirt cheap the drugs are in comparison to the other pharmacies, you always had somebody coming in everyday complaining about the prices. It was enough to make you scream.

But my pharmacist manager had nothing but great things to say about Target. He loved it there. And one of my cousins works at Walgreens and she likes it alot.

 

[LVPharm]

Where is this, again? I'll be sure to never even think of sending an application within a 25 mile radius of one. That is just...ridiculous.

You guys have Safeway? Same company. Unlike a Rite-Aid, Wags, or Sav-on (where the primary reason for the existence of the store is the pharmacy), pharmacy is just a department in a grocery store...like the meat department or the produce department 😉 You're a convenience service for their customers: "Get your prescriptions filled while you shop!"

 

[tao08244]

I spoke to the pharmacist at the Walgreens in my area and she told me that she doesn't deal with employment in within pharmacy. Then, she directed me to apply on Walgreens' computer system to apply for a position. Is this what those of you who work at Walgreens had to do?

 

[jdpharmd?]

You guys have Safeway? Same company. Unlike a Rite-Aid, Wags, or Sav-on (where the primary reason for the existence of the store is the pharmacy), pharmacy is just a department in a grocery store...like the meat department or the produce department 😉 You're a convenience service for their customers: "Get your prescriptions filled while you shop!"

We have Safeway, and it's not that bad. True, there are different rules at different stores, but it's ok at most of them here. The good news about being a department in the store is that your customers have some patience! If there is a dr/ins/busy problem, then they are more than happy to come back in 15 or 20 minutes. When a store does 130 or less RXs per day, it leaves time to really counsel people or answer their other health/drug questions. It's the opposite of scriptburgers with drive-throughs etc. To tell you the truth, if you're polite and helpful, you'll never have a problem with their customer service codes. (It only gets annoying when the other dept managers come over with a face full of "super happy smiley smiles" and remind you that they've had "100%' shops for the last month.) If I had to pick a retail giant to work for right now, it would either be Safeway or Eckerd, but we all know about the shake-ups at Eckerd right now.

 

[muimui221]

Did a rotation at walmart
run

i've heard wonderful things about walgreens here so i guess it just depends on where you are and your DM.

i work at Wal-mart as a pharmacy clerk for a year now.....run far far away 😡

 

[dgroulx]

I spoke to the pharmacist at the Walgreens in my area and she told me that she doesn't deal with employment in within pharmacy. Then, she directed me to apply on Walgreens' computer system to apply for a position. Is this what those of you who work at Walgreens had to do?

Yes, you have to apply to a computer. Then the computer system writes you a letter if they are interested. I had to send my resume to an email address that did not contain a person's name. It was all sterile. During interviews at school, your responses to interview questions were typed into a computer by a recruiter. Every other retail store sent out their DM to interview you. Walgreens felt very impersonal. I didn't mind when I received my rejection form letter. Even a girl in my class who currenly works at Walgreens received the same rejection letter for an internship. Their computer system had no idea she was even an employee. She left for a hospital internship instead.

My boss said he chose not to work for Walgreens because they require pharmacists to work 10 days out of every 14 days. There is very little flexibility of schedule.

 

[gdk420]

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/

Try doing a pharamcy assistant job at their outpatient site. This will give you an idea of what an HMO is like. The job is similar to a clerk at Sav On. But be prepared to work to death, especially at their 24 hour locations. The job listing are on their websites.

 

[tao08244]

http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/

Try doing a pharamcy assistant job at their outpatient site. This will give you an idea of what an HMO is like. The job is similar to a clerk at Sav On. But be prepared to work to death, especially at their 24 hour locations. The job listing are on their websites.

Is it better to apply online or in person?...or it doesn't matter?

 

[gdk420]

Apply in person, if u apply online, it takes them forever to get through all of the application. Good luck.