Sunday, September 26, 2010

CVS Can't Sell Food or Beverages...Again

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For the second time local Matt Ashburn snaps a photo of signage at the CVS at Maryland and Bladensburg revealing they are temporarily not allowed to sell you any food or drink. This can't be a good trend.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was just over there. Their pharmacy is closed too. I can't pick up my prescriptions till sometime this evening at the earliest. Hope my heart doesn't start beating erratically between now and then. I'd rather not be carted off to the hospital.

Anonymous said...

This has been going on since at least Friday the 17th (unless they got the clear and then failed again). I went in to pick up a prescription and the guy behind the pharmacy counter said they were "audited". Some guy was (justifiably) up in arms because he had just gotten off work and was trying to pick up heart meds for his ailing father.

Apparently the "no food or drink" also includes toothpaste, because they wouldn't let me buy that either.

Lori said...

It also includes baby formula, even though they didn't have the signs in that aisle.

Anonymous said...

This happened two weeks ago when my girlfriend was there to pick up a prescription for poison ivy. I will never shop/try to get prescriptions filled there again. The CVS over by Nationals ball park is great, cleaner, and never busy on Sunday nights.

DL

Anonymous said...

I hope they get their act together soon. I love the fact that it is so near me!

Matt Ashburn said...

All I wanted was some OJ & to pick up mines scription. Instead, went to the new 7-11 for the OJ.

Matt Ashburn
Local Muckraker

Anonymous said...

Were they closed by the health department? If so, why? i.e. no food handler with permit, on premises, or something more serious like storing food at wrong temperature, or vermin in the pills. It's strange that they cannot sell baby formula.

Anonymous said...

Stanton Sez: i know this is a serious issue for scripts [you can switch your prescription to another location], but i long for the day CVS is driven out of business in the neighborhood by other, better run pharmacies. Walgreen please come in!
The incompetent service, the ghetto looking stores, the fact they rip you off if you don't let them track your purchases with those "discount" cards.
We'd be better off longterm without CVS.

Anonymous said...

Stanton Sez: i know this is a serious issue for scripts [you can switch your prescription to another location], but i long for the day CVS is driven out of business in the neighborhood by other, better run pharmacies. Walgreen please come in!
The incompetent service, the ghetto looking stores, the fact they rip you off if you don't let them track your purchases with those "discount" cards.
We'd be better off longterm without CVS.

Anonymous said...

Give me a break why doesn't CVS Corporate put some competent people down there. This is ridiculous! I'm writing the a letter tomorrow!

Cap Conservative said...

Agree with Anon 8:32. Never had a pleasant experience at this location. Now if corporate can improve everything at the 12th and Penn, SE store.

common sense said...

@capitol

i see no discernible difference between the cvs on maryland and any other cvs, besides the weird "nyc subway turnstile-style" thing in the doorway and the predominant color of the patrons. maybe that's where these bizarre "ghetto" claims are coming from. the store is as clean and organized as every other cvs i've seen. some of you people seem to be harboring some prejudices you need to evaluate.

seriously, someone point out an objective difference between this cvs and the one round about 16th and P.

Anonymous said...

Objective difference = other CVS stores pass their inspections on a regular basis.

Anonymous said...

@common sense:
Stanton Sez: the problem is CVS, and lack of competitors, not the patrons or their skin color. i've visited any number of CVSs in this town, in NW and elsewhere. And they're similar story. this to me reflects poor management, inadequate attention to making their stores meet standards elsewhere. I bet if they had real competition, they'd get their act together or be driven out.

Anonymous said...

Stanton Sez: i should note i have specific experiences at the Bladensburg/Maryland Av CVS that made me decide to stop going there except as last resort. i went to buy cold medicine. the clerk, eating her lunch as she operated the register, went to ring it up. then we noticed the medicine was past its expiration date. we're talking over-the-counter name-brand stuff. the only time i've ever run into this problem before is at a pharmacy in a poor developing country.

Rayful Edmond said...

We would all be blessed if Rite-Aid had similar hours.

In the meantime, I will wait patiently for the new CVS to open in NoMa.

Anonymous said...

I've had really good experiences at the Harris Teeter pharmacy on Pennsyvania AV SE.

Anonymous said...

I was in the store when this happened a couple weeks ago. The counter clerk stated that they didn't have their food license, and anything edible could not be sold. To my knowledge, the FDA was there. I've never had a problem shopping there and the staff has always been more than helpful. I cannot speak to the pharmacy experience.

Anonymous said...

The whole store is suffering from poor management. I've always had really terrible experiences with the pharmacy in particular.

Last month was the worst when I called in my refill three days in advance, waited for an hour in the pick up line and then they didn't have my medication. All the customers in line were very angry, many shouting their frustrations and obscenities at the workers. It really should be managed better.

Apparently they just got a new regional pharmacy manager. She is overhauling the staff and hopes to get everything in order by the end of October. We will see though. In the meantime I've transferred everything to the CVS at 6th and Penn.

Cap Conservative said...

Common Sense: Primarily, my complaints relate to the pharmacies at both locations. In 15 years I've never had a problem free experience at either location in attempting to get a new or refill on a prescription. The shelves for children's meds are frequently chaotic in both locations. New management, or I like the mention of competition, are needed at both locations. As for your race-baiting statements of "ghetto" or "some of you people seem to be harboring some prejudices you need to evaluate;" try again. As a member of the "you people," I will be going Rite Aid or Harris Teeter until these locations improve their business pratices.

Sarah said...

My favorite experience at this CVS was last year when I picked up my BC prescription, got home and found that they had given me a bottle of oxycodone instead. True story :)