Yogi Berra once said when asked his opinion about a popular restaurant," nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded." CVS has been my drugstore since I moved to the Bent Coast from San Diego more than three years ago. Their personnel behind the checkout counters and in the pharmacy have been head and shoulders above the CVS people in San Diego. However, whether it's due to COVID burnout or rapid A.I. adaptation, things they are a changing!
Problem# 1 I am an 82 year old that still appreciates human to human interactions. I have two prescriptions that I have been getting filled since I moved here . More than a year ago my need/dosage for one of the prescriptions has been cut in half. I need half as many pills. I have explained this to at least 5 different pharmacy workers over the last year. Their automatic refill system keeps sending me texts that my prescription is ready every three months. Each time this happens I call the pharmacy and am put on hold for 15 minutes. I finally get an understanding person who tells me they will fix the problem. Right now I have 360 pills. Despite this abundance, I got another text last week saying that 180 more pills were ready! This occurred the day after I called and told the pharmacy I was good for another nine months. Evidently at least five pharmacy personnel were too busy to disable the auto refill algorithm instructions for my account. This has become an aggravating "dance."
Problem#2 I called CVS on September 18, 2023 to ask about getting the RSV vaccination. As usual I was put on hold for 15 minutes! While on hold, I got a recorded message that my prescription would be ready tomorrow (see problem #1 above). A pharmacy representative finally answered and I told them one more time that I had a years worth of pills already. They told me they would fix the problem. It was not fixed because the next day I received a text telling me that my pills were ready. Next I asked about RSV vaccinations. They said that they have RSV vaccines but to make a reservation for one, you have to do it online. I asked if the reservation could be done over the phone now. They replied "no, it must be done online." I hung up and tried it online. The CVS automated system was set up for COVID. However, to do reservations for an RSV shot, I had to go to another online location that required a password. I didn't have a password.
The next day September 19, 2023, I drove to CVS and arrived at 11 AM. There were three people ahead of me in the pharmacy line. Two of them finished up very quickly and I went to the consultation window and asked about getting an RSV shot. The window person said that unless I have an appointment, they don't do walk-ins until 2PM. I think a "customer-in-hand" is worth two in a competitor's drugstore! I went out to my car, called Walgreens, talked to their pharmacy with zero time on hold. They told me they did RSV shots. I took 10 minutes to drive there. I walked in, filled out two pages of questions, and got my shot by 12 Noon!
I am now willing to do my part to help CVS from being overworked. Their competitor has humans that answer the phone, they don't force you to use A.I. for simple requests and they don't chase customers with money in their hot hands from their store.
