Walmart for the Pharmacy Win?

My family and I have been very fortunate and really haven't spent much time in the pharmacy department.  I have called our CVS pharmacy at Target a few times to get prescriptions filled and utilize their auto fill function...but that's about as far as the transactions go.  They get the order, the script is filled, I get a text letting me know it's ready and available for pick up.  Easy.

Well I guess the things my previous orders have all had in common were...the medications I needed, were not time sensitive.  If they weren't a common prescription, I could easily wait the additional 24-48 hours for them to fill my prescription.

So remember my original post - where I told ya it was a last minute scramble to urgently get a prescription filled and begin taking it as soon as possible?  Well that's where we are.

So I reach out to my CVS pharmacy, someone answers the phone after a long game of pick the number that's closest to what you want, followed by several 0's...in hopes of being transferred to a person.  (The purpose of course for my call, was to find out if they had the medication in stock, that I was prescribed.  Since there was a sense of urgency to this request - I didn't have time to show up and find out it wouldn't be ready for a day or two.)  After a few rings, a gentleman answers (perhaps the pharmacist?) and lets me know that they have the prescription from the doctor's office and will be able to fill it, but will need my updated insurance information.  No problem!  I offered to provide it over the phone and he replied that I should instead just bring it when I come to fill the prescription, which should only take 5-10 minutes.

Feeling confident that the medication would be available, I head down to Target to grab the prescription.  After providing my insurance card and updating my file - I was shocked to learn that they didn't have the medication needed after all!  (I later found that the reason for this was the gentleman on the phone didn't have access to their inventory, only going through the motions.)  Well now what?

Long story, shorter - CVS at Target was unable to direct me to another location or help me further.  So...I hesitated naturally, because Walmart isn't known for their amazing customer service...but they are close to me and perhaps they would have the medicine in stock to fill my prescription.

So I call Walmart's pharmacy department (expecting the worst), I speak with a gentleman who seems very pleasant, I tell him my circumstance and the urgency and he immediately offers to take my insurance information over the phone, checks his inventory, and tells me when I can expect to pick it up.  Even goes the extra mile and tells me when they break for lunch, to avoid further delays!

Within an hour, I get a text letting me know that my prescription was ready to be picked up.  (Amazing!)  When I arrive, the pharmacy tech asks for my name to go grab the medication.  The moment I provide my name, a gentleman in the back, immediately steps forward and stands to the side, awaiting for the transaction to be complete.  As soon as I've paid, he says, "Hi Summer, my name is Omar. I'm the pharmacist here and we spoke on the phone earlier today."  (Wow - maybe the bar is just set soooo low - but I was already totally impressed!

Omar then took me to a side window and asked if I had ever taken the medication before.  He asked because he was concerned about the dosage that I was being prescribed. I, being completely unfamiliar with dosages and knowing mistakes can be made - immediately offered up what I was doing (GC) with an implant date of 6/22.  He asked if I knew how long I would be on the medication, since the dosage they were prescribing was really high.  Of course I didn't - so he asked if I would be okay if he made a call to the doctor's office to ensure the dosage was correct and asked if he could call me on my cell phone, so I didn't have to wait!  

Okay so the story ends with yes - it was the correct dosage, but I truly felt reassured and so much more comfortable about the dosage and the pills I was prescribed for this first part of the adventure.

Side note - I'm now a regular there and Omar greets me with a wave and a smile from behind the counter every single time and whenever there's a new prescription (including my Progesterone in Oil shots), he walks me through the medicine, possible side effects, and makes sure I still have his card to call with ANY questions!