On a recent Monday afternoon, Raul Valdiviezo stood in line with nearly 20 other customers waiting to pick up his medicine at the pharmacy inside the Walgreens at 23rd and Mission streets.
“I wish I could sit, but if I do, someone may try to take my place, or think that I’m cutting the line,” said Valdiviezo in Spanish. At 82, he finds the waiting times of up to an hour increasingly more difficult.
He’s not alone.
The last Walgreens in the Mission keeps absorbing customers from the many that have closed nearby: The one at 16th and Mission streets in 2019, then at Cesar Chavez and Mission streets in 2021 and, finally, the Walgreens on Potrero Avenue in April. That last closure meant blockbuster lines at 23rd Street, and the waits have failed to improve.
Carly Kaplan, from the pharmacy communications department at Walgreens, says they’ve taken steps to cut the wait times. “That includes adding extra registers, providing additional personnel and working extra hours. We are committed to leveraging all available resources to improve the patient experience.”
The customers, however, are not experiencing those improvements.
“This line is ungodly. I wait too long,” said 75-year-old John Gambaccini as he slowly left the store, cane in one hand and a paper bag with medicine in the other. “I’m a senior citizen … I would like to see another line prioritizing us.”
Gambaccini said he normally waits about 45 minutes every visit. He would like to see Walgreens hire native Spanish speakers to help the line move a little faster.
Xochilt Ramirez, who visits the pharmacy twice a month, agreed.
“They don’t speak Spanish,” said Ramirez in reference to the lack of native Spanish speakers, adding that communication between patient and pharmacist is often slow. “It would be really nice if they hired someone who spoke Spanish.”
The store has three registers. On Monday, Mission Local witnessed two registers open in the early afternoon for about half an hour, and all three for another half an hour.
At 1 p.m., Angela Lopez checked her watch and looked at the line. Some 15 people stood in front of her.
Lopez, who lives in the Tenderloin, comes to the pharmacy twice a week to pick up her mother’s medicine. “You should come back in the evening to check out the line,” she said as I walked away. So I did.
It was around 5:30 p.m. when I returned, and the line was about 20 people long.
“It’s always been like this since I started coming here,” said Cathy Faletusi, a Mission resident, who, like Valvidiviezo, used to go to the Potrero Walgreens. “Potrero was much faster. Sometimes, I’ll just come an hour before they close to avoid the line.”
Jorge Hernandez, a Mission resident, struggled as he walked by and pulled a chair to the back of the line.
“My feet hurt so much. I can’t stand too long,” said Hernandez in Spanish.
“I’m in so much pain. They should really have another person working at this location. It is always like this [the line],” Hernandez added as he sat and took a deep breath.
A few minutes later, Hernandez slowly got up, took another breath and moved his chair forward as the line advanced. Two registers were open.
I gave up on Walgreens and switched delivery from Alto (local, uses courier, tip optional) and then Amazon (UPS). In both cases you do need to be able to use a smartphone app though.
We’ve been on Alto since early in the pandemic. The service is servicable but it has become increasingly enshittified.
First, Alto did delivery by bicycle which was awesome, and you got a local salt caramel.
Then, Alto hired gig workers to drive deliveries in cars to replace the bicycle delivery people, mostly limited English speaking immigrants. But they still included a caramel.
Now, Alto has stopped including caramels in deliveries.
Enshittification.
Deliveries to your home are easy to set up.
Not if you live in an SRO or address that can’t safely accept deliveries…
Where were the SRO collaborative advocates when the Walgreens that had been at 16th/Mission for decades was closed? That caused all of our at risk neighbors to have to trek up to 23d and Mission.
Muni does not stop at 23d and Mission anymore. Where were advocates when access was being curtailed due to Muni service cuts that disproportionately impacted seniors and people with mobility challenges, the most vulnerable?
When the advocates are not paid to attend to something going on in the community they claim to represent, advocates just don’t advocate and the unrepresented, unorganized community is left to take the hits.
NP – I guess a certain percentage of our population sucks at life! I know you want the entire system to change just so we can cater to less than 1% who can’t figure out how to have a friend who can accept it, or a postal box, or an address to accept deliveries. Enough!
If you look down on people who don’t have enough money to afford a safe place to accept deliveries, might I suggest they “suck at life” slightly less than your own commentary belies, Lisa.
I don’t think anyone asked for “the entire system to change” anywhere, are you feeling ok? You seem to be hallucinating and seething with misplaced rage at poor people.
I tried to write but am nearly speechless. This article clearly points out how hard the current situation is on elders. So they “suck at life” because they haven’t adjusted to having one’s line changed over to deliveries where packages get thrown on stoops and indeed one has to rely on a neighbor being home to take it in. These elders, who have picked up meds at pharmacies for decades are not asking to change a whole system. Do they suck at life or does your comment suck at empathy?
They have at least 3 Spanish speakers there but they refuse to translate because “they don’t get paid for that”. This has been an ongoing thing with them for years
I pick up my medication there. I missed the express pay ( I was able to skip the line with the express pay pass). Anyway, I hope Walgreen comes out with a new system for a fast check out. For example, it could have a kiosk where customers check out all theirs meds. The customers get a ticket. On the backend, an associate pick and pull the medication according to the ticket. Sort the customers into two groups; one group doesn’t require the pharmacist consultation and otherwise. Then have the farm technician check out the group that doesn’t require consultation first. Then have the pharmacist check out the group that requires consultation.
Imagine how the employees feel. So overwhelmed with no support. More than likely stressed out and expected to do a tremendous volume of work. Unfortunately they probably get yelled at daily. Both sides are very frustrating.
Sorry to hear this Walgreens has gotten slower. It wasn’t great before the other two closed. With those gone, I can’t imagine trying to get anything done with the remainder.:(
All the Walgreens are like that. I can’t stand for any length of time and hate having to pick up prescriptions. I go first thing in the morning which helps. On bad days I call and schedule a same day delivery which costs a few extra dollars but is worth it. However trying to contact by phone can be quite a wait also. It sucks. Sad needs to open city run pharmacies so we don’t rely on private companies.
One WG in my hood doesn’t have external cameras at all because the parent company doesn’t authorize that *super minor and basic* expense and as a result goons just dump their garbage all around it day and night rather than there being a reportable, prosecutable case to make against them – because that literally requires video or a direct witness. So neighbors play the 311 whackamole game for decades now instead of actually addressing the problem, because WG doesn’t care. The manager expressed her exasperation with them in no uncertain terms. She cares, she wants to fix it and can’t because they do not at all. Just another cog. I can easily imagine people waiting hours in line to get their life-saving medications fall under similar laissez faire auspices.
Why on earth would you trust city employees with life-saving medication?
Just use amazon like everyone else, and get drugs delivered to your home. Pharmacies are so 20th century.
It’s a troll
So you trust amazon deliveries over actual pharmacies, and you’re bragging about that… may your packages go missing and your bragging subside.
There’s still one here? I hope it leaves soon. Walgreens’ well documented role in contributing to the opioid crisis leaves me with little to like about them.
I get kidney stones, the best combination for control of the pain is generic Percocet, which is oxycodone and acetaminophen. But because there were so many greedy drug addicts who abused their medication, I can’t get it any more. I’m punished and in pain because now they only give me non opiates which don’t work nearly as well. So I ‘m suffering because of loser drug addicts !
So you’re saying you share a drug of choice with other addicts and are upset that your concerns don’t trump everyone else’s problems…
The issue is then who will replace it. It fills a hyperlocal need albeit slowly.