I can't get my prescription...

I am narcoleptic.  No, I do not fall asleep uncontrollably, but I am ALWAYS tired.  At any given time throughout the day, I feel like I could take a 2-3 hour nap…or just go back to bed for the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, that doesn't bode well to being an "adult” and having a career.  So I take medicine twice a day in attempt to feel somewhat awake.  I have taken it for years, and always gotten it filled at the CVS closest to me, for convenience.  But not anymore!  

I called CVS today in an attempt to get my prescription filled, as I do every month, because it cannot be “refilled”, but rather I have to have a paper prescription (which I have on file) because of federal regulations.  The pharmacist came back and said that they do not have any in stock and will not until 4 days from now.  FOUR DAYS without the prescription I take twice daily.  The thought alone makes me tired, and I have already taken both doses today!  But that’s ok…I can just go to a different location to get it filled, right?  So I asked him where I could go.  The pharmacist went on to inform me that he could not even tell me any other locations that DO have the medication in stock, due to the company policy. 

But I figured-hey-maybe if I call the customer service number, they can provide customer service and tell me what location of the same store I could go.  Now, keep in mind, I get this prescription filled every month and have for YEARS.  I already would have thought the pharmacy would have it in stock, but apparently they thought I could go a month without it?   So I called customer service, pushed all the appropriate numbers, excited to talk to some recent college grad in another country who read from a script.  Then the customer service representative, who actually sounded like she was in my country, to my surprise, repeated the same thing the pharmacist said.  So I asked to speak with her supervisor.  I thought maybe the supervisor had some authority.  Nope.  I thought wrong.  I heard the same script.

At this point, I was not only tired, but I was also hungry after spending the better part of an hour calling multiple phone numbers to get a prescription filled.  The hanger kicked in full force as I decided I was leaving CVS!  But I wanted to make a statement!  I looked up the contact information for the CEO of CVS, Larry J. Merlo, so I could email him and let him know he is losing a customer.  A a side note, I found out that in 2013, he made $12,112,603-422 times as much as  the average CVS employee.  But back to my story....no, I do not think he will ever read the email, but it certainly would make me feel better!  So I looked up his contact information, found some website that had it listed (http://ceoemail.com) and to my surprise, there was also a phone number!  Of COURSE I called the number, knowing I would not reach him, and sure enough, I got an assistant who transferred me to another assistant who repeated that this was their policy.  I let her know that I wanted Mr. Merlo to know they were losing a customer due to their policy.  I also let her know that policies could be broken if anyone at the company actually cared about customer service.

I thought “Boy, I am gonna tell that CEO off in my email!”.  But I clicked on some link on that website that explained how to address a CEO.  It said to compliment them first.  So I did, then I tried to diplomatically give him the middle finger in writing. 

I am sure I will never hear from Mr. Merlo, and I am quite sure he will never feel the impact of losing me as a customer.  I feel slightly better after emailing him, but I’m tired.  I think I’ll take a nap.

Mr. Merlo,

I would like to start out by saying how wonderful CVS has been over the years in providing my various prescription medicines each month.  I built a great rapport with the staff years ago, and I always appreciate their courtesy and professionalism.  I have noticed things changing in personnel within the past year or two, and the replacements have been people who are not customer-oriented and not very helpful.  However, the convenience outweighed the unhappy, short-tempered staff.  I understand that since you are the CEO, you have bigger issues to deal with than one customer, but I am not sure what else to do.

I get multiple prescriptions filled each month at CVS, spending thousands of dollars a month there and have been for 8-10 years.  I just found out I cannot get one of my daily prescriptions filled at all for 4 days because of CVS policies.  I understand there are laws governing a prescription I need, Adderall, therefore my normal pharmacy does not have it in stock.  However, the pharmacist also informed me that due to CVS’ policy, he cannot tell me another location of CVS where I could go to get it filled.  This is not due to the software not telling them, or any kind of law-this is a CVS policy.  I then called Customer Service, hoping maybe they had the ability to provide, well, customer service.  Unfortunately, the customer service representative and her supervisor repeated the same thing…that they are not allowed to tell me a different location where I can go to get the prescription I have been taking twice a day every day for years, filled at the same CVS, due to CVS loss and prevention policies. 

Again, I know you have other issues to deal with, but what would you do in this situation?  The only thing I see to do is leave CVS for another pharmacy where the personnel is customer-driven and where they will have medicine in stock.  I am planning to now leave CVS and take my business to the Costco near me.  Prescriptions are cheaper at Costco anyway, so all I am losing is the convenience, which no longer exists, considering it is very inconvenient to not be able to get the medicine I need OR be provided a location where I can get it.  And because of  the huge lack of customer service, I plan to air all my opinions on my various social media outlets (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, my own blog, and my radio station) about how unhappy I am AND about how I now have to wait 4 days to get prescription I NEED twice a day…because of your policies.  I thought you should be aware that you are losing customers and will continue to lose more with the current climate and policies at CVS. 

Your former loyal customer,

Amanda Kinney

***UPDATE***

I called CVS again the next day to ask if I could just get the generic of my medicine, and the Pharmacy Manager said she had actually just gotten off the phone with her boss and was about to call me.  Apparently my complaints somehow trickled down and did the trick, because the pharmacist called the closest store, which had the prescription, so I was able to go get it immediately after getting off the phone with the pharmacist.  AND they have changed their policy so that if they are out of medicine, they will call around until they find a store that has the medicine.  You're welcome, neighbors who use my CVS!  :)  Also, I have not received any correspondence from Mr. Merlo yet, but I am still positive he's going to reach out to me.  Not.