Rite Aid

A pretty typical Rite Aid, although somewhat larger than others in this area. It’s divided into two levels with a decent selection of grocery items on the front, higher level. A small selection of wines but a few premiums at competitive prices.
Stepping down to the level in back are the more typical drug store items.
Staff is friendly but not very efficient. The checkout lines move slow and there is no self-​checkout option.

The pharmacist Channa is absolutely fantastic and my favorite. She has a positive energy and is always so helpful! Everything in the store is well organized and they have a great selection of makeup. It’s in a very convenient location too since it’s right next to the metro. It can get a little busy but the lines move rather quickly! Again, pharmacy staff is absolutely fantastic.

What a great place to discover! Yeah it’s «Just a Rite Aid», but I love it! Part of the underground mall it’s right along the walking path. It’s a good –sized place with plenty to offer. Regular merchandise in the front, more cosmetics, health, drug store items in the back. Pharmacy looks huge. Saw a number of useful things that could be bought. It’s bright and clean and they sell wine, including $ 3 bottles at the start of the check-​out line. It’s also conveniently located off the Crystal City Metro stop so you (I) can hop off Metro and hop back on again. Love that!

This Rite Aid is located in the Crystal City underground shops. It’s nice and clean and located near the metro station. The employees have always been nice and patient when I’m shopping around the store. Yes, if you go during peak hours you will get a line but that’s anywhere you go.

The positive is when it’s cold or rainy I can get out of the train and walk the underground to get here. The negatives are the lack of self check out and the DMV style lines that seem to go on forever while a tourist argues over the price of a bottle of shampoo. Can I just give you the $.25 if you’ll shut your piehole and let us move on with our lives?
They’re friendly here but plan to wait… and wait… and wait to check out.

The pharmacy is clean and well organized. I was able to locate everything I needed quickly.

This store always has long lines with insufficient cashiers working. It’s poorly laid out too. Unfortunate, because it’s in a convenient location in Crystal city by the metro.

So I have been going to this Rite Aid for the past 3 years I have worked in Crystal City, and I realized I had never written a review on it! I used to be a hardcore CVS fan, and don’t get me wrong, I still love some CVS, but I have to say I really love this particular Rite Aid, especially since they recently remodeled/​renovated it and it looks fabulous. The pharmacy is great and speedy, and they know me by name since I have regular Rx I get filled here. Everyone I have encountered working anywhere in the store has been very friendly and helpful. I would sadly miss this place if I ever end up working somewhere else! Stop by and check out the remodel, they have really expanded several sections and everything looks much cleaner and more organized.

The staff receives no training whatsoever about the place they are working in and the things you can find there. If you have a specific question, be patient.

This location is usually pretty busy during the week (normal business hours) due to all of the Crystal City Metro traffic… but somehow they manage to move the lines rather quickly. Though, there have been a few occasions that I’ve gone in and the line was terribly long and they only had one cashier — that spells BUMMER!
The cosmetics section seems to always be picked over. Seemingly, most of the female patrons always need lipstick! Blah :-/​
The pharmacy is pretty efficient. I once had an acne medication that required a few different authorizations/​lots of red tape to go through prior to being able to pick it up. The female pharmacist here (can’t remember her name) was always on point! She called me to let me know when she had completed her part so that I could complete mine… and then called me back to let me know for sure that everything went through okay and was ready for pick up. Now THAT is good customer service! (applauds)
Convenient locations (near metro) makes it a breeze to run in and grab a quick snack, lip gloss, your Rx, etc… They also offer a few grocery products and other essentials at this location. I would only suggest that they insure the front counter is fully staffed during peak hours to keep the half mile long lines from forming!

It’s generally just a normal old pharmacy with a few added other things (some foodstuffs, art supplies, things like that) but…
The pharmacy is SO FAST. I gave them my Rx and they said 15 – 20 minutes. Five minutes later, they were done. This has NEVER happened in my life before. Generally, a pharmacy, especially during busy after work hours, says 30 minutes and it takes 35 – 40. The pharmacy staff was also very nice.
The foodstuffs I mention are crazy expensive and there’s a small selection. That sucks. (Lean Cuisines and whatnot)
Otherwise, bravo.

***This Rite Aid is located in the Crystal City Shops, which is right next to the metro station (it makes this a very convenient spot); I thought the prices felt reasonable, but that could just be the pricing difference between Los Angeles and Washington DC area Rite Aid stores; it is surprisingly big and the customer service was friendlier than what I have experienced at most chain pharmacy stores (the only place I can think of that had friendlier service was the CVS I went to in Austin, Texas)***
I am not sure what the parking situation is at Crystal City Shops. I am sure they have a parking structure or lot, but I do not know what they charge.

Well stocked, large, convenient. Overpriced, but always there when you need them, so that is the price for readiness.

This store is convenient if you are near or in the Crystal City underground. I became a regular customer about three years ago when I managed to somewhat seriously injure myself and needed a pharmacy near the office. I’m happy to say the pharmacy staff is wonderful and very helpful, somehow I usually get there when Annaliza is working the cash register and she is always so very nice and pleasant, plus she remembers my name (in all fairness, there for a while I was there a couple of times a week). The pharmacists are always willing to take time to answer your questions, even if you are inquiring about the interactions of taking more than one OTC item.
The store is generally well stocked and since it is in the underground it has a wide variety of inventory: cosmetics, paper products, soap, skin care, sanitary products, shaving stuff, deodorants and antiperspirants, hose, hair care, first aid stuff, vitamins and minerals, diet aids, home health care stuff, foot care items, dental care items, stationary, snacks, food stuffs, gift cards, alarm clocks, filters for your water pitcher, magazines, a seasonal aisle that has candy and décor items, and of course a cooler with everything from single bottled drinks to pints of ice cream.
A word of caution, this is the cheapest place in the underground to grab a bottled drink and some chips, therefore from 11AM to 1PM Monday-​Friday, there is ALWAYS a line; but the line usually moves well, and when it doesn’t, if you are paying attention, you’ll notice that one or two of your fellow shoppers is generally the bog in the line.

Never knew this rite aid was located here. We started going here because the people at pentagon city are kinda mean…
There is a huge selection and the cashiers are just excellent. They usually have items that are sold out at the other places when really good deals happen. You can park in the parking lot in the visitors area for free and just walk to rite aid. Its really convient.

Not a bad place to find the essentials or buy a beverage. Pharmacy is quick to respond to inquiries and retrieve meds.
Lines are minimal at best even during peak hours.

I once came in here buying a pregnancy test and a pack of cigarettes and wasn’t judged. To me, this is indicative of fabulous service.
Wide selection of products and they carry shit ton of sunscreen so by all means… go here if you need to avoid skin cancer!

WAR!
It is war with this Rite Aid. While I understand the convenience that my fellow Unilocaler below noted, what they have in convenience, they certainly lack in customer service and quality of store.
I feel that all the older people there are eternally bitter for having to be cashiers. They are rude, incompetent and certainly have no respect for the customers that provide them work. They have multiple cash registers and why they don’t utilize them, I don’t know.
The last time I was there was last week. It just so happens, this week was to be one of the more trying weeks in my transition to DC living. The line at the Rite Aid was unnecessarily long and the cashiers were moving extremely slow. By slow, I mean, I could have walked over to the personal hygiene aisle to rethink my ‘feminine product’ decisions, grab a candy bar, eat it, hide the evidence, grab some pringles and be back in line without having moved a person. It was ridiculous. When it was finally my turn, I got the cashier named Sunny.
SCENARIO:
Sunny: Hey (in a ‘Why the F*ck did you come to MY register’ tone)
Me: Hello.
–She Begins to scan my 3 items–
Sunny: Do you have a Wellness card?
Me: I have a phone number.
Sunny: (with snotty attitude) That’s why we take so long. Because we have to type in your number. Jesus.
Me: (voice raised, slightly irritated): I’m sorry, but isn’t that why having your phone number linked to the card? So that when a customer doesn’t have it, you can just take the 10 seconds to type it in?
Sunny: That’s why we take so long, because you people don’t have your card (yelling now)
Me: Are you always this rude to your customers?
At this point, Sunny, I’m guessing, realized that she had been extremely rude and decided that it was time to cool off. I, on the other hand, refused to let it go. I called for the manager. However, when I called for the manager, they sent over some tiny kid who was the shift supervisor. The kid wasn’t even helpful and didn’t really come up with any solution to the problem.
I’ve worked in customer service. I know people can be pricks and lines can get long. However, I knew that I needed to keep a cool head, get through the line and remember that the customer (no matter how pricky, f*cked up, or rude they are) should be treated with at least some respect. If you can’t do that, then don’t be a cashier who has to deal with people and ling lines all day. Move over for those that can actually get the job done, put up with people’s shit and know that they get a pay check at the end of their grueling 2 weeks.
If I’m too harsh, fine. Let’s just put it simply, if you can’t type in a 7 digit number without complaining to the actual customer about it, then you should probably not work at any place that requires that.
–Note: The name and character depictions are real. No one was protected in this particular review. (Unless, of course, they don’t wear their real names on their name tags.)

I had forgotten to bring a hairdryer for my trip and was able to stop in here to buy a travel one. Prices are always more expensive at Rite Aid but I know I’m paying for convenience. (Conveniently located next to the Metro underground) This store gets pretty busy because I had to wait in line with 5 other people, but service is pretty quick. The store closes at around 9pm.

Ok, by now, yall KNOW I love me some grocery stores and drugstores. This Rite Aid is a little of both thank you very much. And thank God its hidden in that rats maze of an underground called Crystal City. And thank God I get another FTR off of this lil spot.
It is super convenient for me. On the way into the office, I can zoom in there, snap up a fresh pair of stockings for the day and a Snapple. Or, if I’ve forgotten my lunch (and know I won’t have time to go out), I can get ANYTHING. A can of soup, crackers, again, a Snapple, a whole box of hot pockets, a pack of cupcakes or cookies, whateva! (This store has an EXTENSIVE grocery store collection.) After that, its just a short ride to the office on the 9S (see Unilocal).
Same thing on the way home. If I know I’m out of soap, I can grab my Lever 2k or Dove. If I need nail polish and a magazine, hey, this place has all your sundries all organized and neatly placed on the shelf. Sale tags are clearly displayed, too. Nice.
Why only 4 stars? Well, the line can get kind of backed up sometimes. Its at those times when the Rite Aid employees seem to be just hovering around not checking people out. Hop on over to the register buddy… Only kidding. Maybe that’s not their job. I just think it should be…
Anyway, I’m a fan of this Rite Aid.