Duane Reade

I’m giving this store 4 stars based on the experiences I have had with the pharmacy staff. They are very nice, very helpful. They’re never bothered by my questions or having to call the doctor for refills. Even the few times my son’s asthma meds ran out early, they worked with us to get him enough to get by until his next refill. CVS never did that for us.
The rest of the store is overpriced compared to the other big name pharmacies in the area. But they do have the best selection of makeup.

I’m always really thrown off by the immense clearance section in this place. I mean I’m all for reduced price things, but I’m not down for cold medicine that is 75% off — probably because it is going to or has already expired. Otherwise this place is your standard, Duane Reade — but one thing I must note is that you cannot get cashback at their registers — that’s the only reason I stay away from this place! I want the option to get cash back people!!!

i spoke to a lady in pharmacy over the phone, veronique. she said they didnt have the drug in stock, but she was sweet and pulled up other pharmacies in the area which had the drug i needed. 5 minutes later i was able to confirm it’s availability, thanks to her swift and efficient help

I’ve been patronizing this Duane Reade maybe once every 2 months for a couple of years now. The store itself has been rebranded and has a much more updated appearance. The only reason I’m giving 2 stars is the customer service. Or should I say LACK of customer service?
I can’t review the Pharmacy, since I’ve never dealt with them. But I’ve heard them interact with customers and they are very pleasant, make small talk, etc. Now, the cashiers up front? That’s a whole different story. I really should say one cashier; the other ones that I rarely see are pretty friendly for the most part. That being said…
I generally end up going to this store when there is one particular cashier working. She is definitely the rudest cashier I have ever met. Or maybe she just doesn’t like me? I don’t know. She pretty much acts like either don’t exist, or I’m interrupting her just staring into space or picking at her nails. Or exchange goes like this every time:
Me: Hello.
Her: (silent)
Her: (rings up my stuff. Doesn’t even say how much the total is. Doesn’t ask if I have a Duane Reade savings card.
Me: (pays money)
Her: (Takes money, gives me change/​reciept and puts it on the table, even though my hand is out to take it).
Me: Have a nice day.
Her: (silent)
(sometimes I’ll even get an eyeroll or two to go with that oh so lovely attitude of hers).
What’s bad is, I actually attempt to be rude right back by not greeting her. Not saying please/​thank you. Not telling her to have a nice day. But I can’t. I’m just a polite ass person.
Or a sucker. Lol

Its clean, the pharmacy is great. very helpful pharmacists. The price is more than cvs or harmons. so not so content wiith that b/​they always have new and different products that other drug stores would not carry.

This review is mainly about the pharmacy part of the store.
There are two employees who are just about always there — an African American gentleman who I believe is the pharmacist, and a Caucasian woman with an accent who may be a pharmacy tech. They are both completely wonderful, and are the best pharmacy folk I’ve ever dealt with. They’re knowledgeable, sweet, efficient and accommodating. Even if you have a weird insurance issue, they will work with you until it’s fixed. 5+ stars to these two.
The rest of the store brought their stellar performance score down a bit… it’s overpriced and the rest of the staff tends to be a bit lazy. If you’re not familiar with the parking lot, be forewarned that it’s a pain at peak hours. You can walk a couple doors down and get a coffee at the Starbucks while you wait for your prescriptions though.

An employee picked a fight with me. I went there to return something and he did not want to help me. He acted like I was interrupting him while he was too busy talking to one of the other employees. He called the manager over the loud speaker to process my return. After minutes went by, I asked him if he had called him to help me and his response was, «You heard me. You were standing right there». I am not confrontational but I couldn’t help but tell him how great his customer service skills were. He made a snarky remark back. When the manager finally came to help me I told him that I’m in the business of customer service and I understand what good customer service skills were. The employee proceeded to argue with me! The manager said he would speak to him. I haven’t seen him there since which means maybe they did something about it and probably that I’m not the only one who was graced with his presence. The Duane Reade CEO should consider being on «Undercover Boss» because this is the perfect location to start.