Duane Reade

Location was convenient, but was a bad day for this store as they had no air conditioning. You would think, however, the staff would know how to manage the issue and would do their best to get customers in and out.
Not only was the wait long (there were only 2 cashiers & one only took cc’s) the cashiers who were working were rude and slower than molasses.
One employee standing by the door was too busy having a personal conversation that he never offered help, nor could I get his attention to ask for help.
There are so many Duane Reade’s in the city, I would take any one over this one. I’ll never step foot in this store again!

Stopped in here to re-​supply on toiletries. The folks at the Hyatt Times Square on W 45^th where I was staying recommended this place.
I wandered around for about 10 minutes scouring the shelves for toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental floss — and could not find it. Then I noticed there is a second, upstairs level — with an escalator! First time I’ve been in a drug store with an escalator! I then immediately found what I was looking for — took it back downstairs, and got rung up!
Less than a 5 minute walk from my hotel.

I spoke with Diana (Pharmacist) before I walked over from my building which is literally 2 mins. I told her my symptoms over the phone and suggested a few brands to help with my bad case of motion sickness.
Minutes passed until I gained some energy to walk over. I asked for Diana on the second floor where the Pharmacy is located. She told me to take Wal-​Dram 2 for my severe motion sickness and drink Gatorade to gain by electrolytes (suggested the lemon flavor). I brought a box of White Cheddar Cheez-​IT as its going to be my lunch because I might end up throwing actual food.

Rather strange experience here — first off, there is no way to get up and down (it’s two floors) without using the escalator. This means that if the escalator is broken (as it was today), everyone has to climb it… how can there be no stairs? Weird. Then when you get upstairs it is clear that they moved the aisles around but at first it looks like there is a sign saying what is in the aisle but nothing there/​underneath (of course this was the aisle that I was looking for). Also, their prices are super high… not competitive at all. Though they have a well stocked beauty section, the food section is pretty sparse… this is the type of duane reade that you run to for an emergency (ex: a run in your stockings) otherwise skip this location and if you must use Duane Reade, go to 48^th street (2 blocks away).

Ridiculously long lines. There are about 5 registers but 2 store associates at any time. For the busiest city in the country, this is not acceptable.

I just go here because it’s across the street from my office. Sometimes I just want a snack or a pick-​me-​up (aka 5 Hour Energy or Red Bull), and want to rush back to work. The lines are almost always long, and usually it’s because many of the cashiers are rude and work slowly (not sure if the speed is an issue of poor training). I witnessed one cashier arguing with a customer about pricing on items that were not ringing up as advertised, and she refused to look into it (while the line continued to get longer and longer). He had to get to work so he gave up eventually, which is NOT how a business should be run.
The snack selection fits my needs as does the convenience of its location to my office, so those are the only things keeping me a shopper of this location.

I stop at this store a few times a month on average, between 10 – 11 pm. It’s a convenient last stop before I get into GCS .
The staff there is so unbelievably apathetic and incredibly SLOW…
The boldness of their apathy and laziness is incredibly rude and frustrating.
I need to stop anywhere else and you should too. 3 years of this bad habit has warned you !

I’m not particular clear who would need or have use for a review for Duane Reade locations. Perhaps if you’re out of town in NYC and need to find a comfortable, friendly Duane Reade location you might consider perusing reviews of the various locations, although to be efficient I found the store at 86^th and York has a manager who is really friendly, helpful and considerate, and being that most Duane Reade locations don’t know the meaning of these terms — friendly, helpful, considerate — that is saying something. However, per convenience, this particular location is huge — two floors, escalators, a greeting card section, a decent medical/​pharmaceutical section, cleaning products, and lots of food/​snack items scattered around the various aisles make this a disposable income waster’s dream.
The store staff seem to be more interested in not paying any attention to the variety of tourists that seemingly populate this store (5^th Avenue in the 40’s) — which I completely understand — but the staff seems to apply this notable apathy to everything they do and everyone in their path. So this seems more typical a Duane Reade location than an atypical one.
In either case, it’s convenient to my office and I’ve visited here far more than I care to and purchased far more here than I’d intended.

I wish half the staff did not have such a nasty attitude. I must say for the most part it’s the pharmacy department. There is a drug store that will deliver and has great customer service skills. That would be Gideon’s Drugs 212−575−6868. It’s unfortunate that one bad apple can spoil the whole tree. I hope a corporate HR rep reads this and decides to read all the other reviews I see relating to the pharmacy department. That’s a damn shame.

Quick stop to pick up a couple of items. This is an older store, and most of the downstairs is drugstore stock rather than food like in the remodeled stores.
However, the shelves were stocked, I got what I needed and the line was long but it moved very quickly.
I agree the prices are high here, especially for contact lens solution. But that’s my fault for having bad eyes.

Open late and on every corner.

So, I’m usually 100% against Duane Reade stores. I’m a CVS girl. I think these stores are over-​priced and usually are packed, understocked, etc. But this weekend I succumbed to convince and popped in. Granted, it was 7:30 on a Saturday night, but this store was organized, empty and the girl at the register was SO nice. Like, the nicest register girl I’ve ever seen in this city. I got their rewards card and saved .50 cents. If presented with a drugstore option, I will always pick CVS. but I guess this is a decent substitute in a pinch.

Ugh.

Typical Duane Reade. Overpriced because… look around you.
Lines can get crazy long almost any time of day, but especially early afternoon.
Employees can be SO slow. Most are pretty pleasant, but there is one woman behind the pharmacy desk who is quite nasty and will actually make judgemental tsk noises and give you a look when you’re buying more «intimate» items. Also, my friend was getting a prescription filled once from her, and, no joke, she had to repeat her zip code about 7 times.
But the slowness is what really gets me sometimes. Like, things will be bagged and you have to ball your hands into fists to keep from just grabbing the bag and doing it yourself.
Overall though, it’s a decent two-​story Duane Reade with a good selection of… anything! I really like the grocer section for quick food runs, and the prepared food isn’t half-​bad either.

I am a regular at this store. The store location is convenient since it’s around the corner of my office.
I always got my prescriptions filled here and never got any problem: They are always on time and helpful at the pharmacy upstair. Actually one time when my refill expired, the pharmacist called the doctor for a renewal for me.
They also provide flu shots. The line was not long when I came for the shot a few weeks ago.

I’m sorry to the people who have had bad experiences here but I’ve never had a problem filling prescriptions at the pharmacy. I usually drop it off on my lunch break and come back after work or the next day.
As for the rest of the store, they are pretty well stocked. I always find what I am looking for or a close replacement. But good luck to you if you every need help when you’re walking around because it is very hard to find an employee on the floor.
Also, try to avoid going here around 12pm-​2pm. The lines are always long.

Located nearby our hotel, I had to stop by here to pick up some tablets for my roommate. While they were out of her medicine, and an assortment of other things, I did come across a valuable find: Kooshyfeet.
Kooshyfeet are no-​show dress socks for ladies’ wedge shoes. Having walked all over Manhattan on our first day, I was definitely in need of some padding for my peds. Unlike other similar styles, Kooshyfeet actually stay on, and don’t slip off the heel while walking. They also have a cushion in the ball of the foot for extra support. Each comes in black, white or beige. I’ve only found Kooshyfeet at Duane Reade, even after returning home from vacation.

My review is for the pharmacy at this Duane Reade. The rest of the store I find pleasurable but I don’t care if my arm is falling off I will NEVER bring a prescription here ever again. This is a convenient place because it’s right around the corner from my office but the service is HORRIBLE and the Asian pharmacist there is not helpful and extremely rude.
I went to drop off a prescription one day and since there was a long line at the counter I tried to leave it with the pharmacist. She told me I couldn’t leave it with her and had to give it to the guy at the register. I find this interesting considering it’s her job is to take prescriptions and fill them for people. I had to go wait in an extremely long line of people when all she had to do was take two seconds to ask my last name and write my birthday on the prescription.
I come back an hour later to pick up my prescription and they don’t have my information in the system. Mind you I’ve been to Duane Reade before and you’d think that my information is saved somewhere. The counter guy insists I’m no longer covered under my insurance and it takes them about 20 minutes to correct it. I leave at this point pissed and swear I’m never going here again.
Once bitten twice scorned, the second time I went to this pharmacy luckily there wasn’t a wait so I was able to drop off my prescription with the guy at the counter since I know now that this Pharmacist thinks she’s above taking prescriptions from people. I come back an hour later to pick it up and again… I’m not covered under my insurance. Funny because that’s exactly what happened last time and why in the world wasn’t my information saved? So I stand there for another 30 minutes… yes 30 minutes to get this fixed.
In the meantime I ask the counter guy why my information isn’t saving in the system and not only does he completely ignore my question, he walks away and stands in the doorway waiting for my prescription to come up so he doesn’t have to answer. Finally I get what I’m waiting for and tell myself for real this time that I will never come back here again.
The Duane Reade by my apartment in Astoria has the best pharmacists and best customer service. This pharmacy should go take a lesson from them.

My go-​to-​place for anything and everything. It’s convenient. I had picked up items like cosmetics, household items, contact solution, vitamins, bottled water, pharmacy Rx, socks, shampoo, chocolates, birthday cards, chewing gum, drinks, umbrellas, paper plates, etc… You name it, they should have it all.
This location is brighter and a bit more organized to some extent. The lines get pretty hectic during lunch and after work hours. The pharmacy is pretty prompt, organized, and professional. Any problems they would call you and even try to contact the doctor to remedy any discrepancies with the prescription. I find this very helpful. The cashiers are pretty much the same at most locations… either slow or snail slow.
Don’t forget to sign up for a DR club card (no cost to you). After you accumulated 100 points, you get a printed $ 5 coupon to use on your next purchase.