Duane Reade

The store itself is spaced out nicely, well lit & although not a large location, seems to carry a lot of product. I tried to use the pharmacy twice as it is very close to where I live. Unfortunately both times were awful due to a grumpy & unprofessional pharmacist (she’s the short, petite, older woman who many have spoke of in other posts). Both times there were issues with my insurance which she made me feel like it was my fault & was pissy towards me about it. I get it may be annoying to deal with insurance issues but A. It’s your job to let people know kindly if there is an issue & B. I never copped an attitude with her & was appreciative of her help. I’ve never experienced this kind of rudeness & unprofessionalism before in a pharmacy. The first time of my encounter with her I thought she was having a bad day, but no, this is her personality. I get working in a pharmacy is hard work but I was never demanding or angry & I know I’m not the only one, sadly, who has had this experience there. If you need to stay in the area, Duane Reade at 145^th, although small, very busy & often short staffed, has a pharmacy with helpful & kind people working there. Otherwise, hop on the train to 3 Columbus Circle at 57^th Street for a 24 hr incredible CVS pharmacy which I now go to all the time. Sad I can’t stay in the area & rely on my local pharmacy.
Bottom line: avoid this location of Duane Reade if using the pharmacy.

I mostly used this Duane Reade to fill my prescriptions.
I must say that the entire staff at this location is very friendly but Don’t You Dare go towards the pharmacy. There’s a short african american Older Female (shoulder length hair) within the pharmacy that have the desire to steal everyone’s joy, if you was to approach her with a question. It’s not hard for anyone to realize that she don’t like her job. At first, She had me feeling as I did something wrong by saying Good Afternoon but as I waited to receive my prescription, I notice that several people had the same complaint about this FEMALE.
In closing, I just want all of you to know that I’m not trying to be disrespectful towards this person by calling her a Female but I’m a true believer that the word LADY is a label that Must Be Earned !!!

The two people who work here (they are always always always EXTREMELY understaffed and there is always a huge line for checkout) are really helpful and friendly.

Generally the staff members are all very helpful and courteous. I still have yet to get any prescriptions filled at the pharmacy as there was always an issue. Now that Walgreens has taken over Duane Reade I havent made an attempt due to bad prior experiences.
Overall, a clean location with good hours, a nice beer selection and friendly, helpful staff.

Three words for this Duane Reade pharmacy… DON’T DO IT!
What ever you do, DO NOT fill your prescriptions at this Duane Reade as they will never have your prescription on hand and will need to «order» it.
Not to mention, the people working at this particular pharmacy are not the brightest. I’ve filled my prescriptions here numerous times and somehow always get the following from the dummy behind the counter «uhhhhhm, what is this?» Really? I don’t know, maybe her wig is on too tight.

They have to do something about the long line and only one register being open!

My local really great outpost of the chain I love to hate deserves some review love because it made me happy on a boo kind of day. I waited only 5 minutes to get my prescription filled sitting comfortably in a waitin’ chair and reading US weekly — which that day, on crutches, I really appreciated. Of hearty size, they have a really great food selection including Rao’s marinara, a great drinks selection, and lots and lots of snacks — which that day, on crutches, I really appreciated. Clean, well organized and stocked (even if the line situation is not the most bestest), the security guard held the door for me — which that day, on crutches, I really appreciated.
It weirds me out that there are areas of this city where three of four corners house the ubiquitous string of stores, but my Duane Reade makes life easy when I need it to, which is what a good drugstore is supposed to do — and which that day, on crutches, I really appreciated. 4 stars!

I probably should give them a five star but how do you five star a drug store? I think this is probably my favorite DR in the whole city… big, well stocked and hardly a wait. Organized, orderly… where am I?