Aaron didn’t want to be a jerk, but he also didn’t want to pay $5.79 for a twelve-pack of Dr Pepper when the sign on the store shelf clearly said that it was $5.19. Instead of overriding the price and acknowledging the store’s own sign, the cashier entered a battle of obstinate wills, from which there emerged no clear victor. [More]
CVS Doubles Down, Surpasses Rite Aid With 41" Receipt
By March 29, 2011
A mere twenty-one inch long receipt? CVS isn’t about to sit back and let competitor Rite Aid soak up all of the ridicule from the Internet for comically long receipts. No way. The retailer brought its A game when reader Chris stopped by recently to pick up some things for his upset stomach, showering him with a 41-inch long receipt consisting mostly of coupons for junk food, cosmetics, and vitamins. [More]
Caremark Switches My Prescription To Name-Brand For No Particular Reason
By March 24, 2011
Many people expressed surprise that drug retailer CVS is a participant in our Worst Company in America tournament. In addition to the everyday issues that a pharmacy/drugstore creates for consumers, though, CVS also owns prescription benefits administrator Caremark. Brandon is a Caremark customer who takes a venerable but still useful medication called Synthroid. He recently ran into a weird situation with his refill, where he was switched to the name-brand medication for no discernible reason. Twice. [More]
Worst Company In America Round One: CVS Vs. Johnson & Johnson
By March 22, 2011
Here’s an interesting battle between a drugstore chain and the drug company whose products line the chain’s shelves — or at least they used to before they were all recalled. [More]
At CVS, The Word 'Clearance' Is Essentially Meaningless
By March 15, 2011
Reader Juhgail noticed “clearance” tags on an item that she was planning to buy anyway. Since “clearance” nearly always also means “sale” in retail, it’s nice when that happens. Except in CVS’s reality vortex, “clearance” actually means “we stuck a shelf tag on it, but left it at the same price.” Makes sense.
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Here's Your Lineup For Worst Company In America 2011!
By March 14, 2011
For the sixth year in a row, we asked Consumerist readers to send us their nominations for our Worst Company In America tournament. And this year’s response was the greatest by far. [More]
I Do Not Appreciate Your Drug-Pushing Calls, CVS
By October 27, 2010
Josh used to get his prescriptions at CVS. He stopped when the company kept calling him, pushing more drugs, and refused to stop calling no matter who he asked. CVS seems to believe that they can annoy customers into purchasing more drugs. [More]
CVS Cashier Won't Sell Me Medicine For My Kid
By October 18, 2010
Valerie got some free parenting advice from a CVS cashier. She says that when she took her 1-year-old daughter in to get some Benadryl to sooth her rash, the cashier refused to sell it to her because it says on the bottle that the product is for kids 4 and older. Valerie says she’d already gotten the approval from the pediatrician. [More]
Should CVS Have Sold $21 Inhaler To Asthma Sufferer Who Only Had $20?
By October 15, 2010
A woman in New Jersey suffering from an asthma attack had to call a paramedic when her local CVS wouldn’t sell her a $21 inhaler for $20. [More]
Feds Make CVS Pay Out $77.6 Million For Not Monitoring Sale Of Meth Ingredients
By October 15, 2010
Federal prosecutors shook down CVS for $77.6 million because it did too little to stop meth-makers from hitting up its stores for ingredients. [More]
FDA Does Spit-Take Over Mouthwash Labels Saying They Fight Gum Disease
By September 29, 2010
The FDA just smacked the taste out of the mouths of Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens and CVS over advertising that their mouthwash fights gum disease, without having science to prove it. [More]
CVS Knows Babies And Sleep Don't Mix
By August 19, 2010
Catherine spotted this convenient setup at her CVS, saving sleep-deprived parents the need to go zombie-strolling into the pharmacy to pick up some sleeping pills and diapers in one fell swoop. [More]
CVS Stores To Get Redbox Kiosks
By August 5, 2010
In an attempt to spread their retail footprint even further, Redbox has made a deal with pharmacy chain CVS to begin rolling out their video rental kiosks at stores across the country. [More]
Netflix Is Fine With No Saturday Mail Delivery; Amazon, Not So Much
By June 24, 2010
When we first wrote about the US Postal Service’s plan to put an end to Saturday deliveries, only 35% of the 7,000 readers polled thought it would be a hassle to their way of life. However, many commenters wanted to know what this would mean for deliveries of their precious Netflix DVDs. Yesterday, they got their answer. [More]
NYC CVS Caught Dumping Old Prescriptions On Sidewalk
By June 13, 2010
One would think that, after paying out over $2 million in 2009 for improperly disposing customers’ prescription info, CVS would have a tighter lid on how they handle this sensitive information. If so, someone at a CVS pharmacy in Manhattan didn’t get the news. [More]
CVS Misprices Meds, Offers Refunds If You Say Please
By May 28, 2010
When CVS discovered that prices listed for brand-name drugs on its SilverScript Medicare site were mistakenly displayed at about 4% less than the drugs were actually being sold for, the company quickly fixed the glitch, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. But what happened to customers who saw the “low” prices and ended up paying more at retail? According to The Journal, CVS cut a deal with the government, allowing the company to offer refunds only to customers who asked for them. CVS then sent letters to the customers that said they could call and discuss “your options,” and made no mention of the possibility of a refund. [More]
CVS Employee Strangles Shoplifter
By May 10, 2010
A CVS employee in Chicago chased a 35-year-old shoplifter out of his store and held him in a chokehold for “several minutes” on Saturday morning until police came. The thief–who had stolen tubes of toothpaste–was taken to a hospital and initially described as in “fair-to-serious” condition, but then declared dead about 45 minutes later, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The death is being ruled an accidental homicide, and the police aren’t going to press charges against the employee. [More]
CVS Is Charging $.20 For This Free Toothbrush & Tongue "Scrapper"
By April 7, 2010
Consumerist reader Dan recently went to his local CVS to score some toothpaste when he noticed that the store was offering two versions of the same 6-oz. tube of extra whitening, maximum strength, sensitive toothpaste. One was just the toothpaste while the other came with a free toothbrush… And then he looked at the price tags. [More]
