CVS = CV Less Customer Service: Where Are the Caring Pharmacists in the Commercials?

According to Racher Press, Inc., in 1998 CVS Corp. rolled out a $65 million television advertising campaign positioning the drug chain as a builder of personalized relationships with the consumers and communities it serves. Since then, many Americans have seen CVS' "caring" commercials. Here is a commercial they have not seen.

A woman (me) is new in a big city. She manages to get a doctor to call in an "emergency" prescription for 90 much-needed painkillers to her nearest CVS pharmacy. She was a satisfied CVS customer at her former residence for over 20 years. So, the possibility of trouble never crosses her mind.

The woman waits a couple of hours. Then, she calls CVS to see if her prescription is ready. An unpleasant pharmacist barks, "Look, I can only give you 15 of these. Have your doctor mail us a written script. Then, we'll give you the other 75, but it'll take a couple of days and you'll just have to wait." The woman calculates quickly that at 3 pills per day she will be able to manage for 5 days. So, she says, "Okay." Little does she know that it will not be the least bit okay.

In a couple of days the woman calls CVS to inquire about her prescription. The response is, "Nope, try back tomorrow." Tomorrow becomes tomorrow and tomorrow. With each phone call the, what CVS calls, "techs" become ruder and ruder. They insist the doctor did not send the script. The woman calls her new doctor. He swears he mailed it. The woman has become the monkey in the middle of a doctor she just met and her pharmacy of many years. Does her pharmacy come to the rescue?

No, it does not and the day arrives when the woman is desperately trying to get around New York City without a painkiller to her name. She calls her "caring" CVS pharmacist for help and is told, "Look, we don't have the script, so we're not giving you anything. Now, that's the way it is." "GIVING...GIVING?" She was under the impression her insurance was paying. "Perhaps that's the problem?"

So, she asks, "How much is the script? I'll pay cash." The reply, "You CAN'T because YOU don't have a prescription!"