Vent: Boots prescription service

ikkleosu

I have been using the prescription collecting service from my local chemist for years. I have used both Lloyds and independent chemists and had no problems. They would get the prescription 2 days after i ordered it and I just went in and picked it up.

However, in December I moved and the nearest chemist to me is a local small Boots. I set up my prescription service with them but it's been so much trouble.

Whilst the other chemists I used collected the prescriptions from doctor's surgeries themselves, apparently Boots collects ALL the prescriptions for all branches of Boots in the town. Then they take them back to one chemist and distribute them to the local branches from their.

This means that it takes an extra day to arrive in my local chemist...if it ever does!

3 times now (in 8 months) my prescription has gone to the wrong branch of Boots! It is in the same street as the one I use and though this doesn't seem like much of a problem, I have M.E. and so have mobility issues. The Boots branch is quite a way down a very steep hill which I can't walk up, so it means I have to get a family member to collect the prescription for me - defeating the entire purpose of the collection service.

I want to write a complaint but I am not sure who to write to. Should I write to head office or the local branch?

Thanks for letting me vent.

pmduk

Are there no other pharmacies locally that will deliver to you? I'm fortunate enough to live close to my GP and the chemist so I prefer not to use these services, just to arrange my prescriptions for myself.

david39

I think it should be able to be sorted locally. Write to the branch rather than head office. Head office will probably take much longer to resolve it as there will be an internal investigation and it will still come back as a query to local level.

If, after that, it is not resolved to your satisfaction, that is the time to escalate it to a higher authority.

Have you tried telephoning and speaking to the local branch manager - that might sort it even more quickly.

chocolate.buttons

The repeat prescription service is important business for Boots stores so they will (or at least should) work hard to keep you happy. In my store, there is a great emphasis on signing customers up to this, and making sure that this is high priority in terms of service.
I would suggest contacting your local store rather than head office. The manager will be better placed to sort out your issue, and if you contacted customer care, they would most likely forward it on to the local manager anyway.

gary44

Loyalty is very important to a chemist - the example of the OP shows that unfortunately at times the service falls down. In my area however every store has a fax machine, and if this issue should happen, then we telephone the other stores in the area and get the prescription faxed over to us - there is no way we'd expect the patient to go to the next store to pick the medicine up.

Theres a big drive at the moment around customer care - i echo the advice already, OP you should contact the store manager (who may also be the pharmacist) and explain how you feel - i assure you theyll pull out all the stops

useless_git_requires_wife

I've had a similar problem with Boots.

I collect a regular prescription for a family member and started using my local Boots for the repeat prescription service a few months ago (no other chemist is close enough to make it worthwhile).

A veritable catalogue of errors and mistakes so far.