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| The new Self Check-Out |
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| Food, groceries...lots of it |
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| Freezers, frozen foods, ice cream |
Among the many things that irk me in Hell's Kitchen, at the top of the list is the often slow as molasses service I frequently encounter at many businesses, as well as the painful "I couldn't give a crap" attitude which seems to be pervasive in many of them as well. Obviously this is not every business, and there are plenty of good, and many great businesses here for that matter (if you read this blog you will see just how many). However, one of my greatest frustrations is not at what I see, its that there is little recourse for doing anything about it, as complaining to a Manager in person, via phone, or via email (all of which I have done at various places over the years) usually yields a result of zero.
Though now I have this blog as a means to reach out...."Hell's Kitchen Life". SO there!
Anyway, the subject today is; CVS Pharmacy (Southwest Corner of 42nd Street & 10th Avenue).
This particular location opened up about 6 years ago, and sits at the base of the development where The Victory Apartment building is. When it first opened it was a great addition to the neighborhood, as we did not have a major Pharmacy anywhere on 10th or 11th avenues anywhere in the lower 40's and upper 30's.
I really do try to so hard to appreciate these kind of things, and usually I do, however, sometimes it is just short lived, as is the case with CVS.
Lets start with the good; the Pharmacy itself. I have used their pharamacy dozens of times over the years, and there is little to complain about. They are extremely busy, but the registered Pharmacists there always seem to know what they are doing, they are generally pleasant, and the Pharmacy Techs are usually pretty decent as well and about as pleasant as one could expect, being that it isn't a particularly fun or easy job from what I can gather, not to mention they are the ones who end up listening to everyone bitch, not the Pharmacists. Another point to note; I have had lots of different prescriptions filled there over the years (this is what happens after you turn 40, everything goes to shit...), and I can only recall them not having something there once or twice, and when that was the case, they either had it by the end of the day or the next day. Not bad.
The store always had a very crowded and awkward layout, but that I assume is due to the odd floor-plate, so there isn't much you can do about that. However, the one thing that consistently drives me insane, is waiting at the checkout. The store decided to go to 24 hours/7 Days (except the Pharmacy, which closes at 9pm) this past winter, and other than after 11pm, the store is usually very busy. That being said, you would think they would know this and staff accordingly/correctly, but they have not. I have waited for as long as 20 minutes on line, which is utterly ridiculous, and usually between the hours of 5pm - 8pm when everyone is getting home from work. At best there were two people behind the counter, and unfortunately there are one or two people who work behind the counter who are borderline brain dead, and who simply shouldn't be working behind any counter. Taking a full five minutes to check someone out with 5 items is just unacceptable and ridiculous. Sadly, those people still work there, and I had the pleasure of seeing one of their brainless blank stares just this morning. Again, this drives me insane.
So, whats the news? Well, see the pictures above, as it would appear that in the last two weeks CVS (at least this one) is transforming itself into a supermarket, as they have added a full grocery sections, as well as a full freezer section with frozen foods, ice cream, etc. The entire store was shifted, and everything moved around, and I would assume a variety of things eliminated, as there are a substantial amount of new food and grocery items, as well as the freezers, and what appears to be a fresh sandwich and salad area, though honestly, I will not be finding out - ever - whether or not CVS makes either good or fresh sandwiches. Sorry, I have to draw the line somewhere. None the less, its interesting that they are doing this, and being that Food Emporium closes between 11pm and Midnight, it is the only real choice other than a bodega late at night. They also have dairy and beer, which is another bright spot, particularly the beer.
Last but not least, they added several Self Check-out stations, and decreased the number of registers, which seems like a good idea, and perhaps their answer to being unable to attract the amount of quality register people they need. The Self Check-out is also staffed (all the time from what I can tell), with someone to assist you, so assuming you don't need something such as cigarettes from behind the counter, you can use it and get out a hell of a lot faster.
I hope this didn't bore you to tears as much as it did me, as this is perhaps the most unexciting and uninteresting thing I have written thus far, and perhaps the most difficult, that is other than trying to write 500+ words about Dunkin Donuts. Now THAT was not easy.
Anyhow, I give CVS a B+ for their Pharmacy, a B- for their service (it was a D-) pending further review of their new system, a B- for product selection (they don't have a lot of things, but the new layout isn't complete), and a C for their Staff overall. I will give them a B+ for trying something new, but it remains to be seen as to whether or not that something new is going to backfire and bite them in the ass. Only time will tell.
CVS Pharmacy
500 West 42nd Street (Southwest Corner of 10th Avenue)
NY, NY 10036
212.244.4285
www.cvs.com
