r/mildlyinfuriating • u/BaxterRye • 16h ago
I just wanted a hot dog CVS wouldn’t just let me leave
Bought of few bottles for the family to drink for Labor Day and could not get the heck out of this CVS.
Cashier tells me the total and I say, “Oh, did you ring this one up too?” Indicating a bottle she had not rung up or bagged. A large bottle. The largest one, in fact.
She cancels transaction and restarts.
Bags the bottles, but had not rung up a totally different bottle. Cancel, begin again.
Now we have it all. I pay and gather to leave before realizing the Patron, which you get off the shelf as an empty box, then the cashier switches it behind the counter for a box with an actual bottle within—yea, box was still the empty one and cashier had walked off. I wait, she has to pull up the receipt to make sure she rung it up, then gives me the proper box.
At last I’m on my way out when the door sensors go off. Another cashier says, “It acts up sometimes, you’re fine!” So I carry on.
Upon getting to my car I see the cashier had left a security topper on a bottle, like the anti-theft tags on clothes, making it impossible to open. Back inside I went. No cashier in sight, so I wait around five minutes for someone to fix it.
I’m not exaggerating that I have never experienced time move so very slowly as it did today.
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u/daverosstheboss 15h ago
CVS has the worst liquor prices, and horrible customer service. I never buy anything at CVS if I can avoid it.
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u/uber765 15h ago
CVS is literally only worth going in for buying one item with the 40% off coupon they send me once a month. Even with the coupon, that one item is barely cheaper than anywhere else I can buy it.
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u/daverosstheboss 14h ago
And the hassle of going to CVS negates whatever minimal savings the coupon may offer. Taking an extra trip to one of the worst retail environments in the US, I'd rather pay an extra $5 and get that item somewhere I normally shop like Costco or the regular grocery store.
At a certain point the stress of going to a place like dollar general or CVS isn't worth it, I'd rather spend my money at a place that actually offers customer service.
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u/ImTheTroutman 14h ago
It’s just a pharmacy and for hygiene and health products. No reason for anyone to go there thinking it’s a grocery store.
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u/Simple-Assistant5303 12h ago
Liquor at CVS -- not a concept we know here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as far as I know.
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u/tiedye62 8h ago
Alabama, either, you can get beer and wine at pharmacies and supermarkets in Alabama, but you have to go to package stores with an ABC license to get alcohol beverages that are stronger than 15 percent.
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u/csfungirl03 7h ago
Same in PA.
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u/nevbeen 5h ago
Plus 18% were still paying for the 1936 Johnstown flood.
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u/csfungirl03 5h ago
I know!! It is the worst. And, in Allegheny Co., we also have a 7% drink tax on alcohol when you go out to bars, restaurants, etc.
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u/Dettawalker_19 1h ago
Same. I’m sitting here wondering what CVS stands for because I couldn’t imagine our CVS stores selling liquor. I’m in Florida.
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u/Emekfl 12h ago
If you regularly use cvs for your meds you more than likely have the app. If you have the app the prices for cvs brand items are in line with other store brand goods, maybe a bit more expensive but you have the convenience of getting everything while you make a stop to get your meds which is not an optional stop. Thats the business model.
In terms of liquor yeah dunno that always surprised me. Talking to a coworker who used to work in the stores she mentioned other stores would buy their liquor because they would run out and then cvs is open later than most stores in most parts of the country so they are bound to get sales
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u/daverosstheboss 12h ago
Yeah I don't have meds that I am regularly prescribed to. Maybe once per year I go to CVS for cold medicine or a prescription if one of the kids needs antibiotics, and it's always a horrible experience. Even their pharmacy is bad customer service.
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u/Ten_Quilts_Deep 16h ago
It comes down to who wants to work at CVS and do they get any training.
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u/Any_Fix_3534 10h ago
I had over a decade of experience when I worked at RiteAid and it didn’t make a difference since I was working alone
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u/shakeyshake1 9h ago
I worked there as a cashier many years ago when I was maybe 18 or 19. They didn’t really train me. I mean someone showed me how to use the register and that was it.
My coworkers were much older than me and it was glaringly obvious to me that there was a reason they worked there instead of somewhere better. The smartest of them worked there because his license was suspended and it was within walking distance of his house.
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u/iwtfbadl 15h ago
And how long did it take for the receipt to print?
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u/BaxterRye 15h ago
I actually get the digital ones now so they’re just emailed. Honestly, kind of a bummer since the mile-long receipts were always laugh
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u/CaptainAmeriZa 16h ago
Alcohol from CVS? Not by me
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u/Crafty-Koshka 16h ago
Different states have different rules of where they can retail sell alcohol. In NYS only beer and "malt beverages" can be sold in grocery stores. Wine and liquor are only sold in liquor stores, and liquor stores can't sell beer. In North Carolina grocery stores can sell beer and wine and only liquor (and maybe wine too actually) can be sold in liquor stores. OP must live somewhere that any grocery store can sell any alcoholic drink
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u/A_Wholesome_Comment 15h ago
NV here. There are absolutely no fucking rules of who can sell what at what time of day, night, or witching hour.
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u/iheartnjdevils 15h ago
In NJ, you can only buy alcohol at a liquor store (beer, wine, spirits, etc.). It was wild the first time I saw beer in the fridge at a gas station when I left the state.
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u/EeveeMkayy 14h ago
My city has a dry area where no alcohol can be sold, but it's surrounded by the rest of the city where alcohol is sold (except on Sundays). Grocery stores can sell beer and wine, but only liquor stores can sell liquor. It's weird.
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u/curlyben 13h ago
& then there's NH, where all sales about 6% ABV are by state controlled vendors, a little unexpected for the "live free or die" state, though with the bonus that there's no alcohol tax since the state uses those profits for related public programs ig
conversely, in hawaii the cvs wine & liquor clearances are insanely good
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u/Whoppertino 15h ago
Liquor stores in NYS can't sell anything except wine or liquor. They sell wine openers/wine accessories sometimes but every once and a while the state will come in an make a problem out of it.
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u/thismightendme 9h ago
And no mixers, chasers, even water at the liquor/wine stores.
But in TX liquor stores are closed on Sundays, but you can buy wine at CVS (like real wine).
Utah is an absolute mess.
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u/GkSanchez 12h ago
"In NYS only beer and "malt beverages" can be sold in grocery stores. Wine and liquor are only sold in liquor stores, and liquor stores can't sell beer."
Literally not true, either a bot hallucinating or this dude just goes on the internet to tell lies.
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u/thismightendme 9h ago
Idk, this seems mostly true. If above a certain ABV, it is in one store, if below it’s in another. I do see beer, malt, and low abv wine in the grocery and delis.
When in less busy parts of the city, etc. they have two buildings next to each other to separate legally what they can sell.
Caveat is I never have gone into the beer store, but the liquor store can’t sell anything else. Water, nope. Mixers, nope. They even get in trouble for cork screws if they got on someone’s list.
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u/BaxterRye 16h ago
Oh yea they have wine and hard liquor at the one right by my apartment. It’s not the best prices but it’s extremely convenient when I need a couple bottles and would rather drive three minutes than ten
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u/pierre_x10 15h ago
It's almost like it can depend on different liquor laws in different states.
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u/Historical-Mix3860 15h ago
Buy your liquor at Walmart, Costco Kroger
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u/_1109 14h ago
unless you live in one of the states that doesn't allow those stores to sell liquor...
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u/Historical-Mix3860 10h ago
Hard to imagine a State government telling adults when and where to buy alcohol. Most of the western states have more freedom
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u/pierre_x10 8h ago
It's almost like there's 50 different state governments, with 50 different sets of laws
Hard to imagine a State government telling adults when and where to buy alcohol.
Must have failed your U.S. History, go look up the term Prohibition
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u/djdaedalus42 13h ago
I’ve seen liquor on the drugstore shelf in Kentucky. I bet this is where OP lives.
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u/soswinglifeaway 14h ago
Why would they cancel the whole transaction because they forgot to ring something up instead of just… adding it on??
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u/alwayssoupy 15h ago
A long time ago, we moved to Southern CA from a place that didn't have CVS yet. I wish I had saved it, because the receipt I got from my first visit had printed across the top: "CVS. Ask us if we care."
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u/strange1738 15h ago
CVS is fucking dog shit. I miss Rite Aid
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u/Igoos99 13h ago
Rite aid was no better before it went under.
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u/strange1738 13h ago
When I went to Rite Aid I was in and out in 2 minutes. CVS lines are ridiculous and 90% of the time they don’t autofill my prescriptions. They’ll say it’s ready and then boom I get there and they look at me all confused
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u/eatingganesha 14h ago
yeah, CVS is going under.
I say this as someone who grew up in the small town in RI where they started and are still based. That company is shutting down slowly and painfully. They over invested in their Minute Clinics, which never took off, and then got caught up in a ‘pharmacy benefits manager over charging insurance’ scandal. They are toast.
Best to start moving your scripts and finding another go to convenience store.
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u/jamieschmidt 10h ago
CVS is the only pharmacy left in my area. Not sure what we would do if they go under
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u/deanbb30 15h ago
Look on the bright side: you now have a 36" receipt that I'm sure can be put to some good use to make the world a better place.
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u/YouHadMeAtDisgusting 14h ago
Fun fact: CVS generates enough receipts annually to circle the globe 12 times /s
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u/FloatOldGoat 14h ago
Cvs and Walgreens receipts are legendary. I swear, every register must use 5 rolls of receipt paper, every day.
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u/IrSpartacus 8h ago
Man, one day I went to Home Depot to buy a ton of lumber. Well a ton for me, it would have been around $200. It was a couple sheets of 3/4 inch plywood, 2x4s, and some blots and a box of screws. Went to check out and the computer crashed. They sent me over to another register and it did the same thing. At this point I have been trying to check out for 15 minutes. They finally have me go to self checkout where another worker scanned all my items instead of the receipt they printed out. Well the worker didn’t scan everything correctly and it came out to about $45. I didn’t even correct them, just paid and left.
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u/Routine-Weather-4044 13h ago
Wait, so CVS cares so much about the health and well-being of their customers that they sell alcohol?? isn't it supposed to be a healthcare company? 🤪
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u/crab-rangoon-whore 9h ago
Ex employee here. Don’t shop there if you can’t avoid it, especially for liquor. They periodically hike up prices by ~10 cent intervals every couple months, and the coupons you get don’t make up the difference you’d spend shopping somewhere else, unless you save up an insane amount and use them all at once.
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u/thiccdickricky 7h ago
Buying alcohol at CVS is a choice
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u/BaxterRye 6h ago
It’s barely two minutes from my house whereas the nearest liquor store or grocery is around ten minutes away…convenient when I need to run out a grab a couple of things
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u/la_doctora 14h ago
Today I learned americans buy their liquor at the pharmacy. What a strange world.
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u/NamasteNoodle 13h ago
CVS is gone downhill so badly in the last seven or eight years and I don't even bother walking in anymore. The one near me has half empty shelves and you can rarely find an employee. I went in one time and there was one person on the register and the person that I knew was the manager was standing nearby in the photography department but she was on her iphone. I had a question about photo development but I could not get this woman's attention. It's obvious it wasn't a work call because she was seem to be having an argument with someone and 10 minutes later I was still standing there waiting and she would not meet my eye.
So when I got home I called store and ask to speak to the manager. I knew it was her because I recognize her voice. She told me the manager isn't in. I explained to her that I was just there and that I'd seen the manager and I needed to speak to someone in charge and she told me there was no one available. So I hung up and called the 800 customer number and told them exactly what happened. They were very very apologetic and sent me a $25 gift card and I did use that gift card but I'm damn sure never been in their store since.
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u/akhilleus650 11h ago
You're too honest. Point out their mistake once, sure. They make the same mistake and fail to scan everything again, say nothing and walk away.
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u/justanawkwardguy you do it like this 11h ago
Never seen liquor at a CVS, nor would it be my first choice to stop there for it
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u/LahngJahn69420 14h ago
Critical thinking, initiative and going a slight extra inch are dead in the retail space now
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u/CarnegieSenpai 14h ago
I never go to cvs anymore if I can help it, every cvs is understaffed by the worst trained employees you can possibly find and you have to wait for them to come and unlock every single little thing you wanna get
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u/Igoos99 13h ago
Yeah, don’t shop at CVS or Walgreens. It’s just not worth it any longer. If they are your pharmacy? Get in, get your Rx, get out.
They don’t have the money to hire enough cashiers to man the cash registers appropriately anymore. And in many communities, the few who will take those low paying jobs, aren’t ones you really want doing a task that complicated.
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u/horseheadmonster 13h ago
Everytime I go to CVS it's for the convenience of not going an extra mile to the grocery store and dealing with that busy parking lot. Then I'm reminded that the convince is not worth it when there is only 1 person working and they're busy stocking shelves or there is an old lady making multiple separate transactions to use coupons. I waied once while she returned shampoo and conditioner and repurchased them with a new coupon. Also in California you can't buy alcohol for self checkout lanes.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad4657 12h ago
I live near a retirement community, so a lot of older folks in the CVS… well CVS is trying to streamline their pharmacy check-in/checkout by forcing you to use your phone, then scan a code. While it took my 22 seconds to figure it out and upload my id and credit card, they clearly over estimated the ability of most their senior customers. The customers are confused, can’t get past downloading the app, the staff now is doing twice as much trying to deal with customers.
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u/Skunklvrs 11h ago
I seldom go to CVS. They are super expensive and I seem yo encounter a customer with a whole cart of stuff and 50 coupons trying to get free stuff. I generally only do UPS returns there.
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u/Corgilicious 10h ago
Every CVS in Portland Oregon is a nightmare. They are way understaffed, most of the shelves look empty or disordered, and checking out always takes forever.
I was in Anaheim California last week and walked into a CVS and was shocked back into reality of what a well-managed store should look like.
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u/audible_narrator 10h ago
Our CVS has had a ton of employee churn in the last 5 years. I've been going to the same one for 22 years. The skill set has been shaky at best
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u/Witty_Bug6200 10h ago
Local liquor shops FTW, I used to spend Saturday nights hanging with the staff and doing shots with customers. They're the only thing I miss since moving out of the city.
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u/TinaTetrodo6 9h ago
Texas here. And I can’t get past the notion that you’re able to buy liquor in a CVS….
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u/BigTeeBee 4h ago
I hate to be this guy, but just be glad they sell liquor at CVS where you are. Nothing but beer and wine at CVS here
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u/ll0l0l0ll 1h ago
Last time I went to CVS only 1 person working in Cashier/photo/phonecall/Online pickup. I put back and stuffs and left.
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u/meowymcmeowmeow 8h ago
Maybe buy your shit before the holiday, it's literally labor day and you're complaining that the most overworked and underpaid people aren't super eager to serve someone that can afford all that alcohol, at CVS prices.
If more people planned ahead, maybe those people could have the day off to spend with their families too, when businesses didn't see the revenue.
What an odd complaint. Be more grateful.
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u/joeyd406 6h ago
sometimes having choices is a nice privilege.
and sometimes big businesses should just close during holidays because it's the right thing to do regardless.... (cue laughter)
what an odd soapbox to stand on
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u/OminousG 15h ago
And how does any of this matter to CVS? You still paid their inflated prices despite being treated like a possible criminal at multiple points.
So who here actually learned anything?
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u/BaxterRye 15h ago
I learned that sometimes a chain of random events occurs, like when a cashier makes a few silly mistakes, and the result might just happen to be mildly infuriating
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u/Cautious-Exercise729 15h ago
What state was it in, sounds like North Carolina in a nutshell. No hate, just saying.
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u/Unholydiver919 15h ago
You can’t buy spirits in a CVS in NC. You can however get crappy service.
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u/Cautious-Exercise729 14h ago
So close! But my experiences at a CVS in Ahoskie NC and a few other places felt like OPs story. They just move different.
Oklahoma is another place like that.
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u/beloislane1 14h ago
Have you ever heard of the “burnt toast” theory that basically says the universe held you up for a reason?
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u/la_winky 8h ago
Our local cvs was great. Then the manager left and I will drive miles to a different one for everything except drive through pharmacy. There’s hardly any employees there and you need a personal shopper select your items, everything is on lockdown. I do NOT live in a shady part of town.
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u/chilldrinofthenight 2h ago
The CVS where I and my housemates go has two of the loveliest women working as cashiers. It's an absolute joy to interact with those ladies. They have been employed there for decades. Kudos to CVS for hiring adults who are dedicated and hardworking and personable.
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u/Stunning_Warthog_141 14h ago
I do cashier when I am taking extra shifts, you are not allowed to void one item you have to void the whole thing. There's a lot of rules like that, and making small mistakes like scanning twice is easy.
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u/HMAgent47 RED 16h ago
Must be a slow day in CVS