Remember this was, is and always will be a pharmacy first and foremost. - Anonymous employee Walgreens Employee Review

3.0
Dec 12, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Above average benefits, health insurance, retirement etc.. It's primary market (pharmacy) is a growth industry so plenty of opportunity to advance if patient and willing. Good job stability as the retail side is subsidized by the pharmacy. So even if the retail portion is loosing money (the majority of Walgreens stores do) you'll still have job security and growth opportunities thanks to the pharmacy.

Cons

This is really like two companies, pharmacy and retail. Pharmacy drives everything, retail is just a necessity to keep the pharmacy competative. With that said, unless you're the store manager the pay on the retail side is terrible. And if ever there was an example of poorly qualified people in management and decision making positions Walgreens retail is it. (I suppose that's to be expected considering the explosive growth the pharmacutical industry has experienced over the last 20+ years) I realize this is only my opinion and is probably more of an exception than the standard but I'm speaking from the experiences I've had working in the 3 stores where I've been employed. (I expect the same is true at CVS)

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Pros

Team member and entry level management very good

Cons

High stressfulness and open space makes high risk

3.0
Jun 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Can be a fun environment. All in whom your staff is. Operating photo was fun and building projects for the customers. Learning about pharmacy operations.

Cons

Work life balance and low pay for what is expected. Not having enough payroll to effectively run a store. My store ran FE on a 320 hour a week budget. That was barely enough to get buy and meet the expectations put out by the company. I was never able to keep a full leadership staff. When a leader called out, I had to stay. There were days I was called away from my own dinner table. SM's were forced to be in the pharmacy for more than half of their day regardless as to what is happening in the FE. I worked over 50 hours a week and barely got to spend time with my family. If I wasn't at the store I was getting a phone call and having to go back to the store.

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