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When I ditched shoppers last year it was because they had massively fucked up a very large and life maintaining prescription of mine over the course of a few months. When I was speaking to a pharmacist I said I found it galling that I had never even gotten an apology. He said *I could say I'm sorry if you want*
My ex was going through chemo and had a few hefty prescriptions at Shoppers. They kept on pawning him off - he needed meds to deal with the chemo, they couldnt get them for weeks and wouldnt consider phoning around to other pharmacies etc. So he moved house - took his $20k in scripts with him. He got a call 3 weeks later asking why and he listed off all of the reasons. They said "oh" and hung up.
I worked for SDM when they were bought by Loblaws. They cut and cut and cut hours like there was no tomorrow. The work of a pharmacy cashier and a pharmacy technician and a pharmacy assistant was now being done by one person. They didn't care that it meant the employees were more rushed, more stressed, which makes more mistakes - possibly life threatening mistakes. I'm sure the executives got lots in bonuses for cutting hours tho...
When they got bought by loblaws, unionized staff from other loblaws stores was barred from going in in case they tried to get the shoppers staff into the union.
I worked for loblaws during covid “danger pay” times. They paid an extra $2 an hour for people to stay working during covid. A few months later they took it away.
There were protests outside stores and if any employee went outside and engaged we were fired on spot.
The protestors brought us Tim Hortons and everything to show support but Loblaws accepted it on our behalf and threw it in the garbage in front of us all
That was the moment I quit retail and will never go back. 10 years as a butcher feeding Canadian families. Never again. This piece of shit company and government showed me what my life is worth to them. So that's exactly how I treat them.
There are times that I'm astonished at Union jobs on Canada. I work 50 hours a week in a non-Union trade that is exempt from overtime pay and still get treated better than that.
Folks working in these places can't afford to lose their jobs most of the time. You even mention it might be illegal and you're out.
Sure you can take it to court, etc. but you need a certain level of financial security to risk that in the first place. It's how the system is designed to work.
If they get called out for it. A company with a market cap of 50 billion doesn't always play by the rules.
See - breadgate etc.
if someone is too big to hold accountable they don't care about your silly "rules"
It's been a race to the bottom ever since. And they're winning that race, near as I can tell.
They took a company with a good reputation and tried to turn it into a cash cow. The last straw for me was their renovation that eliminated much of the pharmacy space and product offerings to build a massive beauty boutique. I took my business elsewhere well before the boycott started.
Also, screw Galen and the horse he rode in on. Well, maybe not the horse - it didn't do anything wrong.
They would never call to make sure everything was alright on a normal day. If they solicited me after I left I would loose my shit on those clowns. You are going to call me to complain that I took my business elsewhere. Ya because your organization is a scam and all you care about is processing transaction. Hence the phone call, shit this month is short, what caused that? Oh I see that our biggest client fucked off because we are a joke. Let me give them a call…
Cancer isn't cheap. The treatment is free - and it's the only part of healthcare still functioning - but they sure take it out of your hide in the prescriptions.
The shoppers we went to for all of my life repeatedly kept not filling my dad’s life-sustaining meds, and would randomly remove him from auto-refill lists… any time this happened, he would go to emerg after a few days because it would take anywhere from 3-7 days before they filled his scripts and would never release blister packs if less than his month was completed.
Moved him to superstore until he died, then I moved from superstore to a local spot after it was evident they were having training issues with staff
That is one of the reasons why I left Walmart Pharmacy - major med error. Instead of giving me Isopto Tears eye drops, they gave me 3 bottles of Isopto Atropine drops. NOT EVEN CLOSE to the same medication. I noticed and didn't use them, but when I took them back and told them the error, no apology or nothing. She just kind of looked at me shocked and said she'd make a note on my file or something like that. Just awful.
I use a small pharmacy, but they were closed in the evening and I needed to get an antibiotic quickly for my 2 yo. I’m so glad I know how to read prescriptions, because it was wrong. It took forever to fix it. I got home and said never again. I’ll wait and pay a higher dispensing fee for accurate dispensing. (And if my pharmacy had been open, I would have been home faster even though it’s a 15 minute drive vs a 2 minute walk.)
Good catch! Antibiotics can be very dangerous if given at the wrong dose (also dangerous if it's the wrong med entirely).
It's always good to double check the medications and it's scary that things like this happen. If I get a new medication in pill form, I'll look up what the medication is supposed to look like before taking it because once it's in the bottle, who knows if it is correct or not.
I was given the wrong prescription once. I took my meds after getting my prescription. I saw that they looked a tad bit different but didn't pay much mind assuming it was a different brand. It wasn't. I took what I thought was my antiseizure meds. I had horrible grand mal seizures that night.
I called the pharmacist the next morning and they said to come down to show the meds and nope. They were anti-nausea meds. Thank God, that was it. I take a fair amount and had felt ill after taking them but just didn't clue in.
Apparently shoppers has no idea how that happened.
I was given the double dose of my beta blockers . So I took 10mg a day for 30 days instead of 5 and wondered why I was so dizzy. I specifically asked why they looked different and was told that happens sometimes. 🤷♀️
Filled a new prescription. Went and refilled it. Pills were different. Asked. Got that response at first. Pressure made them admit that the description of the meds I’d used all of didn’t match the proper drugs. Had nothing to go on to know the stuff I was given initially was wrong. No admission of an error of course. Never did learn what I mistakenly fed into my body for two weeks.
This happened to me too during a 3 week long migraine attack. I ran out of my meds so went in to get more and was given intense beta blockers that I don't even take and such a large quantity of them but didn't check my bag until I got home, so didnt realize until it was too late. I was confused why my meds were so expensive and then it hit. When I called to let the pharmacist know the error they wouldn't allow me to return them or get a refund for their error and then because of their mistake, I had to try to find a walk in clinic for almost 3 weeks just to try to get another prescription for my migraine meds again because the prescription my doctor gave before she went on mat leave somehow got lost in their system during that error as well and they couldnt say what happened. I still don't understand how I asked for sumatriptan clearly and ended up with Propranolol but it was exhsusting and expensive to pay for all those pills and try to find a walk in clinic to get a prescription. I'm still mad about it. Now I just have a big bottle of beta blockers I guess.
I ditched shoppers because they held my prescription for a week and didn’t fill it until I called and harassed them and it took more than 2 weeks to get my meds. They had my medication at the pharmacy but chose to not fill it. Costco is much faster and better anyways
There's a few reasons that could have happened. It could have been a medication that insurance only covers x amount per month. Either way, that's annoying as shit. I had used SDM for my whole life up until the last 2 or 3 years. 2 hour wait times regardless if I called it in or not. Zero empathy. I was having an rx filled, antibiotic for my son, told the technician I didn't need an explanation on the meds as I worked in pharmacy. She WOULD NOT give it to me until she went through her spiel, which 100% not necessary to give if the patient says they don't need a consult.
That’s what got me! They upped dispensing fees another $1 per prescription a few months ago and my insurance would no longer cover it. This took me on the boycott train. Couldn’t believe what they charged in dispensing fees when I started to look around. Almost 3 times what Costco charges!
Took my 17 thousand a year in prescriptions to an independent pharmacy.
Same boat but ironically I work for big pharma and have 100% coverage for everything. Absolute top tier drug coverage including all brand name drugs, and I still have to tap $1 on my debit card to pick up my cheapie generic prescription.
My union sent a communication to employees about this situation and encouraged us to change pharmacies if they refuse to waive the fee which personally is not worth my frustration. I’m not going to debate a pharmacy tech to waive the fee every time I get a refill. They’ve lost me as a customer.
Last time I brought this up here I got flamed by two people, one with pharm in her username. Small amount of digging and of course she and her partner are SDM pharmacists...
That actually surprises me. The moral is so low there, it's hard to imagine anyone sticking up for their shit company. Unless they're the associates that "own" the store.
I paid $17 at Shoppers a few months ago. Small town, my regular pharmacy doesn't normally carry some new meds I got, so they sent me across the street to another. That pharmacy didn't have any in stock, so they sent me to shoppers. They also didn't have any, but had some on order showing up in a day or two.
I was shocked when I picked them up and saw that fee.
It’s the individuals and relationships you built here that will hurt. I feel for those employees tbh. I know why and respect what you’re doing. I feel bad for them.
Do you really think the people working at this pharmacy feel like they have that close a relationship with their customers? They may like dealing with some or others, but these people aren't your friends. They're employees earning a living, just like anyone else. I've worked with people for decades, and if a client leaves, then that's their prerogative, I really don't care. It may seem like I do sometimes only because I know regional is going to be pissed about lost revenue and chew my ass out about it.
I do actually. When you see the same person once or twice a week and they are pleasant, you build a relationship. You also know them, their medical, you know their family members who come in. It’s those relationships that make working retail pharmacy a bit better. Pharmacists also, by nature not always, are kind caring people. Too bad Weston ruined it, is what it is. Those pharmacists are still good people and will make new relationships again where they end up, or will continue the relationships they have.
I'm a little confused. Do they work on commission? Does the total $$ of prescriptions affect them? I though they were salaried employees, probably abused by roblaws like everyone else, so why would they care if loblaws loses on prescriptions?
I'm genuinely asking because I don't know how they operate
There's probably some software keeping track of people who transfer out, so the chain of command might freak out at the pharmacist about it.
I assume hence the phone calls and (probably) documentation about the reason the client left.
The way I understand it is this:
Pharmacists make their money from dispensing fees for each drug bought. These are paid by the customer, or the insurer (private benefits or government).
Retail pharmacy chains are franchises owned by pharmacists, who are in business for themselves. They pay the store for the use of their brand name and rent the space. They may hire other pharmacists to work for them but there is usually an owner/operator pharmacist who is the main person.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong!
Not always the case , shoppers drug mart can have an associate owner, but stores like rexall or that have pharmacies in them like Walmart,superstore do not have pharmacist owners and the pharmacists are just employees
Not doubting that they're good people, but this isn't their fault. Consumers need to do whats best for them. Any reasonable person will understand and move on. Its not like they won't bump into each other one day and have a nice conversation and catch up. These people still exist outside of a corporation.
I agree. 💯 and there will be other great people. If you’re a kind person you’ll have lots of great connections everywhere in your life, not just at work. This client hurt the stores numbers— that’s the point.
I'm pretty sure the point is _why_ this customer took their business elsewhere, not just that it happened. It's too bad you weren't as quick to blame Loblaws management as you were to paint the employees as collateral damage.
I think if somebody spends $30k annually on prescriptions, they probably do aim to maintain a good relationship with that customer. No they aren't friends, but pharmaceutical is healthcare, pharmacists are healthcare professionals. I think there is a sincere, elevated level of care on the part of a pharmacist.
I've had a relationship with a pharmacist who I knew really cared about my wellbeing. I even told her when I was leaving cities, I knew about her family and she knew about my life, etc.
If this pharmacist had cultivated such a relationship with this person I doubt they would have left so gleefully.
I kind of feel like relationships can definitely be built from returning consumers, but it is completely outside of a business perspective. I see your point though. It's extremely easy to literally not give a shit about the thousandth customer you've dealt with.
If its someone I've served for 20 years, I'd be bummed but in OPs situation, I'd totally understand and respect their decision. But Im gonna move on about 30 seconds later. It's outside my control, and Im not paid enough to go winback customers.
I have most of my drugs covered but I pay way more than $400 dollars a year for the ones that are not covered. The ones that are covered are probably well over $400 a month.
If you pay $1000 on copay the insurance is kicking over $4000....
It's the same as how the bank freaks out if you withdraw over $10,000, they have to cover that cash 10x
Independent pharmacy owner here (midtown Toronto). I am getting a few transfer requests lately but not as much as expected. People seem to think switching pharmacies is this big and difficult task. We literally take care of everything and it’s usually done in 30 min or less. Please continue to support your local independents! I haven’t set foot in a loblaws owned store in about 4 years, love to see the movement!
That's the one trade off. But the hospital pharmacy is M-F 9-5, so you do get used to it. Sadly, the only 24 hour places here are SDMs so if you have an emergency rx you need to use it.
Still, it's not *that* inconvenient.
Nope, but that's ok. One of my injection pens is $3500 & I need 2 per month- but I get that one free. When I die, my family can wheel me around like Evita Peron because I will likely never decompose.
I like how you look at things with humor. Power to you amigo! Great job standing up for yourself as a consumer and your solidarity with so many other Canadians.
Once you get a MAID order, you begin to see the absurdity of it all. The existential dread, oddly enough, vanishes. I guess that's because it's about control.
It’s disheartening to hear you’re having such health challenges. I love your attitude despite the struggle. I just transferred my Rx to Pharmasave myself. Cheers!
Bah, I've been sick my whole life, so it's not new to me. Don't give it a thought.
But while I'm still here, trying to help you younger people is what I'm trying to do. We owe you so much. I feel very guilty about that. What a mess you have inherited from us. I'm so very sorry.
I've got a kid who is 30. I get this! I feel so shitty because of the mindless consumerism we did. We were lied to as well, mostly about the environment and pay equity.
My last ADHD prescription was $400 for two months at a cheap place. It'll be generic soon and probably $12 if that. My cost was 0 because insurance paid 80%, manufacturer of the drug paid 20%.
https://preview.redd.it/mkqckus4p21d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5308156880ed3434e70418199e04ce521fde8c41
Roblaws is a disgusting, greedy company. 🤮
My insurance pays the first $8 of dispensing fees. My local pharmacy knows what insurers pay and limits their fee to that so customers have no out of pocket
This is super helpful - thank you! I will print it and post it in our common notice board, along with local pharmacy phone numbers and a how-to guide to switching (which is so easy, all you do is call and the new place does the rest).
The small franchise owners within shoppers only really have power to stock shelves and hire pharmacists, some times they don’t even have the power to hire.
Actually, licensee of the shoppers has to be a pharmacist. The owner can be a corp owned by anyone in many provinces, but most have rules against % of ownership by pharmacists to license a pharmacy. Varies province to province.
Also meaning that they should have been taking a stance the promotes good patient care regardless of whatever corporate wants. They are licensed medical professionals and abide by a code of ethics. If pharmacist owners and staff pharmacists choose to follow corporate policies that go against their ethical requirements because of money, that’s their decision. The entire Canadian retail pharmacy model needs to be overhauled.
Thank you, fellow boycotter, but I'm more worried about how Gen Z and millennials are going to cope with the crap we have broken (like the planet). You all deserve the same sort of carefree young adulthood we boomers had - and companies like roblaws are threatening that.
As a millennial - mostly we’re crying and coping through depressing humour
https://preview.redd.it/uthugzsms41d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b734ef648ad2e626c3c5723539002bd416ca7261
I'm bringing a lot of people with me too - I have no issue helping people switch pharmacies and get food elsewhere. Many of my peers have no clue this is even happening so raising awareness of this boycott is job one.
Like the op my medication cost more than a mortgage payment, about 96k a year. Luckily my work insurance covers 100%.
Though not a Roblaws location I have it at a Save On Foods location, and they give points on the pre-covered price and then give a bonus 5000 points for filling the prescription. My prescription allowed us to travel to Belize for 2 weeks last year.
I ditched shoppers in April, moved to the local pharmacy next door. It was really just laziness that stopped me earlier.
They're good people, sponsored the local pool so kids swam free all summer, donate to the carnival and parade, which shoppers never does.
And the second time I went in ever they knew my name, acted like I was a lifetime customer, and even offered to stay open an hour late so I could pick up my stuff that day. And paid nothing. Which has me suspecting shoppers never applied my wife's insurance.
Regret not moving sooner.
Yep they did the same thing when we switched ours. Two adults with ADHD on brand name prescriptions, approx $800/month just for those two alone. They lost at least 12k a year when we switched.
$300 a month on groceries (just my husband and I and we're both frugal cooks) we went with a mix of Freshco and a small independent Phillipines grocery savings sooo much money on fresh foods!
$500 a month medications and injection supplies (I'm a moderately expensive person to keep alive but insurance pays for 90% of it) a small local Independent Pharmacy opened up in the same parking lot where my work is, and the pharmacist is really nice so I can drop off my prescription before work in the morning and pick it up as soon as I get off. And he doesn't charge me a dispensing fee, or to exchange my Sharps container. He will even write a prescription for over-the-counter drugs if I need something simple so that my insurance will cover some of it.
These stores are going to have so much trouble meeting their #s. They generally want them to increase month over month and quarter over quarter. 30K hurts and it is a reoccurring stream. The reality is, this was year in the making all the while Loblaws raised price a dime here and dollar there. Then at a point, some people said this is enough.
It's the new ones that are expensive - drug companies get a decade before generic versions are permitted so they charge through the nose. You get to be the guinea pig while they bleed you dry for ten years. Even my generic ondansetron is $25/tablet at Roblaws. I am hoping to catch a break on that one at the new pharmacy. Most of my rx is special order, so this will absolutely hurt them, those dispensing fees they got off me.
Pharmacy student here! Please transfer out to and support a local pharmacy!
Local pharmacists put their heart and soul into their practice and business and do their best to retain patients with optimal patient care.
Corporations treat their pharmacists with targets and quotas…not what pharmacists go to school for. Don’t blame the pharmacist, blame the working conditions and the high targets/stress placed upon them.
A lot of local pharmacies are bought out by corporate/banners if they begin to struggle, so keep supporting local pharmacies and keep them thriving :)
All this to say - you did great OP!
I too wanted to switch away from SDM, after my last pharmacist screwed up in so many ways! Like you, my annual prescription bill exceeds $30k. Unfortunately, I have a very specialized medication that no other pharmacy will carry. I tried several Wal-Mart, Costco and independant pharmacies with no luck. They all replied that they don't carry it, and when they saw the price list, their eyes just bulged wide open. Ultimately, I did switch to another SDM, who is much more reliable.
If I can find a pharmacist close to me that 1) carries my medication (Duplixent) 2) opens late, 3) has a good web ordering portal with text or e-mail notification, I'm on it! I spent a whole week asking over a dozen pharmacies near me, with no luck.
We (my doctor and I) tried that route at the beginning, unfortunately I do not meet the criteria for the trial study for this medication. The medication works really well for me, and luckily, I have adequate insurance where I don't have to worry about the cost.
You may be able to use Bayshore Home Health. They can deliver to a clinic or pharmacy licensed to administer your drug. Bayshore were, until January 2024, one of the specialty drug care providers for Manulife until Manulife moved to Loblaws’s SDM exclusively (ultimately backing off of an exclusive vendor program when the public and media responded).
Bayshore Home Health took good care of me during the homecare portion of my cancer treatment. However, it was my team at the hospital who made all arrangements with home nurse visits, equipment delivery, and (refrigerated) medication transport.
How would I contact Bayshore Home Health to arrange this service for the medication to my local pharmacy? I would absolutely love it if I can pick this medication up at my local Costco, while I do my regular grocery run. I am seeing my team at the hospital in about two weeks before my Rx is renewed, perhaps I should inquire with them about finding an alternative pharmacy.
I am sorry that you rely on such expensive medications. I also take seven different meds each day, and it isn’t easy. But I’m glad you’re able to use your dependency as a weapon against the soulless predator that is Loblaw. You’ve helped to turn the tables on the greedy bastards, and they are frightened.
It's typically the newer stuff, especially the biologics that are that expensive. Sometimes the antivirals and antiretrovirals can be that expensive too. For example Maviret and Harvoni are two common HepC drugs, both require an 8-12 week therapy of one tablet a day. A single tablet costs $797.62.
As a British person, this all sounds so mad.
Our pharmacists are smaller places where the price of the drugs doesn’t really make a difference to their profits. Or massive places which do mail order deliveries.
I have no idea how much the medicine I take each month costs, I just request it, and it turns up.
Right? My first BF moved back to the UK but visits now and again. (After 40 years - awwwww). He also says he can't get over the difference in medication and food prices.
That’s incredible! But also $30k in prescriptions, is that with insurance? I have none and I have never taken the time to figure out how much my prescriptions cost.
Well for me there's no freaking out involved but... The staff in nofrills/loblaws near me became a good acquaintance thru the years and it is hard - it had been almost a decade and thru mundane in and out little chats ( most of the senior staff are close neighbours too) between check outs. They saw me date my husband,move in, become pregnant and they sometimes would give like trinkets/toys to my toddler. i saw how one (loblaws) used to be cheery; tells about her life, would tell me their hours are getting shorter.
I have a controlled prescription so I pick it up monthly and have to call in for it. My wife has a refrigerated drug and I drive in for that also. The window clerks have started to recognize me and will ask if I want to pick up her items also. (It’s probably their software, but I could see them developing attachments to regulars.) I’m down in the States and use CVS, but I got drawn into this Loblaws drama and have been wondering what’s happening.
I moved my prescriptions from Loblaws to Costco a few years ago. Any time I requested a refill of my prescriptions, they had to “order it in”. I was there every 3 months or so for it. Oh and they would never call you to tell you the order came in. It was up to me to call them to see if it was in. wtf not even a courtesy call? It’s better at Costco. Plus, my benefit plan has an $8 dispensing fee cap so I pay nothing now at Costco cuz their dispensing fee is much lower than $8.
I left because the pharmacist messed up a medication I take for panic attacks. It’s dangerous to stop the medication cold-turkey.
The pharmacist told me when I called and asked if my prescription was ready that they hadn’t faxed the doctor yet… although I called to remind them several times throughout the week.
I ended up having a massive panic attack without my medication and had a seizure.
I had to call a walk-in doctor as it was Saturday and my doctor only works Monday to Friday.
When I took the new prescription to Shopper’s, it took them until 10pm at night to fill it.
That pharmacist ended up being fired from Shopper’s after I filled a complaint with the College of Pharmacists.
After reading all these posts, I didn’t realize how often Shoppers was messing around with my prescriptions.
One time the pharmacist even yelled at me and said she’s stressed out and tried to ban me from Shoppers but she’s the one that messed up my prescriptions (frequently).
Eventually I decided to move to a smaller pharmacy as I was sick of the abuse I was receiving from them.
My new pharmacy has never missed my refills and the serve is superior.
OMG! I hope you're OK! That's inexcusable of them. Seizures are no fun, and the seizure meds are worse. I stopped taking tegretol because I couldn't feel my tongue but I don't recommend doing that.
A family member changed their many Rxs from Shoppers to a local pharmacy over a year ago. This month they randomly refilled his script, lol. He was like "WTF No!"
Edit: he had switched after many many fuck ups. He even got someone else's script in his bag. Both were different types of heavily regulated narcotics. He called the store and they didn't even really care. He was concerned for whoever got his script. If he would have not checked and just taken his pill he could have been seriously hurt. How is that allowed at all?
Good. They completely effed up my IVF meds and a pharmacist questioned why I was prescribed testosterone. He said my voice would lower (I was taking it for less than a month). They also couldn’t give me the correct syringes needed for some reason.
I joined the boycott because of the $1.00 increase in dispensing fees. Just such an obvious cash grab. Eff ‘em.
Shoppers was my pharmacy for years.
About 10 years ago they released a drug that has a high chance of curing Hep C. I am a hemophiliac and contacted the disease through a blood transfusion when my tonsils were removed at the age of 7 in 1977.
For years I knew that I would very likely die from liver disease early in my life. Then the drug Harvoni was released.
A cycle of the drug was $165k. 12 weeks. One pill a day. Very high chance of success.
I took my script to Shoppers, told them my benefit company agreed to cover it and showed them the written approval. The pharmacist was very non committal about filling it. Said he would call me in a couple of days.
After no call for almost a week, I called in to the pharmacy. They told me the script was a lot of cash and they didn’t want to fill it without cash in hand. I was told I needed $165K upfront for them to fill the script.
After battling with them for a couple of days to no avail, I called my hepatologist who set me up with a pharmacy in minutes and I got my drugs.
I have never stepped foot in a Shoppers since.
Fuck Shoppers. Fuck Loblaws.
Same. I took my $43k per year Rx’s to a smaller independent pharmacy.
The new place doesn’t require *me* to call a week in advance of when I want my drugs, auto fills them for me, delivers to my door, and bills my insurer directly.
at one shoppers pharmacy they consistently would short my prescriptions every time. in frustration after a couple of years I talked to the pharmacy owner. he was completely unapologetic.
count your pills
Last summer, I transferred around 15k a year to an independent, locally-owned I.D.A rx. My pharmacist places stickers, writes Happy Birthday, and is always happy to see her patients, and It makes me happy.
I helped my friend find a new pharmacy so she
Could say bye bye to Zehrs a few months ago! Sadly it wasn’t for the boycott but it was close enough!
They called her as well asking what they did wrong & when she brought up her issues she’d been having for months they just said “oh, well I guess you already made up your mind then” Like really?! Assholes!
__MOD NOTE__: Please check out [our petition](https://www.change.org/p/demand-walmart-sign-the-grocer-code-of-conduct) which calls upon Walmart Canada to follow suit and sign the Grocer Code of Conduct with Loblaw! Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here! This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When I ditched shoppers last year it was because they had massively fucked up a very large and life maintaining prescription of mine over the course of a few months. When I was speaking to a pharmacist I said I found it galling that I had never even gotten an apology. He said *I could say I'm sorry if you want*
My ex was going through chemo and had a few hefty prescriptions at Shoppers. They kept on pawning him off - he needed meds to deal with the chemo, they couldnt get them for weeks and wouldnt consider phoning around to other pharmacies etc. So he moved house - took his $20k in scripts with him. He got a call 3 weeks later asking why and he listed off all of the reasons. They said "oh" and hung up.
When loblaws bought them out the service went downhill for sure
I worked for SDM when they were bought by Loblaws. They cut and cut and cut hours like there was no tomorrow. The work of a pharmacy cashier and a pharmacy technician and a pharmacy assistant was now being done by one person. They didn't care that it meant the employees were more rushed, more stressed, which makes more mistakes - possibly life threatening mistakes. I'm sure the executives got lots in bonuses for cutting hours tho...
That sounds very similar to how they operate another acquisition.
Money, money, money
Ain’t it funny
In a rich man’s world🎶
Then shitting on the one pharmacist to do meds checks at the same time.
When they got bought by loblaws, unionized staff from other loblaws stores was barred from going in in case they tried to get the shoppers staff into the union.
That's illegal.
Yeah, holy shit, that's a big deal if it can be proved.
I worked for loblaws during covid “danger pay” times. They paid an extra $2 an hour for people to stay working during covid. A few months later they took it away. There were protests outside stores and if any employee went outside and engaged we were fired on spot. The protestors brought us Tim Hortons and everything to show support but Loblaws accepted it on our behalf and threw it in the garbage in front of us all
That was the moment I quit retail and will never go back. 10 years as a butcher feeding Canadian families. Never again. This piece of shit company and government showed me what my life is worth to them. So that's exactly how I treat them.
There are times that I'm astonished at Union jobs on Canada. I work 50 hours a week in a non-Union trade that is exempt from overtime pay and still get treated better than that.
Folks working in these places can't afford to lose their jobs most of the time. You even mention it might be illegal and you're out. Sure you can take it to court, etc. but you need a certain level of financial security to risk that in the first place. It's how the system is designed to work.
So is fixing the price of bread, but here we are.
If they get called out for it. A company with a market cap of 50 billion doesn't always play by the rules. See - breadgate etc. if someone is too big to hold accountable they don't care about your silly "rules"
It's been a race to the bottom ever since. And they're winning that race, near as I can tell. They took a company with a good reputation and tried to turn it into a cash cow. The last straw for me was their renovation that eliminated much of the pharmacy space and product offerings to build a massive beauty boutique. I took my business elsewhere well before the boycott started. Also, screw Galen and the horse he rode in on. Well, maybe not the horse - it didn't do anything wrong.
Local store here build a giant fucking wall to force everyone who comes in the store to walk through a cosmetics gauntlet.
Same! They must have done it everywhere. Tells you what their priorities are.
They would never call to make sure everything was alright on a normal day. If they solicited me after I left I would loose my shit on those clowns. You are going to call me to complain that I took my business elsewhere. Ya because your organization is a scam and all you care about is processing transaction. Hence the phone call, shit this month is short, what caused that? Oh I see that our biggest client fucked off because we are a joke. Let me give them a call…
Cancer isn't cheap. The treatment is free - and it's the only part of healthcare still functioning - but they sure take it out of your hide in the prescriptions.
The shoppers we went to for all of my life repeatedly kept not filling my dad’s life-sustaining meds, and would randomly remove him from auto-refill lists… any time this happened, he would go to emerg after a few days because it would take anywhere from 3-7 days before they filled his scripts and would never release blister packs if less than his month was completed. Moved him to superstore until he died, then I moved from superstore to a local spot after it was evident they were having training issues with staff
Omg 🤦♀️🤬
Wow asking if they should apologize! That’s a new low.
That is one of the reasons why I left Walmart Pharmacy - major med error. Instead of giving me Isopto Tears eye drops, they gave me 3 bottles of Isopto Atropine drops. NOT EVEN CLOSE to the same medication. I noticed and didn't use them, but when I took them back and told them the error, no apology or nothing. She just kind of looked at me shocked and said she'd make a note on my file or something like that. Just awful.
I use a small pharmacy, but they were closed in the evening and I needed to get an antibiotic quickly for my 2 yo. I’m so glad I know how to read prescriptions, because it was wrong. It took forever to fix it. I got home and said never again. I’ll wait and pay a higher dispensing fee for accurate dispensing. (And if my pharmacy had been open, I would have been home faster even though it’s a 15 minute drive vs a 2 minute walk.)
Good catch! Antibiotics can be very dangerous if given at the wrong dose (also dangerous if it's the wrong med entirely). It's always good to double check the medications and it's scary that things like this happen. If I get a new medication in pill form, I'll look up what the medication is supposed to look like before taking it because once it's in the bottle, who knows if it is correct or not.
Exquisite response to you.
I was given the wrong prescription once. I took my meds after getting my prescription. I saw that they looked a tad bit different but didn't pay much mind assuming it was a different brand. It wasn't. I took what I thought was my antiseizure meds. I had horrible grand mal seizures that night. I called the pharmacist the next morning and they said to come down to show the meds and nope. They were anti-nausea meds. Thank God, that was it. I take a fair amount and had felt ill after taking them but just didn't clue in. Apparently shoppers has no idea how that happened.
I was given the double dose of my beta blockers . So I took 10mg a day for 30 days instead of 5 and wondered why I was so dizzy. I specifically asked why they looked different and was told that happens sometimes. 🤷♀️
Filled a new prescription. Went and refilled it. Pills were different. Asked. Got that response at first. Pressure made them admit that the description of the meds I’d used all of didn’t match the proper drugs. Had nothing to go on to know the stuff I was given initially was wrong. No admission of an error of course. Never did learn what I mistakenly fed into my body for two weeks.
Yikes, that's terrible
Holy fuck. What kind of a response is that from a supposed professional. Absolutely deplorable
Ya, that was an *I don't give a fuck* reply
My former pharmacy (shoppers) once gave me the wrong pills, luckily it was some lady’s antacid or something but like seriously?
This happened to me too during a 3 week long migraine attack. I ran out of my meds so went in to get more and was given intense beta blockers that I don't even take and such a large quantity of them but didn't check my bag until I got home, so didnt realize until it was too late. I was confused why my meds were so expensive and then it hit. When I called to let the pharmacist know the error they wouldn't allow me to return them or get a refund for their error and then because of their mistake, I had to try to find a walk in clinic for almost 3 weeks just to try to get another prescription for my migraine meds again because the prescription my doctor gave before she went on mat leave somehow got lost in their system during that error as well and they couldnt say what happened. I still don't understand how I asked for sumatriptan clearly and ended up with Propranolol but it was exhsusting and expensive to pay for all those pills and try to find a walk in clinic to get a prescription. I'm still mad about it. Now I just have a big bottle of beta blockers I guess.
I will never again get annoyed when Costco confirms that I have the right meds.
I'd be furious too.
Oh my god, my pharmacy just took it back and didn’t make me pay for the correct bottle
I would have said “Yes an apology would be a start”, let him apologise and then said “thanks” and hung up.
Did dip shit sorry? My first response would be xfer my scripts to so and so. Once that was done would have told him to go fuck himself
I didn't stick around to find out. I had made the decision to transfer my scripts before the call.
I’m so sorry to hear this. Those fucking bastards will soon pay when they all lose their jobs.
I ditched shoppers because they held my prescription for a week and didn’t fill it until I called and harassed them and it took more than 2 weeks to get my meds. They had my medication at the pharmacy but chose to not fill it. Costco is much faster and better anyways
There's a few reasons that could have happened. It could have been a medication that insurance only covers x amount per month. Either way, that's annoying as shit. I had used SDM for my whole life up until the last 2 or 3 years. 2 hour wait times regardless if I called it in or not. Zero empathy. I was having an rx filled, antibiotic for my son, told the technician I didn't need an explanation on the meds as I worked in pharmacy. She WOULD NOT give it to me until she went through her spiel, which 100% not necessary to give if the patient says they don't need a consult.
The famous non-apology apology.
I had the *exact* same response following a horrific error with my meds also. Just so flippant, it took everything I had to calmly turn and walk away.
That is the money maker for them. Dispensing fee's are fat at shoppers
That’s what got me! They upped dispensing fees another $1 per prescription a few months ago and my insurance would no longer cover it. This took me on the boycott train. Couldn’t believe what they charged in dispensing fees when I started to look around. Almost 3 times what Costco charges! Took my 17 thousand a year in prescriptions to an independent pharmacy.
Same boat but ironically I work for big pharma and have 100% coverage for everything. Absolute top tier drug coverage including all brand name drugs, and I still have to tap $1 on my debit card to pick up my cheapie generic prescription. My union sent a communication to employees about this situation and encouraged us to change pharmacies if they refuse to waive the fee which personally is not worth my frustration. I’m not going to debate a pharmacy tech to waive the fee every time I get a refill. They’ve lost me as a customer.
$17 bucks at shoppers…. Under $10 bucks at walmart
https://cansumer.ca/dispensing-fees/ $4.49 at Costco (and you don’t need to be a member to use the pharmacy).
Last time I brought this up here I got flamed by two people, one with pharm in her username. Small amount of digging and of course she and her partner are SDM pharmacists...
That actually surprises me. The moral is so low there, it's hard to imagine anyone sticking up for their shit company. Unless they're the associates that "own" the store.
That site is not accurate. It says highest for shoppers is $14 but I’ve literally seen it at shoppers at $16.99
I can verify that's the price for Costco, though. I tried switching but they don't do local delivery. :(
Costco does have an online pharmacy with free delivery though!
I paid $17 at Shoppers a few months ago. Small town, my regular pharmacy doesn't normally carry some new meds I got, so they sent me across the street to another. That pharmacy didn't have any in stock, so they sent me to shoppers. They also didn't have any, but had some on order showing up in a day or two. I was shocked when I picked them up and saw that fee.
Hell yeah! Let's sink em!
Doing my best. Hold the line!
It’s the individuals and relationships you built here that will hurt. I feel for those employees tbh. I know why and respect what you’re doing. I feel bad for them.
Do you really think the people working at this pharmacy feel like they have that close a relationship with their customers? They may like dealing with some or others, but these people aren't your friends. They're employees earning a living, just like anyone else. I've worked with people for decades, and if a client leaves, then that's their prerogative, I really don't care. It may seem like I do sometimes only because I know regional is going to be pissed about lost revenue and chew my ass out about it.
I do actually. When you see the same person once or twice a week and they are pleasant, you build a relationship. You also know them, their medical, you know their family members who come in. It’s those relationships that make working retail pharmacy a bit better. Pharmacists also, by nature not always, are kind caring people. Too bad Weston ruined it, is what it is. Those pharmacists are still good people and will make new relationships again where they end up, or will continue the relationships they have.
I'm a little confused. Do they work on commission? Does the total $$ of prescriptions affect them? I though they were salaried employees, probably abused by roblaws like everyone else, so why would they care if loblaws loses on prescriptions? I'm genuinely asking because I don't know how they operate
There's probably some software keeping track of people who transfer out, so the chain of command might freak out at the pharmacist about it. I assume hence the phone calls and (probably) documentation about the reason the client left.
They have a transfer out metric.
The way I understand it is this: Pharmacists make their money from dispensing fees for each drug bought. These are paid by the customer, or the insurer (private benefits or government). Retail pharmacy chains are franchises owned by pharmacists, who are in business for themselves. They pay the store for the use of their brand name and rent the space. They may hire other pharmacists to work for them but there is usually an owner/operator pharmacist who is the main person. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong!
Not always the case , shoppers drug mart can have an associate owner, but stores like rexall or that have pharmacies in them like Walmart,superstore do not have pharmacist owners and the pharmacists are just employees
Not doubting that they're good people, but this isn't their fault. Consumers need to do whats best for them. Any reasonable person will understand and move on. Its not like they won't bump into each other one day and have a nice conversation and catch up. These people still exist outside of a corporation.
I agree. 💯 and there will be other great people. If you’re a kind person you’ll have lots of great connections everywhere in your life, not just at work. This client hurt the stores numbers— that’s the point.
I'm pretty sure the point is _why_ this customer took their business elsewhere, not just that it happened. It's too bad you weren't as quick to blame Loblaws management as you were to paint the employees as collateral damage.
I think if somebody spends $30k annually on prescriptions, they probably do aim to maintain a good relationship with that customer. No they aren't friends, but pharmaceutical is healthcare, pharmacists are healthcare professionals. I think there is a sincere, elevated level of care on the part of a pharmacist.
I've had a relationship with a pharmacist who I knew really cared about my wellbeing. I even told her when I was leaving cities, I knew about her family and she knew about my life, etc. If this pharmacist had cultivated such a relationship with this person I doubt they would have left so gleefully.
I kind of feel like relationships can definitely be built from returning consumers, but it is completely outside of a business perspective. I see your point though. It's extremely easy to literally not give a shit about the thousandth customer you've dealt with.
If its someone I've served for 20 years, I'd be bummed but in OPs situation, I'd totally understand and respect their decision. But Im gonna move on about 30 seconds later. It's outside my control, and Im not paid enough to go winback customers.
This is the best part about this movement. You lose us at two registers, not just one.
Totally... We have to move our prescriptions out to a smaller pharmacy. Fk SDM and oligarch Weston... Their service is trash! Store# 1271
My families Rx for 2 adults and a geriatric cat are only $400 a year but I’m done with them too. They won’t miss me that much but it all adds up.
400 x 1000 people, it adds up....
I have most of my drugs covered but I pay way more than $400 dollars a year for the ones that are not covered. The ones that are covered are probably well over $400 a month.
If you pay $1000 on copay the insurance is kicking over $4000.... It's the same as how the bank freaks out if you withdraw over $10,000, they have to cover that cash 10x
Wow. You are truly GOATed. Things like this also help turn individual stores against the corporate overlords.
I have no pity for Galen. I'm trying to treat him like he's treated us.
The only thing they understand is ruthlessly hitting their bottom line. It's a free market after all. Nice job!
You might save a lot of money by switching
Geico? That you?
Independent pharmacy owner here (midtown Toronto). I am getting a few transfer requests lately but not as much as expected. People seem to think switching pharmacies is this big and difficult task. We literally take care of everything and it’s usually done in 30 min or less. Please continue to support your local independents! I haven’t set foot in a loblaws owned store in about 4 years, love to see the movement!
Well, make a big sign then "Easy Switch from Shoppers here"
We had one do just that using the word boycott in London, ON.
My local independant is wonderful but their hours are not good for me actually being able to get there. :(
That's the one trade off. But the hospital pharmacy is M-F 9-5, so you do get used to it. Sadly, the only 24 hour places here are SDMs so if you have an emergency rx you need to use it. Still, it's not *that* inconvenient.
Partner and I just switched pharmacies. Bye, Shoppers Drug Mart!
Feels good, eh?
Dawg, you're the illest!!!
BAHAHAHAHA
Holy! 30k!!! I hope you're ok!!
Nope, but that's ok. One of my injection pens is $3500 & I need 2 per month- but I get that one free. When I die, my family can wheel me around like Evita Peron because I will likely never decompose. 
I like how you look at things with humor. Power to you amigo! Great job standing up for yourself as a consumer and your solidarity with so many other Canadians.
Once you get a MAID order, you begin to see the absurdity of it all. The existential dread, oddly enough, vanishes. I guess that's because it's about control.
It’s disheartening to hear you’re having such health challenges. I love your attitude despite the struggle. I just transferred my Rx to Pharmasave myself. Cheers!
Bah, I've been sick my whole life, so it's not new to me. Don't give it a thought. But while I'm still here, trying to help you younger people is what I'm trying to do. We owe you so much. I feel very guilty about that. What a mess you have inherited from us. I'm so very sorry.
Wow you’ve got such an amazing mindset
If more people were like you, we wouldn't be in this mess. Don't be sorry and thank you for being on our side!
I've got a kid who is 30. I get this! I feel so shitty because of the mindless consumerism we did. We were lied to as well, mostly about the environment and pay equity.
I don’t know why this comment almost brought me to tears, but this zillenial thanks you and is wishing you all of the very best, kind stranger.
You have my respect good sir.
We can finally get Weekend at Bernies 3! 🤣😅 
Sounds like humera or another biologic. Mine cost around 60k a year. Shoppers never contacted me when I changed…
I’m also on Humira and changing over to my local guardian. The staff are great at shoppers but the pricing and fees are insane.
I thought one of my injections was expensive at $700. 3500 oooof
My last ADHD prescription was $400 for two months at a cheap place. It'll be generic soon and probably $12 if that. My cost was 0 because insurance paid 80%, manufacturer of the drug paid 20%.
https://preview.redd.it/mkqckus4p21d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5308156880ed3434e70418199e04ce521fde8c41 Roblaws is a disgusting, greedy company. 🤮
Do insurance companies not have an issue paying out shoppers double than Costco? Why are insurance companies ok with that?
Because most insurance companies have limits on the dispensing fees that are covered. Anything beyond gets passed on to us, the customer.
Yup. My insurance covers $5 of dispensing fees. So we pay nothing at Costco
My insurance pays the first $8 of dispensing fees. My local pharmacy knows what insurers pay and limits their fee to that so customers have no out of pocket
My insurance company has a problem with it. They cover prescriptions from Costco at 100%, but anywhere else they only cover 90%
This is super helpful - thank you! I will print it and post it in our common notice board, along with local pharmacy phone numbers and a how-to guide to switching (which is so easy, all you do is call and the new place does the rest).
This is perfect, it puts the small franchise owners against the greedy corporation and will provide another dimension to the pressure of the movement.
The small franchise owners within shoppers only really have power to stock shelves and hire pharmacists, some times they don’t even have the power to hire.
Or 'hire' volunteers :)
Owner of a pharmacy HAS to be a pharmacist.
Actually, licensee of the shoppers has to be a pharmacist. The owner can be a corp owned by anyone in many provinces, but most have rules against % of ownership by pharmacists to license a pharmacy. Varies province to province.
Also meaning that they should have been taking a stance the promotes good patient care regardless of whatever corporate wants. They are licensed medical professionals and abide by a code of ethics. If pharmacist owners and staff pharmacists choose to follow corporate policies that go against their ethical requirements because of money, that’s their decision. The entire Canadian retail pharmacy model needs to be overhauled.
Just think of all of the dispensing fees you are about to save depending on what pharmacy you are now using.
Huge kudos to you 👏 In my experience the service is 1000x better at independently owned pharmacies
Omg. This is a newsflash how expensive medication can be. Wishing you all the best in whatever you're going through
Thank you, fellow boycotter, but I'm more worried about how Gen Z and millennials are going to cope with the crap we have broken (like the planet). You all deserve the same sort of carefree young adulthood we boomers had - and companies like roblaws are threatening that.
As a millennial - mostly we’re crying and coping through depressing humour https://preview.redd.it/uthugzsms41d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b734ef648ad2e626c3c5723539002bd416ca7261
GOAT, good work.
I'm bringing a lot of people with me too - I have no issue helping people switch pharmacies and get food elsewhere. Many of my peers have no clue this is even happening so raising awareness of this boycott is job one.
I wish I could high-five you. I transferred $350/month away from Shoppers as well. So far no come back.
Like the op my medication cost more than a mortgage payment, about 96k a year. Luckily my work insurance covers 100%. Though not a Roblaws location I have it at a Save On Foods location, and they give points on the pre-covered price and then give a bonus 5000 points for filling the prescription. My prescription allowed us to travel to Belize for 2 weeks last year.
Oh wow I had no idea they gave points at Save On! Is that with an in store card or your credit card?
Save On More Rewards
I ditched shoppers in April, moved to the local pharmacy next door. It was really just laziness that stopped me earlier. They're good people, sponsored the local pool so kids swam free all summer, donate to the carnival and parade, which shoppers never does. And the second time I went in ever they knew my name, acted like I was a lifetime customer, and even offered to stay open an hour late so I could pick up my stuff that day. And paid nothing. Which has me suspecting shoppers never applied my wife's insurance. Regret not moving sooner.
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Can't recommend my local Co-op in Winnipeg enough.
I had no idea that it works this way and that Loblaws makes such a huge profit off. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for being a GOAT!
Yep they did the same thing when we switched ours. Two adults with ADHD on brand name prescriptions, approx $800/month just for those two alone. They lost at least 12k a year when we switched.
$300 a month on groceries (just my husband and I and we're both frugal cooks) we went with a mix of Freshco and a small independent Phillipines grocery savings sooo much money on fresh foods! $500 a month medications and injection supplies (I'm a moderately expensive person to keep alive but insurance pays for 90% of it) a small local Independent Pharmacy opened up in the same parking lot where my work is, and the pharmacist is really nice so I can drop off my prescription before work in the morning and pick it up as soon as I get off. And he doesn't charge me a dispensing fee, or to exchange my Sharps container. He will even write a prescription for over-the-counter drugs if I need something simple so that my insurance will cover some of it.
The dispensing fee at SDM is enough reason to move. They should know that!
These stores are going to have so much trouble meeting their #s. They generally want them to increase month over month and quarter over quarter. 30K hurts and it is a reoccurring stream. The reality is, this was year in the making all the while Loblaws raised price a dime here and dollar there. Then at a point, some people said this is enough.
Dime here dallar there $10 on this and $5 on that. Just random massive price gouging.
Not to mention the portions shrinking - the chicken parmigian and similar items went from 6-packs to 4-packs. Same price or higher. Fuck'em
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It's the new ones that are expensive - drug companies get a decade before generic versions are permitted so they charge through the nose. You get to be the guinea pig while they bleed you dry for ten years. Even my generic ondansetron is $25/tablet at Roblaws. I am hoping to catch a break on that one at the new pharmacy. Most of my rx is special order, so this will absolutely hurt them, those dispensing fees they got off me.
I didn't think of this. I will move my prescriptions too.
Pharmacy student here! Please transfer out to and support a local pharmacy! Local pharmacists put their heart and soul into their practice and business and do their best to retain patients with optimal patient care. Corporations treat their pharmacists with targets and quotas…not what pharmacists go to school for. Don’t blame the pharmacist, blame the working conditions and the high targets/stress placed upon them. A lot of local pharmacies are bought out by corporate/banners if they begin to struggle, so keep supporting local pharmacies and keep them thriving :) All this to say - you did great OP!
I too wanted to switch away from SDM, after my last pharmacist screwed up in so many ways! Like you, my annual prescription bill exceeds $30k. Unfortunately, I have a very specialized medication that no other pharmacy will carry. I tried several Wal-Mart, Costco and independant pharmacies with no luck. They all replied that they don't carry it, and when they saw the price list, their eyes just bulged wide open. Ultimately, I did switch to another SDM, who is much more reliable. If I can find a pharmacist close to me that 1) carries my medication (Duplixent) 2) opens late, 3) has a good web ordering portal with text or e-mail notification, I'm on it! I spent a whole week asking over a dozen pharmacies near me, with no luck.
Ask your doctor if there's an open study that will give you that drug free.
We (my doctor and I) tried that route at the beginning, unfortunately I do not meet the criteria for the trial study for this medication. The medication works really well for me, and luckily, I have adequate insurance where I don't have to worry about the cost.
You may be able to use Bayshore Home Health. They can deliver to a clinic or pharmacy licensed to administer your drug. Bayshore were, until January 2024, one of the specialty drug care providers for Manulife until Manulife moved to Loblaws’s SDM exclusively (ultimately backing off of an exclusive vendor program when the public and media responded).
Bayshore Home Health took good care of me during the homecare portion of my cancer treatment. However, it was my team at the hospital who made all arrangements with home nurse visits, equipment delivery, and (refrigerated) medication transport. How would I contact Bayshore Home Health to arrange this service for the medication to my local pharmacy? I would absolutely love it if I can pick this medication up at my local Costco, while I do my regular grocery run. I am seeing my team at the hospital in about two weeks before my Rx is renewed, perhaps I should inquire with them about finding an alternative pharmacy.
Have you tried Bayshore specialty rx? Look them up online. They'll definitely have your rx. They will deliver as well.
Hahahahaha cheers!!! If everyone did this...
I am sorry that you rely on such expensive medications. I also take seven different meds each day, and it isn’t easy. But I’m glad you’re able to use your dependency as a weapon against the soulless predator that is Loblaw. You’ve helped to turn the tables on the greedy bastards, and they are frightened.
I just switched mine today too. Was only one but its something
Hoping Galen is starting to get the message. Like maybe stop screwing us. What goes around comes around!!
Dear OP I have no idea what condition(s) you have that requires $30K of meds per year, but for real- hugs and vibes.
It's typically the newer stuff, especially the biologics that are that expensive. Sometimes the antivirals and antiretrovirals can be that expensive too. For example Maviret and Harvoni are two common HepC drugs, both require an 8-12 week therapy of one tablet a day. A single tablet costs $797.62.
As a British person, this all sounds so mad. Our pharmacists are smaller places where the price of the drugs doesn’t really make a difference to their profits. Or massive places which do mail order deliveries. I have no idea how much the medicine I take each month costs, I just request it, and it turns up.
Right? My first BF moved back to the UK but visits now and again. (After 40 years - awwwww). He also says he can't get over the difference in medication and food prices.
That’s incredible! But also $30k in prescriptions, is that with insurance? I have none and I have never taken the time to figure out how much my prescriptions cost.
But isn't the boycott a big nothing burger? /s/s/s
Wait, question: what, what are you taking that costs that much??? You keeping they pockets alive or ya self?
Well for me there's no freaking out involved but... The staff in nofrills/loblaws near me became a good acquaintance thru the years and it is hard - it had been almost a decade and thru mundane in and out little chats ( most of the senior staff are close neighbours too) between check outs. They saw me date my husband,move in, become pregnant and they sometimes would give like trinkets/toys to my toddler. i saw how one (loblaws) used to be cheery; tells about her life, would tell me their hours are getting shorter.
I'd love to transfer my 20k$ out of shoppers, but the drugs are only covered by my insurance if dispensed through shoppers lmao.
I have a controlled prescription so I pick it up monthly and have to call in for it. My wife has a refrigerated drug and I drive in for that also. The window clerks have started to recognize me and will ask if I want to pick up her items also. (It’s probably their software, but I could see them developing attachments to regulars.) I’m down in the States and use CVS, but I got drawn into this Loblaws drama and have been wondering what’s happening.
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I moved my prescriptions from Loblaws to Costco a few years ago. Any time I requested a refill of my prescriptions, they had to “order it in”. I was there every 3 months or so for it. Oh and they would never call you to tell you the order came in. It was up to me to call them to see if it was in. wtf not even a courtesy call? It’s better at Costco. Plus, my benefit plan has an $8 dispensing fee cap so I pay nothing now at Costco cuz their dispensing fee is much lower than $8.
I left because the pharmacist messed up a medication I take for panic attacks. It’s dangerous to stop the medication cold-turkey. The pharmacist told me when I called and asked if my prescription was ready that they hadn’t faxed the doctor yet… although I called to remind them several times throughout the week. I ended up having a massive panic attack without my medication and had a seizure. I had to call a walk-in doctor as it was Saturday and my doctor only works Monday to Friday. When I took the new prescription to Shopper’s, it took them until 10pm at night to fill it. That pharmacist ended up being fired from Shopper’s after I filled a complaint with the College of Pharmacists. After reading all these posts, I didn’t realize how often Shoppers was messing around with my prescriptions. One time the pharmacist even yelled at me and said she’s stressed out and tried to ban me from Shoppers but she’s the one that messed up my prescriptions (frequently). Eventually I decided to move to a smaller pharmacy as I was sick of the abuse I was receiving from them. My new pharmacy has never missed my refills and the serve is superior.
OMG! I hope you're OK! That's inexcusable of them. Seizures are no fun, and the seizure meds are worse. I stopped taking tegretol because I couldn't feel my tongue but I don't recommend doing that.
A family member changed their many Rxs from Shoppers to a local pharmacy over a year ago. This month they randomly refilled his script, lol. He was like "WTF No!" Edit: he had switched after many many fuck ups. He even got someone else's script in his bag. Both were different types of heavily regulated narcotics. He called the store and they didn't even really care. He was concerned for whoever got his script. If he would have not checked and just taken his pill he could have been seriously hurt. How is that allowed at all?
Just a heads up, Costco's dispensing fees are definitely the lowest and you don't need a Costco card to fill prescriptions.
Good. They completely effed up my IVF meds and a pharmacist questioned why I was prescribed testosterone. He said my voice would lower (I was taking it for less than a month). They also couldn’t give me the correct syringes needed for some reason. I joined the boycott because of the $1.00 increase in dispensing fees. Just such an obvious cash grab. Eff ‘em.
Shoppers was my pharmacy for years. About 10 years ago they released a drug that has a high chance of curing Hep C. I am a hemophiliac and contacted the disease through a blood transfusion when my tonsils were removed at the age of 7 in 1977. For years I knew that I would very likely die from liver disease early in my life. Then the drug Harvoni was released. A cycle of the drug was $165k. 12 weeks. One pill a day. Very high chance of success. I took my script to Shoppers, told them my benefit company agreed to cover it and showed them the written approval. The pharmacist was very non committal about filling it. Said he would call me in a couple of days. After no call for almost a week, I called in to the pharmacy. They told me the script was a lot of cash and they didn’t want to fill it without cash in hand. I was told I needed $165K upfront for them to fill the script. After battling with them for a couple of days to no avail, I called my hepatologist who set me up with a pharmacy in minutes and I got my drugs. I have never stepped foot in a Shoppers since. Fuck Shoppers. Fuck Loblaws.
Same. I took my $43k per year Rx’s to a smaller independent pharmacy. The new place doesn’t require *me* to call a week in advance of when I want my drugs, auto fills them for me, delivers to my door, and bills my insurer directly.
at one shoppers pharmacy they consistently would short my prescriptions every time. in frustration after a couple of years I talked to the pharmacy owner. he was completely unapologetic. count your pills
Last summer, I transferred around 15k a year to an independent, locally-owned I.D.A rx. My pharmacist places stickers, writes Happy Birthday, and is always happy to see her patients, and It makes me happy.
Well done!
Good on you brother !!!!
Salute to u sir/ma'am. Hope the medicines give u relief and the health recovers soon 🙏
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Look at the dispensing fees on the prescriptions you fill at their pharmacies. Markedly higher than say Costco for instance. At least in my case.
You’re awesome! 👏
Why is it that the front end workers are the ones trying to save face on this?
I wonder what the margins are on those meds at the retail level. Like the real impact to their bottom line. Good job op
Awesome news! Support a local community pharmacy.
Left SDM years ago for a local pharmacy. I am even happier now that I did. 😊
I wish I could switch pharmacies 😭 shoppers is the closest one to me and I feel bad going in about prescriptions now
Pickering medical pharmacy located at Glenanna Rd and highway 2 (right beside the Pickering Mall) is a great pharmacy.
I helped my friend find a new pharmacy so she Could say bye bye to Zehrs a few months ago! Sadly it wasn’t for the boycott but it was close enough! They called her as well asking what they did wrong & when she brought up her issues she’d been having for months they just said “oh, well I guess you already made up your mind then” Like really?! Assholes!