Goodbye Rite Aid

*I came across this draft and, even though it’s old – like by several years (in other words, VERY pre-pandemic) – I still thought it was a fun story and worth posting*

For years, Rite Aid was my drug store. I used to friggin LOVE Rite Aid. I had all my prescriptions filled there. It was always open, always had exactly what I was looking for, and at the right price. It was the only drugstore I would shop in. Somehow everything at Rite Aid felt comfortable. Going into a CVS or Duane Reade felt like landing on another planet. I’d wander up and down the unfamiliar aisles full of seemingly unfamiliar brands, completely disoriented and somehow mystified by the organization of the space. Because I had no idea where anything was, and the few things that I did manage to find were more expensive than what I could find in Rite Aid, I rarely even set foot into any other chain drug store. If I did manage to find myself accidentally in a CVS, it tended to be a very short visit, and more often than not, I would leave the store empty-handed.

That was back in the days before online shopping became a major force in retail. Now, along with 80% of Americans, I shop online. I find that I prefer it. It saves me time, and often money. And with free shipping (which I always make sure I’m getting), shopping online really doesn’t cost any more than shopping in the store. That is, it doesn’t cost any more money. Human contact, on the other hand, well, I guess that’s a sacrifice I find I’m more eager to make.

Truthfully, I think a major component my affinity for online shopping is due to the fact that I find the business of running these errands such a hassle, because it’s always a production for me. I’m such a space cadet, I know that if I don’t meticulously plan these outings, they will be a waste. Of course, now I’ve gone to the other extreme, where I have become so neurotic about planning and executing these trips to run errands you’d think I was heading out into the wilderness for a week instead of going to the grocery store. Before I leave, I have to make a plan of attack, write up lists, get dressed, make sure phone is charged, make sure I have all my lists, make sure I bring food and water, double check that everything I’m taking with me corresponds to everything on my lists, double check that I have my lists, double check that my phone is charged, and make sure I know where I’m going and in what order. And that’s all before I get into the car. All of this is in addition to the normal stresses that everyone has to deal with, like hacking through traffic and fighting for parking (but without the added stress of small children along for the ride, but that will eventually change). And, of course, once I’m on my way, I spend a lot of time worrying about remembering to do everything that’s on my list, because there’s nothing worse than finally getting home and realizing that I forgot to do something (like I did today), because then it means I have to go through this whole spiel again on another day.

Worst of all for me is having to deal with other people, an activity that is inherent in running errands. I have anxiety about being around, and even talking to people (yes, I fully recognize the contradiction of being teaching at the college level and having this kind of social anxiety, but there you have it). So perhaps it’s no surprise that I prefer to do my shopping online. Actually, what SHOULD be a surprise is the fact that, in my affinity for pajamas and anxiety over human contact, I haven’t developed psychopathic or homicidal tendencies, nor have I devolved into some mole-hominid hybrid with poor hygiene and light sensitivity, and who can only communicate in shrieks and grunting noises (but I think the only thing that has saved me from either of those fates was getting married to someone slightly more social than I am).

But I (completely) digress.

In any event, these days, the majority of the things I’m buying on a regular basis, I’m buying online. This is especially the case when it comes to the stuff I used to buy at Rite Aid. Everything in those stores is available online, which saves me time, and sometimes for lower prices, which, combined with free shipping (the only way to shop), makes it a win-win for me in most cases. In the meantime, since getting married, I’ve moved back to NY (yay!), and my doctor started to send my prescriptions to a local, independent pharmacy with which she has an existing relationship (plus, they deliver for free). These days, the only time I now go to a pharmacy is when I need something immediately or last minute. There is a Rite Aid in my area, but it’s about 16 blocks away. In these emergency situations, the closest drug store is the one that gets my business, and that one happens to be a Duane Reade. In the end, it’s fair to say that I really can’t remember the last time I’ve been inside a Rite Aid.

For special items (things I don’t normally need to buy), I also turn to the online world first, mainly looking for cheaper prices (like the rest of the online shopping population). A couple of weeks ago, I went looking for insoles for my husband, Joseph. Unlike me, Joseph has no compunction about going into stores IRL, and he had found one of those Dr. Scholls kiosks in a drug store which measure your feet and pressure points and then spit out a recommendation for one of the brand’s inserts. But seeing that the price of these inserts in the store was over $50, I was determined to find a better price online.

So I did the research, and, lo and behold, I found the inserts at RiteAid.com, and with the loyalty card discount, the cost was significantly less ($15!!) than I was seeing anywhere else. Joseph was planning to leave for a business trip in a week, and he needed the inserts before he left. The only shipping that was free was the standard speed (3 to 5 business days), but I figured that was plenty of time, so I ordered them. The confirmation email told me to expect, within 48 hours, another email which would confirm that the inserts had shipped.

So wait I did. And wait. And wait. Eight days went by and still no email. Joseph was leaving in less than 48 hours. I assumed I must have missed the email. I did a search of my inbox for emails from Rite Aid. I checked my Unroll.me rollup. I checked my spam folder. Nothing. Finally, I checked the order status on riteaid.com, which informed me that, not only had my order not yet shipped, the order was still “Processing,” whatever that meant (meanwhile, of course, they had already taken my money). Thoroughly frustrated, I was prodded to call customer service. That’s right; this problem was big enough that I actually brought myself to speak to another human being.

While it was nice that it didn’t take long for me to be connected to a person, I am sorry to say that this was the only pleasant part of this entire experience. The individual with whom I spoke informed me that the reason my order hasn’t shipped yet is because it was backordered. The warehouse would be getting a new shipment the next day, Wednesday, at which point, my order would be shipped.

This, to me, was unacceptable. Joseph was leaving on Thursday. Shipping it on Wednesday means it would not get it to us before he left. I explained to the representative that I needed it in my hands by Wednesday, not just leaving some warehouse. I also pointed out that the day I placed the order, there was no indication on the product page, my cart, or my invoice, that the item was out of stock. If there had been, I would not have ordered it in the first place.

Not only that, but nobody at Rite Aid bothered to send me any notification that this was going on. I was just sitting there like an idiot, waiting for something to arrive that I didn’t even know hadn’t even been sent out yet. And yes, they had already charged my card. Think about that. They took my money and gave me nothing but a promise in return. Had I received an email telling me that the item I ordered was suddenly out of stock, and wouldn’t be available for shipping until Wednesday, I would have cancelled the order and bought it somewhere else. But Rite Aid didn’t even give me the opportunity to do that. They just took my money and, I guess, assumed I didn’t care when my order arrived, as long as it arrived?? Or, because I got free shipping I have no right to complain about how long it takes? Who does business like that??

The woman on the other line was, shall we say, less than sympathetic. She didn’t apologize, she didn’t offer to upgrade my shipping for free, she didn’t seem to have any interest in being helpful. The only thing she was willing to do was offer me a refund, but considering that a refund would mean that I have to pay $15 or more extra to buy it somewhere else, I was reluctant. The whole reason I ordered these insoles from Rite Aid was because it was a good price. I still wanted that price, and I wasn’t convinced that the only thing she could do was just give me my money back. I mean, we live in an age of digital connectivity that is unlike anything this world has ever seen, and Rite Aid is a brand whose physical stores are spread nationwide. I refused to believe that there wasn’t another way to solve this problem, which was, in my mind, their fault.

Thinking about it, I realized that the logical solution was to see if the specific insoles were in stock at one of the many locations within driving distance of my home. Rite Aid isn’t a franchise; it’s a chain. Individual stores are not really independent of the corporate entities, just like WalMart stores are not independent of corporate WalMart. Likewise, shopping on walmart.com is similar to shopping at a Walmart store. When you buy something at WalMart, Target, or Best Buy, they usually offer you an option for you to pick your order up in a specific store, and they can tell you whether a specific item is available at a specific store. When you are shopping at the physical Target or Best Buy stores, (and other stores as well, by the way) if something is out of stock, usually they will check other locations or online for you and sometimes even ship it to you for free too (not sure about Walmart, because there isn’t one near me, but I imagine it must also be so).

But not at Rite Aid, apparently. Rite Aid stores are apparently completely separate from riteaid.com, because the representative told me that she had no way of actually checking a store’s inventory. This is a ludicrous assertion. You’re telling me that a nationwide chain has no way of checking up on its locations? What if there was theft? Or embezzlement going on at one of them? They would just never know, I guess!

In a marketplace where customer service is really the only way retailers can distinguish themselves from their competitors anymore, it truly amazes me that the online division of a national, brick and mortar retailer can invest so little in making sure the customer has a positive experience with their brand. Poor customer service is frustrating, but downright rude representatives (the rep showed her concern for my problem by HANGING UP ON ME) is entirely unacceptable.

It is equally amazing to me that, in this age of technology and competition, this same company can claim an inability to communicate with any of their stores, and exhibit bewilderment at the notion of creative (yet hardly outlandish) solutions to problems caused by their own buggy system in the first place (whereas I have no doubt that other competing retailers (cough, cough WalMart, cough, Target, cough cough) would be more open to such ideas) in order to keep a customer.

And then, I recall that I always talk to my students about how big companies are notoriously resistant to change and tend not to pivot well in the face of it. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised at Rite Aid. #riteaid, you’ve lost my business permanently.