Columnist Muriel Stevens: Explanation won’t fill pill bill

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001 | 9:13 a.m.

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at 259-4080 or muriel@lasvegassun.com.

I've heard some lame excuses in my life, but the ones offered in defense of Walgreen's prescription policy by Michael Polzin, manager of media relations for Walgreen drugstores, were the lamest ever.

Of course, I'm pleased that the chain did keep trying until they reached me to discuss why a prescription for one pill costs as much as a prescription for 30 of those same pills.

Polzin offered many reasons for this policy. Among them: It has to pay the pharmacist; the special computer the pharmacy uses is expensive; the cost of the label, vial and store utilities are high.

After digesting this foolishness I asked if this was really what he wanted me to share with my readers as the reason for one pill costing the same as 30. He did.

"The cost to process and fill a prescription at the typical drugstore could be $5, $6 or $7, whether that prescription is for one or 100 -- this is the actual cost without the medicine."

He continued, "We have to pass on to the customer such costs as the 24-hour drive-in window. There is a basic cost that comes with providing service whether you're getting one pill or 100."

This was his story and he stuck with it, even though I questioned everything he said and gave him every opportunity to present a case that would be credible.

There was no mention made that the pharmacy alone does not carry the cost of doing business for the entire store. Walgreen stores, as do all chain drugstores, have multiple departments that help pay for the overall operation. The pharmacy is just one part.

Our conversation was long and tiresome. Polzin continued to give me inane responses that had nothing to do with the basic question: Why does it charge as much for one pill as it does for 30? I still have no answer.

I did get a note from a reader who had the same experience I had. She, too, refused to pay for one pill what she would have paid for a full prescription. Her solution was to find an independent pharmacist who filled the prescription for one pill and charged her 38 cents -- the actual retail cost.

Unfortunately, I've misplaced her note so I can't share all the useful information that was included. Perhaps she'll write again.

Meanwhile another Walgreen experience has convinced me to move to a new store. Read on.

More Walgreen: "There's a difference between the act of selling and the art of customer relations." That quote, from a friend, came after I shared my latest Walgreen gripe.

At 9 p.m. Saturday I went to a Walgreen's drive-in window to pick up a prescription. A sign said not to ring the bell for service. It was a moot point. The bell had been removed. After waiting seven minutes with no contact I gently beeped the car horn. After another few minutes I was advised someone would soon come. Twenty-seven minutes later I was still waiting and by now, angry. Why hadn't someone taken the time to let me know I had not been forgotten? I beeped again. Finally someone came; an indifferent pharmacist who offered no apology for the long wait (34 minutes) and who was discourteous as well. That did it. I'll suffer the minor inconvenience and move on.