New anti-theft Walgreens store has just 2 aisles of touchable merchandise

[storewanderer]

That's my point. After midnight, I can see running out to Walgreens. Before midnight, go to Jewel-Osco. Not even sure why this Walgreens exists on this corner. Maybe they think South Loop residents are fans of Big Roll toilet paper?

Actually I see the store is currently open 7 AM to 10 PM.

Also to use the pharmacy you have to "check in" at a Kiosk then you are admitted to the appropriate window when it is your turn. Yeah I am absolutely going to touch a "kiosk" to check in for a pharmacy. No way.

So to pile it on even more- this place- you have to order goods and services via a "kiosk" except for 2 little aisles. For parking you have to go into a garage. And it closes at 10 PM.

Jewel across the street- closes at Midnight, full visible sales floor (maybe they have some things locked up), surface parking lot.

I see no reason for this Walgreens to even exist. If Walgreens wants to speed up their demise to being irrelevant they should go full speed ahead with this new format. Get converting now. Convert 100 stores a month.

[BillyGr]

Also to use the pharmacy you have to "check in" at a Kiosk then you are admitted to the appropriate window when it is your turn. Yeah I am absolutely going to touch a "kiosk" to check in for a pharmacy. No way.

No reason that would be any issue - after all, you already have to touch the equipment when you pick up any prescription (to sign the screen to authorize it with a pen), even if you don't use a card to pay (which so many do).

[storewanderer]

Also to use the pharmacy you have to "check in" at a Kiosk then you are admitted to the appropriate window when it is your turn. Yeah I am absolutely going to touch a "kiosk" to check in for a pharmacy. No way.

No reason that would be any issue - after all, you already have to touch the equipment when you pick up any prescription (to sign the screen to authorize it with a pen), even if you don't use a card to pay (which so many do).

There is a lot less contact to sign/decline/accept consultation than there is to go to a kiosk, tell it why you are there, type in your name/phone number, etc. However I think the pharmacy experience should be completely contactless.

[BillyGr]

Also to use the pharmacy you have to "check in" at a Kiosk then you are admitted to the appropriate window when it is your turn. Yeah I am absolutely going to touch a "kiosk" to check in for a pharmacy. No way.

No reason that would be any issue - after all, you already have to touch the equipment when you pick up any prescription (to sign the screen to authorize it with a pen), even if you don't use a card to pay (which so many do).

There is a lot less contact to sign/decline/accept consultation than there is to go to a kiosk, tell it why you are there, type in your name/phone number, etc. However I think the pharmacy experience should be completely contactless.

I'm 99% sure that (at least here in NY) it can't be completely contactless, since that signature is something required by the state. Years back, they had stickers that went into a book and you signed next to them by pen, so this is obviously easier for the store to have it all in the computer system.

Though, if you are really concerned with touching the machinery, you could always carry your own pen or similar item to touch the screen with, and thus not actually touch the screen or anything accessible to the public.

[Alpha8472]

Various pharmacies have tried various contactless pickup options via their app. Walmart has an app where you pay on the app ahead of time, sign your name on the app, and simply scan a qr code at the pharmacy. They used to have an express window where you could cut the line. Immediately the employees would serve you first and give you your prescription with everything paid for and signed for ahead of time. If you save your credit card on the app, you should be able to use express pickup for any prescription.

Virtually no one used the app, so they don't even bother to advertise it anymore, but the express pickup option on the app still should work.

Kaiser Permanente lets you order prescriptions on an app and pay ahead of time. You simple show a qr code on your app when you pickup. You don't need to sign, but you do have to press yes on the credit card reader to bill your saved credit card.

The problem with a kiosk is that you have to touch the screen and many people dislike that. There should be an option such as bring your own stylus or scan a qr code with your phone.

It is too bad that they do not have voice recognition technology where you can talk to the kiosk and tell it you are here to pickup prescriptions.

I have tried using a kleenex and often the touchscreen will still respond if you use a kleenex.

[storewanderer]

I've done drive through pharmacy transactions where I never signed anything (I did have to surrender my credit card to pay), not sure how that worked, but somehow...

also I have seen some Kroger Drive Through Pharmacies that had a credit card reader out in the drive through lane (this was before Chip/EMV so maybe those are gone now, never saw them at Smiths but did at Fred Meyer) so you did not have to give it to the employee.

Pharmacy and after-dark ATM may be the only 2 things I actually think a drive through is good for.

[BillyGr]

I've done drive through pharmacy transactions where I never signed anything (I did have to surrender my credit card to pay), not sure how that worked, but somehow...

also I have seen some Kroger Drive Through Pharmacies that had a credit card reader out in the drive through lane (this was before Chip/EMV so maybe those are gone now, never saw them at Smiths but did at Fred Meyer) so you did not have to give it to the employee.

Pharmacy and after-dark ATM may be the only 2 things I actually think a drive through is good for.

Good question - the store I use doesn't have drive thru, but the pharmacy chain store locally does. With that one (taking a neighbor to pick up items) they sent out a small clipboard with a paper form to sign, much like one might do with a credit card slip. Not sure if they actually kept that form or scanned it back into the system somehow inside.

Then again, it is possible that the rules are different state to state on having to have signatures for these pickups as well.

[storewanderer]

Good question - the store I use doesn't have drive thru, but the pharmacy chain store locally does. With that one (taking a neighbor to pick up items) they sent out a small clipboard with a paper form to sign, much like one might do with a credit card slip. Not sure if they actually kept that form or scanned it back into the system somehow inside.

Then again, it is possible that the rules are different state to state on having to have signatures for these pickups as well.

I know in the case of Smiths the last time I used drive through pharmacy which was at least 2 years ago they had somehow programmed just that cash register to still swipe all payment cards (not use Chip) due to the situation where there was not a way for them to get a PIN entry via drive through (Kroger does not let you "run a Chip-based debit card as credit without PIN/bypassing PIN even if it has Visa/MC logo" - you must enter a PIN to use a debit card). But on the Swipe based system their system still allowed pin bypass.

I know if you go inside you have to sign something when you pick up accepting/declining consultation.

[rwsandiego]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a fan of this kiosk business. That said, it is important to keep in mind that this store is located in an area where people will walk to the store. Between the proximity to a major 'L' station (Roosevelt - subway stop on the Red Line, the busiest 'L' line in the CTA system and elevated stop on the Green and Orange lies), at least two major bus lines, the walkability of the neighborhood, and the proximity to the Museum Campus along the lake, it would not surprise me if the majority of their business does not drive to the store. The small amount of parking won't make much of a difference here nor will the absence of a drive-through. There are several Walgreens in similar Chicago neighborhoods (and New York, San Francisco, etc.) that do not have any parking lots.

Which brings me back to why I think this store was selected for the kiosk concept. Despite being an increasingly upper middle class to wealthy neighborhood, it is in close proximity to some very very bad neighborhoods. It is a good place to determine whether the concept doesn't alienate various types of customers while preventing shoplifting. Plus, metropolitan Chicago is also their headquarters, so it will be easy to monitor. Believe me, no company should ever pilot something in a location not in proximity to their IT and business ownership teams. My former employer did that and ended up spending thousands of dollars in travel costs for me to go back and forth from San Diego to Simi Valley, CA. Why we didn't implement the pilot in the branch located down the street from our test lab is still a mystery to me.

[buckguy]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a fan of this kiosk business. That said, it is important to keep in mind that this store is located in an area where people will walk to the store. Between the proximity to a major 'L' station (Roosevelt - subway stop on the Red Line, the busiest 'L' line in the CTA system and elevated stop on the Green and Orange lies), at least two major bus lines, the walkability of the neighborhood, and the proximity to the Museum Campus along the lake, it would not surprise me if the majority of their business does not drive to the store. The small amount of parking won't make much of a difference here nor will the absence of a drive-through. There are several Walgreens in similar Chicago neighborhoods (and New York, San Francisco, etc.) that do not have any parking lots.

Which brings me back to why I think this store was selected for the kiosk concept. Despite being an increasingly upper middle class to wealthy neighborhood, it is in close proximity to some very very bad neighborhoods. It is a good place to determine whether the concept doesn't alienate various types of customers while preventing shoplifting. Plus, metropolitan Chicago is also their headquarters, so it will be easy to monitor. Believe me, no company should ever pilot something in a location not in proximity to their IT and business ownership teams. My former employer did that and ended up spending thousands of dollars in travel costs for me to go back and forth from San Diego to Simi Valley, CA. Why we didn't implement the pilot in the branch located down the street from our test lab is still a mystery to me.

I'd go further to suggest that the idea of a drive through here borders on the comical, as people live around there partly so they don't have to depend on a car and people coming into the area for the museums aren't planning to go shopping. I'm guessing that rswsandiego hasn't been here recently---The South Loop area has changed dramatically since the 90s. A friend and I used to work in different places nearby and were pretty astounded at how much the area had changed when were at a convention nearby shortly before COVID. The area west of here used to be a remnant of the Maxwell Street market with a mix of outlet stores and "fell off a truck" flea market stuff and the areas further South were a mix of housing projects, institutional uses, and warehouses, along with the old established Chinatown. Things have changed radically in both those directions and the area to the South has a new Green Line L stop---the nearest one used to be 2 miles away. Walgreens may have chosen this location because it is like a lot of their locations in neighborhoods close to the lakefront and even a couple miles in---dense areas that draw people from different backgrounds throughout the day, but a mostly middle class clientele. It's also not a touristy area despite the museums--that kind of clientele wouldn't make a useful test.