To start the ball rolling, you'll need to make a online reservation. Walgreens will email you a confirmation with the exact date and time of your appointment. Please note that the time provided by Walgreens is the time you should arrive, not the time you will receive your shot. In fact, the only thing I can assure you is that the time on your reservation will NOT be the time you get your shot, unless you end up waiting an entire 24 hours in the lobby (which, at times, seems possible), at which point the time would be correct but the date would now be off. Having just shifted our clocks for daylight savings time, it's best to think of Walgreens as operating on some kind of weird Walgreens Savings Time, a place where clocks run backwards and water flow uphill.
Upon entering the pharmacy, we made the rookie mistake of attempting to speak to a human. Ho ho, don't do that! All they will do is point you to a sign obfuscated in a little alcove where you must check in by scanning a QR code using your phone. In case you cannot find the sign, it is sitting next to a window where a human being stares at you while you use your phone to check in. Again, do not mistake this person for someone willing or capable of helping. After scanning the QR code, my app crashed and my wife's locked up. Progress! After informing the woman behind the window that their check-in process was broken, she took our names and checked us in manually, an arduously manual task that took her about four seconds.
After the woman in that window asks you your name, you'll return to the first area where the woman behind the counter there will also ask you your name. Now it's time to get comfy. Having a cell phone is mandatory for all of this. Not only do you need it to check-in, but unless you want to stare at dirty floor tiles or awkwardly at people waiting in line for have their prescriptions filled, your phone can also be used to make the time go faster. In some cases you may need to use your phone to order a meal and have it delivered, should your stay force you to miss two or more meals. You may also use it to keep in touch with loved ones should they begin to worry they haven't heard from you in a while. If you have a small battery pack you might want to bring that as well as many phones won't make it more than a day or two between charges and there's really no telling when you're going to get off this ride.
During your wait you will see a line of people, most of whom are there to have their dreams crushed. I found myself rooting for customers to successfully pick up their prescriptions, but it's a rarity. Many, many of the prescriptions are not ready to be picked up, despite Walgreens calling people and telling them their prescriptions are ready to be picked up. Sometimes there are problems with insurance. Sometimes the prescriptions have been called into the wrong pharmacy. Any amount of pleading will fall on deaf ears -- you have a better chance of winning a one-player game of Pong than squeezing a drop of compassion out of these people. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in the Walgreens lottery -- and speaking of lotteries, I hope your card has "sweat pants", "people with canes", "portable oxygen tanks" and "uncovered sneezers" on your card because those are all gimmies. Neither of us predicted "toddler rolling in dog pee," for which I was scolded for trying to video.
Over the next hour the person behind the counter may call out your name and have you verify your information again for no particular reason. At separate times throughout our visit, both my wife and I were summoned to the register to be told there was no charge, which is a bit like telling random strangers you don't need to pee. To be fair, the act of standing returns circulation to our legs and feet and reminded us we weren't dead.
If you were worried that the Walgreens employees are working too hard during all of this, don't worry. Many times throughout your stay all of them will disappear, leaving you alone in the lobby to wonder if maybe you missed a fire alarm or if this is, indeed, purgatory. Obvious exits: none.
After an hour (give or take), the pharmacy tech will ask you to verify your name for the fourth time before whisking you into a broom closet containing two chairs. Don't be offended if the pharmacist isn't happy to see you. Ours wasn't happy about anything; our presence was merely a smaller circle within that Venn diagram. The Walgreens pharmacist is trained to offer various conversation starters throughout your visit like "both in one arm?" and "I work 50 hours this week." Even if your tech lacks social skills, you can be assured their training is up to date. Ours informed us she graduated from college "a few months ago" and when we released we had attended the same college as our tech, she was quick to point out that she most likely hadn't been born when we graduated. Who says these kids can't kid?
You are not a child and will not be receiving a small toy or piece of candy for being good. Instead, we received four shots and only three band-aids. Complimentary drinks, snacks, and toys are available in the store -- and by complimentary I mean you have to pay for them but will receive a really long complimentary receipt as a reward.
