Independent drug stores win in CR survey

More than 90 percent of Consumer Reports readers are highly satisfied with their neighborhood independent drugstores, but are more likely to be irked by long waits and lagging service at some big box stores, according to a survey out this week from the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

The survey found that independents made fewer errors, offered swifter service at the pharmacy counter, and were more likely to have medications ready for pick up when promised. Readers who shopped at independents were twice as likely as chain-drugstore shoppers to say that their druggist was easy to talk to and able to consult with them one-on-one. Included in this group are HealthMart and The Medicine Shoppe, two chain-like independents.

One in four consumers who got their drugs at big-box stores complained of a long wait at the service counter. And when a store was out of a drug, a third waited for two or more days to get their prescription. Walmart was among the lowest rated stores overall and the only one judged worse than average in speed, accuracy, and personalized service.

As a group, the nation's 9,000 or so supermarket pharmacies also did well in the survey. Eighty-four percent of readers who bought drugs there were highly satisfied.

For details, see our report on the best drugstores.

—Joel Keehn