Rite Aid Reviews

GOSSIP, DRAMA, LACK OF CONSISTENCY. If you've heard a rumor like this about Rite Aid- it's true. I'll keep this short, trust no one. This company is looking for steel-skinned, heartless, machine-like robots. DO NOT MAKE WAVES. DO NOT BE A FREE THINKER. DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS. And use your paid time off all up BEFORE you leave. Outdated technology, outdated best practices, outdated teaching methods, outdated company. Outdated tech: we have more issues with the registers either crashing or freezing than running a Windows computer without firewalls. Most stores are in need or remodels or have recently undergone a remodel, which consists of an interior face lift and updated lighting and camera systems. They reuse most of the fixtures and all of the tech. Outdated best practices: outdated training modules, still using the same training methods that we taught in the late 90's, there is no formal training program for Assistant Managers, Store Managers, Associates (cashiers) and a very roughly outlined 2 weeks program for Shift Supervisors. Outdated teaching methods: Rite Aid has yet to incorporate smart phones or mobile technology into the workplace and does not even have a formal phone list for vendors and maintenance. Outdated company: There are no term programs for any associate, cashier, shift supe, assistant, etc, they are all a learn at your own pace, teach yourself program. Because there is no formal training program you will see MAJOR inconsistency in work ethic and habit when you work at another store or have someone from another store come to your store to work.

This will be one of the longest lists of cons ever posted here: 1. Inadequate training. Computer Based Training (or "CBT's) do not teach you the specific skills required for the job. They only enforce corporate policy and basic customer service procedures. You basically have to learn everything on your own. 2. Nasty and foolish customers who often toss the money across the counter when making payments instead of handing it to you respectfully. It doesn't matter how nicely you greet them, they will treat you with the utmost disrespect. You also have to deal with the customers who give you an attitude when you card them for tobacco products. They still have to make a snide remark after you explain to them that it's the law and company policy. Customers also get mad at you when you tell them that there's a limit to how many coupons that they can use during one transaction. There's also the customers who believe that they are paying too much for a product or service and blame you for it because they have the preconceived notion that you are overcharging them. You'll also get some elderly customers who take several minutes just to find their wellness card and their money to pay for items but it's your fault that the line isn't moving fast enough. Many customers can't read or pay attention to simple details so you have to explain everything to them. 3. Terrible supervisors and management who refuse to communicate specific and important information. Many supervisors go on a power trip and believe that they can talk to you or treat you anyway they please even if it's in violation of company policy. HR and upper management will be very slow to respond to serious issues and will most likely take the side of upper management. You're expected to see through walls and predict the future. Some supervisors will scream and cuss at you just because they're having a bad day or simply because they hate you for some reason or another. Some of them are perverts, prejudice and most likely drug addicts. They always tell you how bad of a job you're doing without any sort of advice or coaching. Even if you do good, they have nothing to say about it. They also refuse to issue breaks even if you're going to work 6-8 hours. Working on your feet for that long while reaching, bending, squatting, kneeling, pushing, pulling and lifting is pretty extreme to say the least. District/upper management do not care about you or anybody else. They only care about numbers and to them, you ARE just a number. 4. The expectations are ridiculous and no matter how hard you work, it's never good enough. 5. Disrespectful and cocky co-workers who automatically assume that they're better than you are. Especially if they are the higher paid pharmacy workers. 6. It's a very careless and hateful environment. They taught me in the first month to only care about me and to see my co-workers as competition instead of a team. Also got wrote up in the first month for not affixing enough sales ad labels up at the rate they wanted me to while I was also expected to ring up customers which involved constantly stopping what I was doing. Interruptions will delay your progress and it's all your fault if you are not able to keep up. 7. The pay sucks and it's not enough to make a living off of unless you are a pharmacist, store manager or corporate. 8. Constant threats from corporate management and you're supposed to be afraid of them even when they only show up once every couple of months. 9. Every mistake is your fault even if you are not appropriately trained or new on the job. 10. Front end workers are expected to do everything on their own without any backup and if you fall behind slightly, management will not let you forget about it. In fact, you may be subject to harsh lectures and write ups. 11. Always cutting hours so there's no way to make real money there. 12. There's the classic features of favoritism and cliques. 13. You must provide your own work attire but this can be a pro or a con for some. 14. Outdated and often slow technology which can delay some transactions and enrage a lot of customers during busy times. That is your fault too. 15. Insane scheduling policy. For example, one day you'll be working a 7am-2pm, the next day could be a 4pm-10pm, the day after could be 6am-1pm and the next day could be 12pm-8pm. One week you might have 3 or 4 days off in a row and the next week you might be working 5-6 days in a row. Work/life balance can be difficult and schedules like those will negatively affect your sleep pattern and your plans. 16. They literally try to shove their vaccines down customers' throats. 17. Pretty high rate of turnover and I should have not accepted the job when I initially found out that was the case. I've seen 3 people leave in the course of about 4 months and I'll be leaving in less than a month after 7 months of pure torture. 18. Non-supervisors need approval for so many functions of the cash register that it disrupts productivity. You have to call the manager to the front of the store just to have them approve a return or a void because they believe that it's appropriate to assume that every employee is a thief and just waiting for the right moment to rob the store blind. 19. Dirty old store with a major pest problem that needs to be bulldozed or remodeled. 20. Benefits are nearly useless because the health and dental only run through one service that doesn't provide coverage everywhere. The 401k is questionable and not even interesting. The other benefits that come along with it are a joke and you cannot discover all of your benefits until you've been there long enough and have access to the Rite Aid Portal. 21. Very unprofessional environment and it is not a long term job unless you are desperate or out of your mind. 22. The occasional lazy vendor who just places new products on shelves or in cooling units without rotating and facing the products so you have to do extra work on top of all the other hordes of work that you're expected to complete. 23. New products that will not scan so you have to modify the price or call the manager on duty (MOD) to the front to resolve the issue. 24. Not a secure job but it might be good for a first job just to gain experience. It's best to tolerate as much of the nonsense as you can for about 3-6 months and find something much better and less degrading. 25. Jumbo sized cockroaches coming out of the crevices of the cracked concrete outside of the building. Also had a filthy ground area that's stained to the point where it's brown and black around the perimeter of the doorway. 26. They just throw away outdated products that are still good instead of donating them. 27. Not allowed to ring up your own purchases because you must be up to no good if you are. 28. You basically have to talk off of a script and constantly have to repeat yourself every time a customer approaches the counter. 29. The company constantly changes rules, policies, products, services and expectations. The manager might tell you about the changes but not in detail. 30. Lots of customer theft occurrences but corporate management refuses to hire loss prevention staff. 31. Constant interruptions make it difficult to complete a long list of tasks. For example: If you're towards the back of the store putting up sales tags or facing products, you have stop everything that you're doing, rush all the way to the front of the store, ring up a customer for a $2 soda or a $1 candy bar, walk all the way to the back of the store, try to finish what you were working on and repeat the interruption cycle over and over again. By the time your shift is over, you're behind on work and it's all your fault. Managers will write you up and chew you out for this. I could literally make this list much longer but these are just the cons that I can remember the most. I realize that every store may not be this bad but a lot of them are according to many of the other reviews here. If I could rate this job any lower than one star, it would be a negative 5. This has by far been the worst job that I've ever had in my life and words cannot describe how much I hate getting up and going in to work.