If you ever want to really know what goes on behind-the-scenes at your favorite stores, talk to someone who used to work for the company. Many retail workers end up spilling secrets about their former employers once they leave their job—and some of the things that end up getting disclosed might shock you. Now, a former CVS worker is dropping some concerning insight into what's happening at the drugstore chain's stores. Read on to find out what one ex-employee wants to warn you about.
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CVS has received a fair amount of criticism recently.
ShutterstockCVS has found itself in hot water more than once over the last month. In late May, several shoppers in one city started protesting the drugstore chain over the news that it was closing a store in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois—forcing customers to have to travel more than two and a half miles to another location for their prescriptions.
The company has also been hit with several consumer lawsuits. During the month of May, one shopper sued CVS over "misleading" branding on its store-brand hand sanitizer, and another filed a suit claiming the company doesn't properly warn customers or risks associated with the paracetamol medications it sells.
A former employee of the company is speaking out.
ShutterstockIt's not just outsiders calling out this popular chain: In a new interview with The Sun, a former CVS worker warned shoppers that some of the company's stores are not cleaned as often as you might think they are. "The shelves are super dusty and dirty. We would have to clean them and it was so gross," the ex-employee, whose name was not disclosed, told the news outlet.
The cleanliness issue largely boils down to workers reportedly only being able to clean shelves when they had downtime, the former CVS employee revealed to The Sun. According to the worker, this happened to be just once every two weeks at their specific location. Best Life has reached out to CVS for comment but has not yet heard back.
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The employee also said your medication might not be handled properly.
iStockIt's not just the packaged products on store shelves you may have to worry about. The former CVS worker told The Sun that the trays they used for medicine at their old location were also often unclean. Like most other pharmacies, CVS pharmacists use trays and a spatula to count medications so they can ensure that customers are receiving the correct amount in their prescriptions without having to touch the medicine with their hands.
"Some medications can’t be mixed or touched by other [medications], so we’re supposed to clean the tray to remove remnants and residue, and my supervisor and team members didn’t do it," the ex-employee explained to The Sun. "Also, the trays we use in general should be cleaned cause they get gross, but you know they didn’t [clean them]."
CVS was previously criticized over its medication handling.
ShutterstockThis is not the first time CVS has been hit with concerns about how its pharmacists sort medications. In Dec. 2021, a video allegedly showing an employee at a CVS Pharmacy pouring pills into her bare hands to fill a prescription went viral on TikTok, amassing more than 23 million views at the time, Newsweek reported.
"This woman just came from running the window register, straight to fill my medicine. This is the final straw CVS," the TikTok user wrote in text over the video, which is no longer available. The user, who goes by the name Jessica, told Newsweek that she while she did not expect for her video to go viral, the stories in the comment section and from other users made her realize that the issue was "bigger" than just her once instance.
"It's clearly a CVS problem and they need to address their protocols for everyone's safety, including their employees," Jessica explained to the magazine.
A spokesperson for CVS told Newsweek at the time that the company has policies in place to keep patients and employees safe while filing prescriptions, and that these requirements would be reinforced among team members. "Our pharmacists and technicians have access to tools that allow them to fill prescriptions without having to touch medications with their hands," the spokesperson said. "It's our policy that these tools should be used when filling prescriptions."
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