Bartell Drugs 12+

As a former Walgreens app user perhaps I'm spoiled, but this app feels like it's behind the curve a bit. It should be noted: Walgreens is such a massive company that it's not fair to hold Bartell's to the same app standards.

With that being said, I have two (and a half) functionality issues with the app:

1. My phone (iPhone X) is incompatible with TouchID and the app is incompatible with FaceID. I know I can always bypass the biometric option to enter the phone passcode (which it defaults me to because I don't have TouchID), but I would just feel better protected on principle if the app fully implemented my phone's different security method.

2. It feels more often than not that the app is really just a conduit used to access the website. Apps that operate that way don't really make sense to me -- why have an app then and not just mandate use of the website?
2.5 I wish it didn't auto-logout and offered the option to stay logged in if you verify your identity through FaceID (or TouchID, but the functionality for both needs to be there). Better integration of these features and a slightly larger app with more save data and cache dedication could completely fix this.

I have a 12 pro max, always have the lastest OS, have used this app for a couple years now, and I also work on iOS apps for a living.

On launch screen, if you backgrounded or force closed the app and reopen it later (say 20-30 days), it has a small popup that says the session expired and I was logged in. It autodismisses after like 5 seconds but you can't tap anything or interact with the app or dismiss the alert. If this was a subview placed on a clear dismiss-on-tap view it would be much more user friendly. Or even a small x button to close it?

Then, any time I go to refill a prescription for the past few months, I can view the prescription and tap the request refill button and then it says the prescription info couldn't be found. One time out of the three the Bartells got the prescription, the other times it didn't. Stupid.

Additionally, within the past 8 months, when a prescription was "ready for pickup" in the app, the local location didn't have it and said that happens when they update the status to say it was delayed/on hold. I had to sign up for texts to get alerts about this.

When I review my Rx history, it isn't ordered chronologically which is really bizarre and non standard. Also, refillable prescriptions aren't put above ones that are not refillable for some reason? Confusing.

This app is bad. Whoever designed this should be ashamed of themselves.

However it would be ok if they fixed two big things:

1. The login view is cumbersome. The message that tells me I’ve been logged out blocks all action. Why?? I have to sit there for several second just waiting for it to fade. I literally cannot do anything else. This is dumb. There’s no need to block all user action for this. Also the login process is SEVERAL iOS and iPhone hardware versions behind. Updating this would be nice.

2. Why the app fetches data as much as it does is beyond me. And how it handles fetching the data just dumb. So dumb. I’m a software engineer. I get what that app is doing. But there’s no reason why this cannot be accomplished is some better fashion. You do ANYTHING and the app fetches data. It’s incredibly annoying. And while this goes on for far, far too long, you can’t do anything. Nothing. You just sit there (or leave the app in total frustration and write a review like I am now). They should have it get new data when the user pulls down on the prescription list. The pull-to-refresh design is standard practice among iPhone apps. It it beyond me why this app doesn’t do this instead shutting down all user action to fetching data if you simply breathe on it. It’s wild. Every single time I have to sit there while the app fetches data I regret using the app. I hate this so much.