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.

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.

1. There is an unskippable "you have been logged out" screen which blocks you from logging back in for 10 seconds. I would rather use that time to log back in.

2. Pulling data can take a full minute. That's about ten times longer than it ever should take. It's been slower since the acquisition.

3. Since the Rite-Aid acquisition, many Rx show up without names or any information other than "this prescription is on file with your pharmacy." This wasn't a problem before.

4. Requesting a refill through the app brings up the same message as #3, so I need to call to figure out if it's ready for pickup. The pharmacists are awesome and usually have it ready in record time, but I shouldn't need to bother them to learn data that's already in your system.

5. The pharmacists are awesome, yes, and they are also underpaid and overworked. They deserve better treatment from their employer.

6. There is no difference in the app between "we're working on it," "it's almost ready," "your doctor made an error," and "it's too soon for your insurance to cover it." These should all be transparent so I can spend less time bothering the pharmacists.

I'm looking for a new pharmacy. I hope I can get the pharmacists to switch with me.