Published: July 09, 2008 10:18 am      

Walgreens closing in on completion, despite delays

PRINCETON — It may not be perfect, but Walgreens is coming to Princeton.

The pharmacy that pledges to provide the prescriptions and products customers need outside a place called Perfect could open on South Walker Street as early as late summer.

“Our goal is to open before the end of August,” Walgreens Corporate Spokeswoman Carol Hively said Tuesday. “Walgreens closes its fiscal year in August, so we always aim to have our stores open by then.”

Meanwhile, Walgreens Regional Manager Keith Hallacher said construction issues might delay the opening celebration slightly, possibly pushing it into early September.

Either way, the 14,500-square-foot pharmacy and store is closing in on completion at the bustling intersection of South Walker Street and Stafford Drive, and pharmacy officials pledged the new business will bring lots of services with its opening.

“In addition to drive-through pharmacy service, the new Walgreens will offer extensive pharmacy services, including a variety of options to refill medications. Touch-tone service allows a patient to enter their prescription number and request a time for a refill by touch-tone without having to speak directly to pharmacy staff,” Hively said. “Patients may also arrange for automated refills and receive e-mail reminders of refill status, or to have their labels printed in any of 14 languages.”

The store will offer one-hour photo processing, passport photos and digital photo services. Plus, customers can share photos with family and friends across the country when they upload digital pictures from their home computer for pick-up at any Walgreens nationwide.

Hively also reported the cosmetics department will feature full-time beauty advisors trained to help customers select cosmetics that just the right shade and formula for them.

Hallacher said Princeton Walgreens customers should anticipate “great customer service.”

“We really go out of our way to make sure their needs are met,” he said.

To do that, Hively estimated the local store will employ approximately 20 people upon opening.

There are currently three Walgreens stores open in West Virginia, Hively said, but elsewhere, the chain is a mainstay in the pharmacy and retail industry.

At April 30, Walgreens operated 6,727 locations in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, including 6,252 drugstores. The company also operates worksite health centers, home care facilities and specialty, institutional and mail service pharmacies. Its Take Care Health Systems subsidiary manages 163 convenient care clinics at Walgreens drugstores, according to store information Hively reported.

Nationwide, Walgreens drugstores serve approximately 5 million people daily, and that number is likely to grow with the company. During the past five years, 2,394 Walgreens were opened.

For more information on Walgreens or possible career opportunities with the business, visit www.walgreens. com.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.