it was acquired by private equity firm
Has that ever ended well for the employees or customers?
this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2025
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The stockholders come first.
Repeatedly, from my experience, and they are never truly satisfied.
Don't forget those juicey bonuses for c Suite
No, but it's not meant to.
Beats me, ask ToysRUs.
Stocking shelves, helping customers and tidying up at Toys R Us was literally my first job during high school, and it was probably the best work a 16yo kid could in the early 2000s.
I will never forgive Bain Capital (and Mitt Romney for founding it), for its intentional sabotage of that business. Absolute scumbags.
My first jobs were in the late 70s, and they sucked until I realized that I choose where I work, and the money was bad everywhere (min wage), so why not work somewhere fun? I thought about a movie theater, or a bookstore, but saw a sign in my favorite record store, only a mile from my house, and I ended up in the record biz for the next 35 years.
THAT was the best job ever.
Touché, that definitely does sound like it would have been a a fun job!
I still feel like I lucked out compared to my classmates who were either flipping burgers at Macca’s, stacking shelves at the local supermarket, or waiting at a chain restaurant. Being a “Toy Tester” every December was just 👌🏼
until I realized that I choose where I work,
Only if they're hiring. And that is increasingly a rarity for places that you would actually want to work.
It was a lot easier in the '70s, I would imagine.
I worked in the local Mall. At least 10 stores were always hiring at any given time.
Or Red Lobster.
No. Ask RadioShack as well.
Do I have to give them my phone number first?
Private equity firms are literally the cancer for businesses and indirectly, humanity.
They continuously grow, take everything they can get, and kill anything in its path
Never. Ever.
Well, it'll be out of business in 3 to 5 years.
Sure, if the customers own the PE firm
It makes stockholders money and that's all that matters. Line must go up.
it was acquired by private equity firm
Has that ever ended well for the employees or customers?
In Pretty Woman? Even then it's been so long I don't remember if the employees were saved, or just the business overall.
Nope. Private equity is a leech on society.
Well I'm sure that tanking employee retention will help with the problems they have (massive lines at their understaffed pharmacys and one person working 3 counters inside).
They don’t give a fuck they are gonna sell everything for parts after it’s “proven unprofitable”
Is there a better pharmacy to use that treats their employees better...
Your local independent or local chain.
CVS is the most convenient to me, and they don't seem overworked when I've been there.
Edit: maybe also online ones like cost plus? I don't know how they are as a company.
In my area, there's one independent pharmacy in a metro of 3m+ people. Walgreens bought all of them and closed most of them. Our options are Walgreens and CVS.
I second the local. If you have one, they would like your business. Grab some candy and an emergency birthday card while you're there.
Several years back I got totally fed up with cvs and Walgreens. It was impossible to get ahold of anyone on the phone, and they were always backed up in the store because of lack of employees. It was a huge hassle because I take care of my grandparents prescriptions, and there are like 15 medications per month.
Switched over to a local pharmacy. Every time I go in, they have tons of friendly employees working, I've never had to wait more than a couple minutes to be helped, and I call and someone answers the phone within seconds most of the time. And the prices are about the same.
I guess Costco if there aren't any local options
If you still have a local non-chain pharmacy use them until they go out of business. They will eventually because the chains have a stranglehold on pricing and are actively raising costs for independents, then offering to buy the business as it founders.
Mark Cuban's Cost Plus drugs is my refuge from pharmacies. It's cheaper than the chains even if you have insurance, but I can't be my Adderall through them.
Find a local one if you can.
I'm stuck with corporate pharmacies, unless I want to drive 45 minutes one-way.
As we head into a world-wide recession, job opportunities are dropping. Employers will no doubt take advantage of that to further exploit workers. I'm afraid things are going to get much worse before they get better.
There’s always money in the CEO budget. I mean banana stand.
Glad I quit that job. Fuck Walgreens. Always understaffed as well.
You were the CEO of Walgreens?!?
No a team lead so management. But it didn't pay shit.
Have an upvote for the arrested development reference.
Our Walgreens is basically a shell at this point. I almost never see more than one person working on a given day. No idea how they keep functional
The Walgreens pharmacy at our closest one is hit or miss for whether the're even open.
Oh, I do. They have like 10 employees, a shift manager and a manager. The manager and the shift manager get 40 hour weeks. The rest of the employees gets like 15 hours a week and the manager will get slapped if they start accidentally scheduling them for more than 35 even if they ask for it.
Of those 15 hours, like 5 of them will be on shipment/stocking day when they get their shipments in. Usually a less busy day like a Tuesday or something. After the shelves are refilled you really only need a cashier and a supervisor and at really slow times sometimes the cashier can be the supervisor.
Hear that everyone? Walgreens employees are going to give even fewer shits about shoplifting!
Wait not giving people their PTO sounds illegal. Im sure it's not cause thats the states though.
Not giving them earned PTO is illegal, but that's not what they're doing. From the second paragraph of the article:
The pharmacy chain eliminated six paid holidays
That's fine we started avoiding them when they let pharmacists refuse to give birth control and hormone therapies. They have sucked long before the new owners
So is it more ethical for me to boycott them or should I go out of my way to shop there and pay more for their employees they stifle out of wages?
Your money isn't going into any wageslave pockets.
The employees are even less motivated to prevent shoplifting, if it's any consolation
No amount of spending is going to increase a single employee’s wages. Boycott.
Buy only loss leaders. Stand in front of high-traffic areas failing to make up your mind. Find ways to waste their time then tip them generously for their "help."
Make sure they make more money doing work that isn't profitable for Walgreens than they make doing work that is profitable for Walgreens, and they'll start prioritizing unprofitable work. Incentivize goldbricking.