Wonthaggi Miners' Dispensary

I like to support local however today I purchased a travel vaccine for $192.70. The exact same vaccine (brand, dose and timeframe of supply) was obtained consecutively by my partner 20m across the road at another pharmacy for $148.00. I fail to understand how there is any regulation of pricing. I was offered to join a membership, however as I do not obtain regular scripts and there was still a considerable price difference, I declined.

Avoid at all costs! Our entire family have all had far from satisfactory service form this chemist in recent months culminating in them today sitting on a prescription for two days that was an urgent request for delivery from the local hospital for my very covid sick wife- because apparently they wont fill faxed precriptions anymore - But no thought or care on their part to bother telling either us or the hospital this!

This chemist wanted $140 for a medication I usually pay $88 for. I asked them about it and the receptionist was extremely dismissive and rude. Literally went across the road to AMCAL and paid $80 for the exact same script. Their reasoning was 'we are a private pharmacy so of course it'll be more expensive' absolutely eye watering high prices and rude receptionists.

Went for Covid update . Amazed at the space at rear of pharmacy. Loved the mining photos on the wall

Always hood helpful plenty of items for sale

Was picking up a last minute travel medicine and my usual pharmacy only had half the supply. I rang Miners dispensary at 2.45 pm today and very helpfully the other half of medication was put aside for me. I raced down to pick it up. It was dispensed no problems but then I saw the price. Same medication- dose, strength and amount at my usual pharmacy in Inverloch was $64. At Miners it was $99. At this stage I was not asked to pay the $10 joining fee to make it cheaper. I queried the price, 10 minutes later after the price enquiry had gone ‘up the ranks’ I was told $80 was the best they could do as it is a ‘not for profit community pharmacy’, and ‘members are at the forefront of all prices’, but I needed to pay the joining fee of $10 for this price (total price would still be $80). I did not buy the medication out of principle.

Using an app that was promoted to me by a staff member as a time saver, I submitted three script requests at around 9.30am. 30 minutes before their closing time of 1pm I phoned to enquire about them as they still showed as pending in the app. I was told that they wouldn’t be ready until the next day. As I’m leaving today for a holiday, that wasn’t convenient at all. I therefore needed to pick up my paper scripts to get them filled else where. When I complained about this the pharmacist said “we’ve been too busy to check the app orders so yours hasn’t been looked at yet”. Three hours later? So really, what is the point of the app if they ignore it?I used the app because the usual procedure is to spend up to 15 minutes in the queue to lodge the script only to be told it won’t be ready for an hour or so. Then another 15 minutes in the queue to pick it up.The service is always very slow but this is ridiculous. Come on management, put on some more staff to deal with the load.

The new layout of the store provides a much easier, better flowing shop experience. Sometimes the waiting time seems long, but I have never had the staff make a mistake. Pretty good trade off I think.

I would like to support them because it’s a community pharmacy.After repeated confusion and a lack of organisation/time wasting I am making the regrettable decision to stop going there. Each and every time I have been there, there was an error, time-wasting process, incorrect information, and other general irritations about service.I hope they update their organisational/service systems.

Where too start got a lazy year or so to wait well this is the chemist for you even though they have 500 staff and a freaking robot it will take a minimum of 30 minutes to get anything done here. Rude staff bad service why are all the chemists in this town full of contempt for their customers . Go anywhere else or perhaps start your own chemist as it will take about as long.