RiteAid vs CVS - RiteAid wins

[GoneOffShore]

Over the past couple of weeks I've needed various items - none particularly obscure or odd.

Because we have a CVS frequent flyer card I head to the new one at 4th and Spring Garden in Philadelphia.

Item #1 - cloth measuring tape to measure for clothes - CVS - "We don't have that." RiteAid - "Do you want a yellow one or a white one?"
Item #2 - Mini DV tapes - CVS - "We've got audio cassettes and VHS tapes.... Somewhere." RiteAid - "Do you want Sony or Memorex?"
Item #3 - Double sided adhesive tape - CVS - "Wuh?" - RiteAid - "Scotch or RiteAid brand?"
Item #4 - Boric acid to kill ants - CVS - "We don't carry that anymore." RiteAid - "It's right over here."
Item #5 - Lens cleaner for glasses - CVS - "We've got lens tissues." RiteAid - found it on the shelf.

So, the RiteAid at 4th and Spring Garden would seem to be the better place in much the same way that Metro Hardware is better than Lowes or HomeDepot. I now have a RiteAid frequent flyer card.

[sarge43]

1. The CVS near here is a shop vac.

The crap in it makes Wally World upscale.

[GoneOffShore]

2. Strange that

The new CVS is spacious, clean, a great collection of hair products, a dairy case, picture processing and no boric acid.

The RiteAid has been around forever and is cramped and kind of scruffy, but the staff is good and the selection is wider.

[sarge43]

4. One of the things that put me off about our CVS

It doesn't have any non-animal tested products; the RiteAids do.

[GoneOffShore]

5. We get our prescriptions at CVS, but

seldom buy anything else there - Aspirin, vitamins, cold meds. And that's about it.

Whole Foods for Mrs GoS's cosmetics.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. At an intersection near my house are a CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid.

Rite-Aid is my favorite, too

[Bertha Venation]

6. dead blade of grass vs CVS -- dead blade of grass wins

I loathe CVS

[Gormy Cuss]

7. CVS used to be such a good chain. Now it sucks on every level.

The RiteAids around here are pretty bad too but I could conduct the same test as you at Walgreens and it would win every time over CVS.

The biggest problem that I have with CVS is the flyer full of sales available only to people with their affinity card. What that tells me is that they don't want my business unless they can data mine every purchase. Screw that.