Things have been rough lately, so I’m writing a review. Yeah, that’s right, you know how I do.
As written on Google: I hate Rite-Aid [on Colorado Boulevard] more than any store I’ve visited in recent memory. Compared to every other Rite-Aid, this one always falls short. And that includes even the now-closed Rite-Aid in Downtown Seattle, which was like a homeless shelter with stuff for sale.
Since I’ve been in Pasadena, I’ve visited this Rite-Aid store several times. Everything is laid out in a way that makes no sense and it’s impossible to find anything I’m looking for. Most Pasadena natives must be privy to the uselessness of this store because the aisles are always clear. Perhaps the myriad of products that I don’t need are laughingly mocking me like a set of twins at the end of the aisle saying, “Come play with us, Danny. Forever and ever and ever…”
The staff, if I could find one of them, can’t seem to find anything either. Usually if I search long enough, I eventually find the aisle that *would* contain my item, but it *doesn’t* and that’s *annoying.*
How do you not have Nair? I know women be shavin’, but some of us don’t have that kind of time or precision.
Why does every travel shampoo and conditioner you carry not have a mate of the same type and brand? If I wash my hair with Pantene and then condition it with Garnier, you must understand that my hair is at risk of smelling like nuclear trash receptacle from the warring chemicals in each.
Why is your “food mart” comprised almost entirely of edible garbage? Half the items are candy bars, the other half are overpriced canned goods that I can get down the street at a real grocery store. And you don’t have cranberry juice that is 100% juice. You are a pharmacy! If you’ve ever had a UTI, then you respect the medical value of this non-prescription item!!
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I didn’t use the pharmacy, which I understand is the reason we have Rite-Aid in the first place. Still, if I were Godzilla, I would stomp this place out of existence and put a Walgreens in its place. Well, I’d have other people build the Walgreens because if I were Godzilla, I’d be too big to construct such a tiny store.
Addendum: A bit later in the day I had the pleasure of stumbling into a “99 Cents Only” store. Everything in there is 99 cents or less! No, seriously! They have so many things I would actually eat in that store! Until today, I had never been in one of these.
I was surprised to see they had produce. Some of it looked overly ripe, but it was a good effort. Much to my surprise, there was a huge selection of meat and cheese that wasn’t going to expire practically tomorrow. They had 32-ounce jugs of milk and chips and salsa and daaaang, I could go full-on grocery shopping here if I knew I’d be staying here awhile. (More on that later.)
I also saw Batman flip-flops, which I would have totally bought if they had my size… and wore flip-flops. I was pretty close to buying some seahorse pool toys and an InuYasha DVD, but then I remembered I don’t have a pool or DVD player. And that I already have enough toys in California, Texas, Washington, and probably New York to sink a ship, and someday I’m going to have to get them all in one place.
I bought a Thai Kitchen noodle bowl (better than Top Ramen, although the store has a lot of that too) and a big box of glowing sour gummy worms. No need to praise my refined tastes.
So what have we learned today? Sell neat-looking crap for 99 cents. Don’t call yourself a pharmacy and try to sell actual crap for more than that.
Also, Pavilion, a subsidiary of Von’s, has nasty carrots but all is forgiven because they have Rosarita Zesty Salsa refried beans, which I haven’t seen in years and thought were discontinued. And Trader Joe’s is still the best store on the planet. I went to all these places today.
