Gone downhill a bit - Head Photo Specialist Walgreens Employee Review

3.0
19 Feb 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is slightly higher than other retail drugstores Stable company - around for 110 years Benefits are OK: Health better than most other retail outfits (about $70/mo for a single person, different coverage levels available with varying premiums) Dental is pretty good actually, even improved during my time there Free piddly life insurance policy (a year's salary) Most upper management is reasonably competent, but as with any large retail operation, it's different where ever you go.

Cons

Unless you are in an extremely busy lab ($800+ revenue per day) you're going to be asked to do other things around the store, such as resets, facing, unloading the truck, etc. Can get tiring running back and forth between the lab and whatever other task you're asked to work on. Asked to push items that nobody wants (photo coat rack, anyone?) and get paid lame commissions ($1 on a $30 item). Commissions used to be much better in the past - in 2007, I was getting an extra .50 for every 5x7 or 8x10 print. Added up real quick. This was probably removed since most of these commissions were received without having to really make an effort to upsell. HPSes should really make more money, given the level of training and expertise needed to do the job well. Some HPSes don't do crap, but don't penalize the rest of us for that. Rumors of photo being phased out have been rampant for years - it looks like the farthest it's gone so far is removing film processors from new stores, and switching to dry printers (more efficient for low-volume stores). I would not be surprised if this department were automated in 10 years and eliminated in 15. There once existed a District Photo Supervisor position. A couple years ago, this was condensed to an Area Photo Supervisor, and then eliminated entirely a year ago. You have hit the top of the photo career track at HPS. You will have to jump onto the management track (you would generally move to STL, which pays nearly the same with a lot more responsibility) The STL position is a crock in itself, and seems to be a way for Walgreens to cut management pay without firing anyone (eliminating MGT positions through attrition).

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5.0
3 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work with your schedule if you are in school.

Cons

Low pay. I need to be able to multitask, run the cash register, and operate the Photo Booth lab at a fast pace.

3.0
25 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Can be a fun environment. All in whom your staff is. Operating photo was fun and building projects for the customers. Learning about pharmacy operations.

Cons

Work life balance and low pay for what is expected. Not having enough payroll to effectively run a store. My store ran FE on a 320 hour a week budget. That was barely enough to get buy and meet the expectations put out by the company. I was never able to keep a full leadership staff. When a leader called out, I had to stay. There were days I was called away from my own dinner table. SM's were forced to be in the pharmacy for more than half of their day regardless as to what is happening in the FE. I worked over 50 hours a week and barely got to spend time with my family. If I wasn't at the store I was getting a phone call and having to go back to the store.

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