I have learned that CVS is closing more of their 24-hour pharmacies, in fact all of the remaining ones in South Orange County.  The front stores will remain open so they can still post “Open 24 hours” but if someone needs a prescription filled or a pharmacist’s advice for their sick child at 2 am they can no longer go there and will probably have to hit the E.R. instead.  Since the nearest 24-hour Walgreens is in Tustin, that’s pretty much it for 24-hour pharmacies down my way.

I thought they’d stay open through Christmas and change the hours January 1st, but they’re not waiting and it is happening on December 6th.  It’s strictly a cost-saving move as an overnight pharmacist makes way more than he earns selling a few prescriptions overnight.  They have cut the store staffs to bare bones so the only way they can shave off more payroll is to reduce hours.  The downside is that the overnight pharmacist gets a lot of work done, tasks that will now be pushed to the daytime when the pharmacy is busy and the 8 hours will be gone as well.

Although the front stores will still be open 24 hours, I figure it’s just a matter of time before they go to 7am-midnight, which is what a lot of the 24-hour stores have done in the past.

If I recall correctly, it was in the 80’s when Thrifty started the 24-hour trend and advertised it heavily on TV, forcing the rest of the chains to open 24-hour stores to compete although they were not happy about it.  As labor costs rise most chains have deemed it too costly and the trend has reversed and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before they’re all gone.   It’s no longer about accommodating customers, but rather about saving money.   But not to worry, I’m sure that any day now, Amazon will develop a system where a drone can deliver medicine to your doorstep in the middle of the night.