CVS promises employees who are hired as pharmacy service associates (uncertified technicians) that the company will help them study for the certification exam and then pay for them to take it once, but when employees seeking professional development request this, they are often told not to worry about it, because, unlike other pharmacies in the area, CVS got rid of its one-dollar-per-hour raise for associates who choose to become certified. CVS also has a very high turnover rate. The starting salary is only about $8.00 to $8.50 per hour, and the raises are very small and often do not occur when they should. Even employees who have been in the company for many years have trouble making it to $11.00 an hour, while a nearby competitor hires pharmacy service associates at $10.00 an hour and gives them a $1.00 raise upon certification. CVS also has very poor discounts on prescriptions for uninsured employees, and the part time health benefits are $121.00 a month with very poor coverage, so most part time employees choose to remain uninsured. Once an employee is enrolled in part time health benefits, it is very hard to unenroll if he or she loses hours or becomes eligible for MA (or other such "life qualifying events"). Pharmacies are also not given nearly enough tech hours, so they always feel like they are one staff member short. Overall, pharmacy service associates feel very disposable.
