Duane Reade’s False Advertising

March 20, 2008 – 8:08 am

Duane Reade has been running a new radio ad for the past week that is blatant false advertising. Why? Well, it opens like this:

Cheery Male Cashier: …eighteen, nineteen, twenty. There you go, ma’am. And thank you for shopping at Duane Reade!

The ad then goes on as an exchange between the cashier and the customer about the benefits of getting a Duane Reade Rewards Card. When the customer wonders how she can get this card, the cashier says, “well, I can sign you up here right now!”

I’ve never known a Duane Reade cashier to utter more than two words to me, let alone several complete sentences. Unless they all live under a rock, Duane Reade’s marketing team knows their employees are bitter, cranky, and unhelpful. All New Yorkers know this. An ad like this is an insult to Duane Reade’s customers… and people like me, who avoid Duane Reade as much as possible.



  1. 5 Responses

  2. Dude, c’mon now. EVERY time I made a purchase at the now closed DR on the SW corner of 1st & 14th I was asked “Do you have a DR card?”
    Every.
    single.
    time.

    Granted - I ALWAYS used the pharmacy ‘counter’ in that locale.

    However - YOU now have a shineeey NEW DR as they closed that scary one with dust dating back to 1857.

    Whatevs
    The DR sux, we all know it. We deal.
    It beats taking Metro North to the Target in Riverdale.

    By jane on Mar 20, 2008

  3. Another bit of false advertising is the suggestion that Duane Reade employees can actually count higher than to 3 or 4.

    By Ha Ha Sound on Mar 20, 2008

  4. duane reade employees are extremely nice to me. um, the straight male employees are too friendly. would love to see what you think if you spent the day as a chick.

    By heather on Mar 23, 2008

  5. aw, i don’t mind duane reade. the park slope/prospect heights location is generally pretty friendly. and i like to earn my DR POINTS!!

    By sarah on Mar 24, 2008

  6. The main reason I order as many of my drugstore needs as possible online is to avoid the nasty cashiers. The better selection, lower prices, and delivery don’t hurt either.

    By Janine on Mar 25, 2008

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