Meet Theresa Jones, Walgreens ecommerce fulfillment center team member

My name is Theresa Jones, and I am a team member in the ecommerce fulfillment center in Edwardsville, Illinois. My chief responsibility is to satisfy our customers by processing refunds. I work primarily in the returns department. When a returned item is delivered, I determine whether it’s best to put the product back in stock, donate it or liquidate it. From Thanksgiving until late February, we process many returns due to the holiday season. The outbound departments get busy with the volume of packages as well, so sometimes I’ll jump over to that department and help them get orders out to customers this time of year.

I have worked at Walgreens for 10 and a half years. I transferred to the ecommerce fulfillment center when it first opened in March 2022 because I saw an ad for it and thought it looked interesting. I am already close with my manager and fellow team members and love it here so far. We’re all similar in that we care deeply about our customers. We partner to do the hard stuff together, like emails and research, scheduling pickups and dealing with vendors to ensure returns are processed correctly. I personally work with 11 vendors throughout the year. I try to put myself in the customers’ shoes so I can fulfill their needs as they continue to use Walgreens. Making sure they’re satisfied is what I love most.

Jones processing returns in Walgreens ecommerce fulfillment center in Edwardsville, Ill.

In a typical workday, I wake up and check the weather so I can get my son ready for school. I have three kids, ages 30, 22 and 15, and take care of my mom as well. I make sure my youngest, a freshman in high school, has breakfast, a fully charged Chromebook and is packed up for the school day.

I arrive to work at 7 a.m. and have a startup meeting first thing every morning and then head to my work station. Every day I start somewhere different, so I first need to check the dock area and unload my daily returns from the delivery trucks. Throughout the day, I process claims, check mail, pick up donations from other fulfillment centers or dispose of damaged returns. I wrap up the day by completing an end-of-the-day report and prepping for the next day so everything’s in order for the following morning.

After working in five other departments throughout my time at Walgreens, I feel like my current role fits me perfectly. I previously worked in "old orders", where items with unique problems won't ship out, and it was my job to figure out why to stay within the delivery timeframe. I loved working out those puzzles, but I get to collaborate more with my coworkers now, and I like the facetime. I get to mentor and teach new team members, and I like to have fun while still having their back and making sure they thrive.

From left: Jones's children Ivory, Devin and Tyra, and her grandchildren Kai, Brooklyn and Dakota.

It’s important to me to take care of the people around me at work and at home. At work, we cover for each other if one of us is out, and it’s taught me to be open to change and be adaptable. I work with a lot of different types of people, and it’s taught me to be patient. I’ve built great friendships here that I cherish.

In the evenings, I catch up with my husband of 22 years, my other children and grandchildren. My oldest, my daughter, just wrapped up eight years in the Air Force, and my son just returned from 17 months in Japan as part of the Marines. They are both working now, and I love to have them home so I can spend time with them and my 8-year, 3-year and 8-month old grandkids. I also love to listen to music with my youngest—mostly alternative, reggae, soft rock and rap. It’s my background music while I catch up on The New York Times and check the stock market.

Thanks to my time at Walgreens, I know that looking ahead to the future helps you stay focused. Staying focused keeps you on the right path. And on the right path, comes success.

Jones and her Christmas tree, 2022.