Harrington Wine & Liquors Inc

Good selection, staff sucks! Very condescending and rude. With plenty of new liquor stores in the area with same/​better selection now, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

I hate this place and will never go back. I took some empty cases of bottles for my daughter one day I was quickly chastised about the limit, I think I was two cases over so I took two cases back to my car. I then just stood there waiting and waiting at the return counter while the lady at the counter could clearly see me but just kept talking to a friend and totally ignoring me. I finally had to walk over there and say «hey can I return these». And then as she’s going through them she then makes a comment along the lines of how I didn’t buy them there. She’s right, I just happen to be in the area but guess what, I’m never going to buy anything there now after the way I was treated.
On top of the lousy customer service that day and the fact that the jerk that owns the place actually fought against a small cheese store down the road from getting a beer and wine license, I will never give that guy any business what so ever. And I used to be a pretty good customer there at one time.
Not to mention in this day and age, you really have to be careful about ID theft and this place copies everyone’s license and keeps it on file. It’s the only liquor store I’ve ever been to that does that so I would be careful.

This place has a great variety of beers and I loved most of it. This place isn’t far away from where I live so it was my first choice when i moved to Chelmsford. Wish they’d had some of the more popular beers like Boddington’s, Franziskaner as well but it only gave me an opportunity to try out more new beers. I read the reviews on Unilocal before I went there and I’d read some of them complained that they ask for IDs. I wasn’t offended by it as some here seem to be. Its their job to do it. Overall, a pretty good place.

Not over the top friendly or helpful I will spend. My money else where

Sorry, John but I visited your store for the last time. Your staff desperately needs training in being polite, helpful and customer-​friendly. Today I went in to use a gift card I recieved and the clerk acted as if I was dirt. Never again. Now I know why everyone in my neighborhood goes to Westlands Package Store. I hope the town eventually allows supermarkets to sell beer and wine.

This place has a good selection, but they make me feel like a criminal even though I’m 31! When I first moved to the area, I went here all the time, and just thought the liquor store was a nasty experience by default, then after they refused my (valid) MA driver’s license, I swore off them. Thought I’d give them another shot today and they blew it with their attitude.
What teenager is going to sneak in and buy fancy German hefeweizen singles for 4.50 a pop anyway? The kicker? The cashier’s greeting to me: «You 21, Ma’am?» No hello, no have a nice day, just «Why didn’t you have your id out for me?»
I’ll continue to skip this place and keep going to my normal place, where I also get carded, but never in an accusing, bitchy manner. Anything they don’t stock, they’ll special order for me.

Good selection of wine, beer and booze. Great prices. Lousy attitudes.

This is one of the cheapest places with the best selections around and the staff are very helpful especially when I was picking wine out for a friend as a gift.
I took away 1 star because you have to sit through way to much traffic to get there after work as it is right near the center of town but any other time is good.
I took away 2 stars because for a while a couple years back a few bad apples stole merchandise from this store in order to combat this the store elected to take a picture of every younger customer. As they checked out they would ask you to look at the camera and they would take your picture. This is on top of the other security cameras which I found unnecessary and intrusive and it certainly turned a few people off from buying here including myself

People that work at Harrington’s are some of the rudist. Never mind the ID carding issues when I’m over 40, but they make up their own rules on the bottle bill. We knew they only accepted 5 cases (120 returns) per person, but when I showed up with two of my friends to return 15 cases they made up a new rule stating that we couldn’t arrive in the same vehicle. The jerk behind the counter wasn’t the only issue. We also got flak from one of the cashiers regarding the amount of returns we cashed in. It wasn’t a mistake, but instead the fact we had about a dozen jugs that had 1.50 redemtion on them. So we took the money and left without buying anything. We are going to video tape it next time and hopefully we can show the others on youtube what to expect. If they refuse to take them next time we’ll look to get them cited.
Save 20 – 30 percent and go to Nashua. Market basket has even started selling high quality beers like Rogue and Stones. The state liquor store is right next door. Not only do you get a smile, but you’ll save 20−30%!!!

This place has a huge selection, and is probably the largest liquor store in the area (at least, of the ones I’ve seen).
They have an entire aisle dedicated to craft beers, the depths of which I have yet to dive into very deeply, sadly.
I’ve been in there a number of times in the past couple months, and haven’t had a single issue with being ID’d. License check only, no palm scan or rectal exam. Maybe they got too many complaints, who knows. There is a sign on the door that states MA Licenses only, which seems to be pretty common around these parts.
Definitely will be back some more, the next time I need to restock.

My 32 year old brother was in town and since I (26 years old) bought dinner, he said he would buy the beer. When we got to the counter, the woman at the register carded him. She explained that they couldn’t accept an out of state license. My brother motioned to me and I pulled out my valid MA license. The woman then said that I couldn’t buy the beer because I was with someone from out of state. I’m glad they didn’t sell to us because we didn’t have any wampum on us.

I am SO happy I wasn’t the only one who has experienced the crazy/​humiliating ID treatment here. I’ve been coming in here for years with my mom (who is in her 50s). Love the store, great selection, they have ALWAYS been friendly on the occasions I’ve accompanied my mother.
Tonight. went in for the first time with a friend (we are both in our 20s). Holy crap. Apparently if you don’t have wrinkles and gray hair you are treated like a criminal. I wasn’t even buying any liquor, I had only come in with my friend who was. Instead of being greeted with any sort of normal human greeting the woman barked, «are you girls 21?» like I’m some sort of underage idiot who would try to purchase alcohol. She carded me, understandably, but then rudely told me they would not accept my STATE ISSUED ID (I don’t drive a car, I never got my license– I made sure to get a state ID to buy liquor once I turned 21. I stood in line at the RMV and paid the same amount of money for my ID).
Nope. Apparently you need to operate a motor vehicle to accompany a person purchasing liquor at Harrington’s. Both women I dealt with were extremely rude and patronizing. They told me to bring my passport next time. Hmm. don’t think there will be a next time. You lost 3 local customers tonight.
Ridiculous…

An excellent store. A huge selection of wine and beers.
I especially like their aisle of craft beers. Impressive selection.
I am only 30 (at the time of writing this) and haven’t had any issues with carding. Simply the usual id check at check out.
PASS

I’m wondering if their ID policy has changed recently (re: people complaining that anyone who lacks sufficient grey hairs gets treated like a criminal) as in the past year or so at least of my visits here I have not had my palm scanned/​photo taken etc. Just thought this was worth noting as many of the reviews here are a few years old, including my original review.
That or I just look old now.

Weird how everyone seems to be in love with this place, but I’ve never found a wine here that I couldn’t find at a grocery store. The wines that I do drink, I can’t find here nor have they offered to order them for me.
I definitely don’t see what the fuss is about. Go to the Liquor Shop or Kappy’s instead.

OK, OK, Whah, Whah, Whah,
I went back, and actually had my ID with me, and it’s kinda got a decent selection and the staff is kinda sorta nice, but not really. I mean, I finally show up with my hallowed ID and I don’t get put through the «process.» Last time, I was Public Enemy #1 for not having it. Did we really look that old?
Sheesh.
Whatever…

I really like this place.
The selection here is amazing and the prices are great! Very clean, well organized, and the staff has always been friendly to me.
I went in last night after doing laundry down the street, figure I try a brew I haven’t tasted yet. So I go in with my bro-​in-​law and we make our way to the farthest aisle from the entrance. This is where all the micro brews and imports are. I’m standing there looking through (what seems to be an infinite) selection and the a gentleman working at the store walks over. He asks me if I was in here a couple weeks ago and I say yes. He remembers me and told me I forgot a single beer when buying my six packs.
So that’s where that beer went?!
He then tells me to go grab another single of my choice since I already paid for it. This simple gesture just secured them a loyal customer. As much as others have complained about their carding policy… well I just turned 21 this January and they have yet to card me.

Great Customer Service. I just called Harrington’s and needed to find a Pinot Grigio which I had with friends at a nearby restaurant. The nice person was busy yet he checked to make sure it was in the store as it had sold out a few days ago.
Joanie Mc

Selection? Yes, it’s not bad. Prices? Eh, about average.
What ticked me off about this place is how they treat anybody who looks even remotely young. I’m 25, so I still get carded once in a while — which is fine, as long as the service staff asks for my ID politely. Harrington, though, took this process to another level.
They not only closely examined my driving license (it’s a Mass ID, for crying it out loud), but then proceeded to ask me to put it down in a designated spot — look for a hand symbol pinted on the counter — then turn to face the camera. The whole deal took a few minutes, and was mildly humiliating. No way I’m coming back here again.

HUGE SELECTION — which is great.
BAD SIGNAGE — which makes it bad. Am I in the Italian red section? hard to say, I’m walking round and round, but there’s white here with the red, and do we sort by brand or by varietal/​blend? They do by varietal, which is fine, but a sub-​sort by brand would also be helpful.
We were searching for a Ruffino Classic Chianti («oooh, that’s an expensive bottle of Chianti» as one of the girls at checkout said). We couldn’t find it with the other Ruffino. So we decided to ask for help.
The manager walks by a cross aisle. We ask him, he leads us over to where it is located and points (it’s a few feet down from where we were). BUT he doesn’t say anything, not even «here you go» or «thanks for shopping Harrington’s». I know it’s a few days before Christmas, but come on, help us out. (and my father in law is a regular customer here, although he wasn’t with us).
Aside from the personality quirks of the staff and the lack of clear signage, the selection is amazing, prices are very reasonable and the store is well lit. Selection trumps personality in this case.