BevMo!

Poor selection, very poorly trained staff. I came in looking for a wine and was really disappointed to see how few they carry. Whites are broken up into three categories: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigiot. Everything else is lumped into one small shelf of «Other whites.» European wines are in one sparsely populated aisle, divided only into «French» or «Italian.»
I came in looking for a German varietal and could not find it nor anything else from Germany at all. When I spoke with the staff, they were completely unfamiliar with the type of wine, thinking that maybe I was asking for a particular brand, asking if I was looking for a brand of Chardonnay. When I explained to them that it was a varietal– like, Chardonnay is not Sauvingon Blanc– they directed me to Sauvignon Blanc.
I finally gave up when I realized that there was no way they were going to figure out what I was asking for, much less find out where it was in the store (assuming they carry it at all). I understand that they can’t hire an entire staff of sommeliers, but a basic working knowledge of the product is not too much to ask.
This has pretty much sunk the BevMo chain for me. I’ll be taking my business literally anywhere else.
BevMo: not even once.

had the largest selection of whiskey I’ve seen in my life, it’s dangerous for me to shop here…

I ordered a bulk wine order here in October. I ordered 4 – 5 bottles of each of my favorite bottles of red. Pretty must all of them were «corked.» The cork basically crumbled as soon as the wine opener touched it, and the wine tasted sour. These are the wines I drink all the time, so the difference was noticeable. The bottles were dusty, so it’s not a surprise– I should have known better. I won’t shop here again– they must order too much inventory that just sits for extended period of time.
However, the staff at this particular location were very very nice and my large online order was fully packed and ready before I arrived.

Shane is the best! Sad he left the Pinole location am but happy he landed nearby in Albany. I will switch loyalties and shop this location now because he always go above and beyond to keep my favorite beverages in stock — thanks dude =)

Pretty good BevMo! spot. Wish there was more choices of different beer in the fridge, but place was still pretty solid for your typical BevMo warehouse.

While BevMo! seems great in theory (a one-​stop shop for beer, liquor, and wine with reasonable prices due to high volume), in reality it does not beat places like Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Safeway in terms of price and only has a moderately better selection than places like Andronico’s.
My biggest gripe about Bevmo! is their 5 cent wine sale. For the uninitiated, they have designated wines where the first bottle is «regular» price, but the second bottle is only 5 cents. If one bottle is $ 19.95, two of the same bottle cost $ 20. While I’m skeptical enough to not expect $ 19.95 to be the actual retail price of the bottle, I would hope that the retail price of the bottle was at least a little larger than $ 10. However, this isn’t even always true. Sometimes their «regular» price is more than double than the price per bottle found online by performing a cursory Google search. Basically, they are just tricking you into buying two bottles when you only really want to buy one.
A smaller complaint that I have is that they don’t seem to take requests. I’m from Texas, and I really enjoy Shiner Beer. While this Bevmo! stocks Shiner Bock and occasionally some of the other Shiner beers, they did not have one particular seasonal beer that I wanted one time. I asked an employee if they could order it, and he just shrugged and said probably not. They already order beer from Shiner, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be impossible to make the request. I would have bought several six packs and I’m sure other Texas ex-​pats would have bought it too.
Overall, I’m not particularly impressed with Bevmo!, and I’ll probably just stick with buying alcohol from Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Berkeley Bowl.

I had called several Bevmos in the area and none were as helpful as Shaun (Shawn? Sean?) of Albany Bevmo I was looking for Aguardiente, a liquor from Colombia. Instead of ending the call by saying they didn’t have it (which is what the staff in Emeryville and SF) said, he went into the system to see what store had it. Then check this out: he found 2 bottles in Novato and he said he’d pick them up for me so I could purchase them at the Albany store. Can you believe that? Honestly, this is by far some of the best customer service I’ve ever received. And then when I went to store, I actually met Shaun (Shawn/​Sean) and effusively thanked him. I’ve told all my friends about this and even took a pic. We had a lovely Colombian party with the aguardiente and I’ll be back to this Bevmo!

This is not my usual BevMo and I’m rarely in the area these days, but I’ve been to this one several times over the years. It’s smaller than most BevMos, but there is plenty of selection and it wins out over Emeryville for its chaos-​free parking. I’ve never once had an issue with service or staff, both have always been pleasant and helpful when needed.

Just another (smaller) unit of this mega chain and as such appreciated, but customer service is lacking.
On the last day of an advertised sale I went in attempting to purchase a couple of bottles of 209 gin. Finding none on the shelf I approached a clerk who referred my query to a manager. This manager informed me that the product was not in stock and also not on order, but that «eventually» it should come back into stock. I asked him for a raincheck to purchase two bottles at the $ 24.99 price. He informed me that BevMo does not offer rainchecks under any circumstances. He told me I could pay for the product today and the store would call me when the gin arrived. But since he agreed that the 209 might not arrive for «days, weeks, or even months,» I explained to him that this was not a good faith offer and left. He wanted me to pay but wouldn’t even estimate when the product would come back in stock?!!
I contacted corporate headquarters about this and was told the manager should have offered to transfer the gin from another store or ordered it for me. Neither of these things happened and no attempt has been made by corporate or the Albany store to make it right.
The only choice they left me was to come back some day and pay full price.
Not the kind of service I expect from any retailer, so ClubBev be damned. I’m done with these guys.

The store is huge and has something of everything. We were in for wine and beer, and even though the store is gigantic, w were a little frustrated with the selection. Ended up finding enough variety to get us through a party, though!

Smallest BevMo! I’ve ever been in where its confusing to find some of my favorite beverages.
I was disappointed to find that they only stock Yamazaki 12 Single Malt Whiskey and not the 18. Bah…
I think I’ll stick to the BevMo places on the Penninsula, larger selections, a bit more organized with friendlier and knowledgeable staff.

I used to shop here over 15 years ago when I lived in the area and the company was just starting out. It quickly became my go-​to place for purchasing wine. While the outside of the store hasn’t changed too much (it still looks a little like a 1960s Safeway), the inside has been smartly reconfigured in an upscale California design. There are thousands of wines at all price points, but the wine varietals are easy to find, and there are signs and reviews everywhere. Their «Buy 1, get the 2^nd for 5 cents» program is a great sales promotion. Who doesn’t want to buy a bottle of wine for 5 cents?! It definitely encourages customers to try new wines and that is a great plus. I even re-​joined their BevMo! club to get the discount and I don’t live here. We need BevMo! on the east coast.
You feel almost entertained, like a kid in a candy shop, except that it’s for grown-​ups.

These guys really know their stuff. They have a wine expert there to help you w/​the wine too. Also, this location does wine tasting on Fridays & Saturdays. They have their own parking lot too. This Bevmo is actually my fave one.

I had a need for a few mini liquor bottles and remembered that Bev Mo always has a large selection, so I found myself at this location near me.
I like Bev Mo. I like the selection of beer, crafty cocktail ingredients and most of all, the cheese and gourmet foods. They have interesting sauces, appetizers and snacks, they even sell caviar.
I saw they had the Halloween style bottles and décor out Fun stuff for your upcoming Holiday party season.

There are a lot of different kinds of beverages to choose from, I usually get beer and wine here. The workers are pretty nice and they know about the stuff they sell.

The store has very friendly and helpful staff on the floor. I was unimpressed with the customer service at the pickup counter and register.
In addition, I purchased a beer in the gluten free section that is brewed with wheat, thereby not making it gluten free. I called to report this and was met with a very nonchalant attitude.

This BevMo seems to be bigger than the others I’ve shopped at. Which is why it gets 5 stars. Long live BevMo and its off-​the-​chain selection of booze + cheese.