Liquor Control Board of Ontario [LCBO]
Reviews and Complaints

February 18, 2015, at the LCBO store on Maple Avenue, an employee made a false accusation at me, it was extremely unacceptable and I will be going legally after this store. I will be calling directly to this store as well. I will never go to this store again, this is extremely unprofessional and I will not stand for this treatment at an LCBO! I am a business owner and I would never treat a customer in any negative manner, talk about a way to kill your business! Check your security cameras staff prior to making an accusation of a customer!

I was in the LCBO with my father. I am 32 and he is 63. He was purchasing 8 flavoured beers for a Christmas stocking. I didn't have my ID as I and 32, was not making the purchase, and left it in the car. I stood by him at the cash and the cashier asked for my ID. He accused my dad of buying alcohol for underage. He said my daughter is 32, and this is not even for her, she is just with me in the store. He then said "people like you lie all the time." This was embarrassing, rude, and totally out of line. I am not even close to the age limit. I have read similar posts where minors were nearby which make sense. But this was uncalled for. Also the pure rudeness of this man was out of line. We left and drove 20 mins each was to go get my ID. We felt we needed to redeem ourselves as he made us feel like criminals. Just an aweful experience.

On Sunday September 14th at 12:45pm I went into our local lcbo to make a purchase.
It was 20 minutes before I walked out with my wine.
The store was only staffed by one employee. She was taking care of an elderly lady choosing wine, meanwhile there was a line up of 6 people waiting to pay.
I felt bad for the poor girl. She was trying to do everything on her own and keep all the costumes happy.
I feel the lcbo should at least have coverage for 2 employees. If not for customer service then safety.

On one of my visits to my local LCBO store I witnessed a clear indication that our society has not evolved as much as we might hope and in fact is swinging the other way. I was degraded, humiliated as a parent and the hole episode has left me depressed for our society. I know that life is full of bigger problems, like the middle east, disease, famine, but again we get our heads around these things and by acknowledging they are wrong and as a society we try to do something about it. Well now it is clear to me that the LCBO is wrong and we have to do something about it! This monopoly that hey have managed to hold on to makes me question, did we win the war?! Or are we being robbed of our free will that is granted to the rest of the free world when anybody can buy liquor at any grocery, or corner store accept here in Ontario
On July 24/20014 I walked into my local LCBO store like I have for the last 17 1/2 years with my 15 year old daughter and was told by the cashier that since she had "handled" some of the bottles, I could not purchase anything because it is against the law for a minor to handle alcohol. I quickly came to the conclusion, due to some of the adds and signs that this cashier was trying to stop me from buying alcohol for my daughter. I tried to assure her that I appreciated the law but since my daughter was clearly under age and was just tried to help me place the bottles on the counter in order to expedite payment that surely she (the cashier) is miss understanding the intent of the law in this case . She retorted that the law is the law and there is nothing she can do about it and that she will have to get the manager. Well I thought good, well maybe I will get a sensible person who will clearly see that I'm not trying to pull anything over someone and straighten this hole thing out. Boy was I wrong, even though he acknowledged that my daughter looked 15 the law was the law and I would have to leave. I asked if this was a life time ban and he said no just for tonight.
I have witnessed some of our societies lowest points. People making bad judgements, lying, steeling, degradation beyond imagining, but always in its place. So it made cense to me, in someway you might see it coming, with some explanation, and therefore I've been able to keep a positive view of this world we have created. The good must out way the bad, right!... Wrong! I have tried to place a complaint with the LCBO's customer service and still until now I have not heard anything other then some sympathy from the three people I've spoken to. It is clear that they have some misguided people working for them and I just wan't an apology from the staff so that my daughter could see that there might still be some hope left in this world.
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Cashier refused service after my daughter had helped me carry a case of beer to the counter. She is over 19 years old but did not have her ID with her. The cashier threatened to call the police (no problem for me) and then told me that I was trying to buy liquor for her as a minor. Very offensive and rude behaviour. I have come to that store for 12 years and at 54 years of age have never before encountered such a belligerent person.

On April 16, 2014, I asked my daughter to buy a quart(small bottle) of wine and one can of beer. When she went to pay, the cashier rejected her, because her ID was expired(Driver's License). This happened around 1:00 PM.

I decided to buy the items by myself (this was around 2:30 PM) on my way to work and I went with my daughter. When I went to pay, the Assistant Manager told me, "You cannot buy the beer". I asked what the reason was, he said: "Because I assume the beer is for her", all while pointing at my daughter. My daughter is 22.5 years old, and he CANNOT think or ASSUME what I am going to do with my purchases. And, what I didn't like was his assumption, because it's my money and I was NOT DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL, it's my right, and I can decide what to do with my purchases, as long as it is not illegal.

I got so angry at the same time, I feel DISCRIMINATED. My daughter and I do not consume alcohol, that was a present that I wanted to give to my co-workers for Easter. I said to him: "We cannot live off assumptions, it is simply a discrimination, and against human rights". Why if he assumed that the beer was for my daughter did he sell me the wine, if both beverages are alcoholic and any of those could have been consumed by my daughter!

hello. I have been attending the LCBO at the George st.N location. And I am very dissatified with the customer service. Thestaf seem to think it is their personal store and can hold comedy hour while customers are in line. Holding up the line to tell jokes. I was waiting for a cashier to ay for my goods and after several chuckles from other stock staff trying to get the cashier attention the said cashier nochalantly walks up and rudly asks me if I need his help. Is he not a cashier? Am I supposed to ask to pay for my liquer? Do they not have a job? I will follow up with this complain and won't stop untill I get an awnser.

When you don't get served because you have been asked for ID and don't have it, or you have ID that is expired it isn't that cashier is being rude or on a power trip. They are abiding by the LAW. It's the LAW. You can't negotiate the terms of the law. And each time a cashier asks you for ID they have to enter it in the system. They can't complete the transaction bc it's been flagged unless and until you provide VALID not EXPIRED but VALID AND CURRENT ID. The cashier then let's the system know whether or not valid id was produced and it may proceed or be terminated. I understand that a customer denied is frustrated, may be well over the legal age and/or how frustrating it is that just bc your license is expired doesn't negate the fact that you are of age. However the LAW is clear on the privilege of purchasing alcohol. Instead of taking out your frustration on a cashier, I suggest you take it up with Queens park and lobby to change it. Good luck with that. Instead though, customers feel that they may berate, insult, name-call, intimidate and argue with a cashier complying with the law and doing their job. And then you label the LCBO as having a bad attitude. The manner in which customers feel they can speak to staff is disgusting, knowing full well a cashier is at work and can't say anything except "it's not personal, it's the law". And ps: the policy for buying alcohol is posted visibly at each store so the requirements for id are public knowlege. Same with not being served if your companion doesn't have id. If you've been observed discussing the purchase with your companion, the LCBO has reason to suspect you will be consuming this product together with this person so the law requires you ID the other party. Also when you complain about not being served for any of the above scenarios the employee receives a pat on the back for doing their job. So complain away. Also your conduct towards the cashier is recorded on the security cameras so anytime a customer with a bad attitude tries to lie and say the cashier was out of line, that's all quite easily verifiable. Thanks for shopping the LCBO.

I was asked to provide ID but did not have my full wallet on me. I'm 37 years old. I explained to the clerk that I did not have it on me, I've been 19 for almost 19 years and don't always think to bring it to buy a nice bottle of wine. He told me that I looked under 25. I told him 'thank you' but that he was being absurd. I explained that I haven't been 25 in over a decade and asked that we please move on and finish our transaction. He told me he could not serve me. The girl behind me told him he was holding up the line and to stop being a [censored]. I suppose he has a sad little life and this is the only way he can feel important as he still would not complete the transaction. I walked down the street to the beer store and purchased 3 singles without being questioned. Ridiculous. I've always supported the LCBO but now I say privatize it! get these little entitled union guys out of there.

I went into the LCBO with my mother and two friends. I split up from my mother as she went on to make her purchase and I went with my friends as we chose out what we wanted. While we were shopping we noticed the cashier craning her neck to see what we were doing. I wasn't buying anything but helped my friend carry his purchases to the front of the store. After putting them down on the counter she asked me for ID. I wasn't making any purchases so I didn't have any. The cashier snipped "I can't sell any of you any of this without her ID." Being a 27 year old, who regularly frequents this particular LCBO, having had numerous encounters with this cashier, and seeing as I wasn't making any purchases, I didn't bring mine with me. I rarely got IDed as a 19 year old, and can honestly say I have been asked for ID twice in the past four years so I'm not accustomed to bringing it with me.

I would have written this off as a rude encounter with just another cashier, if I hadn't been in the store a few days earlier and had a chat with this same cashier. She mentioned to me how desperately she hated working "Ribfest" (a festival that was going on at the time that I visited the store). "All these drunk kids come in and buy just one can of beer" she complained. I knew she was in a bad mood when I walked in there and I knew exactly why, because she had told me so during my previous visit ---during which I wasn't IDed, may I add.

It was very obvious that she was taking her frustration out on people she saw as "a group of kids", the same type that would come in later and make her shift so unbearable. I can guarantee that I would not have received such treatment if I were older.

Went to get an S.O.P. Sue was the rudest woman I have ever spoken to on the phone. I returned her call and she basically yelled at me for having a full voice mailbox. She proceeded to lecture me how I filled out the "LEGAL DOCUMENT" with a marker. I assured her I was using a ballpoint ink pen... and she yelled at me that it was a marker, and who would ever fill out a legal document with a marker.

She then said "I have no idea what this is! A public permit? Private permit? your all over the place!" I told her I was applying as a student for a student run gallery exhibition and I had help from a man at the store to fill it out for me. I was confused by part of the sections... That shouldn't be a reason to yell at a customer...

When she found out that a representative from the store helped me with it (I think his name was Dan) she said "WELL. that is a different story. He will have a talking to".

The point is, Dan (?) did his job as best as he could. I could tell that he was nervous about his boss (Im assuming Sue). We were in the liquor store for 40 minutes. I filled out the application, and then waited for Dan to return from his office after being on the phone for a good 15 minutes to figure out if I needed a private or public permit. We then went through the whole application together, and made the correct changes (I crossed out the parts that were done wrong, and signed my initials. We also redid a whole section on a new part.

The fact is, Sue was extremely rude, and should never talk to anyone the way she did. I was extremely offended. I was going to the LCBO for a service, and expected to be treated with respect. She yelled at me over the phone, and made me feel like I was an idiot.

I will be sure to contact her supervisor and regret asking for her supervisor at that moment.

Today I went to the lcbo to buy some wine for valentines day. Took quite some time to pick it out. Went to the cash, the cashier asked for Id and I gave it to him. He saw it for a while and then said its expired. I suddenly realized I hadnt switched my new cards in my wallet. (Health card and drivers license). He asked if I had any other Id and I knew it was my health card to which he also said expired. In my mind I accepted I would have to ho home and come again. As a last attempt I said even though my. ID is expired it doesnt change my date of birth at which point he raised his voice and said 'I need valid ID'. I didn't say anything and was putting my card away when he goes, 'if you drive with that license you'll get arrested.' (It was my g1 but why shouldve i even be faced with such a comment!) I was so shocked by what I heard and after that he goes 'if you go to the hospital they will call the cops.' WTF! (No they wont u just cant get insurance) at that second comment by the way he said it I knew he was a racist white ### picking on me. Im brown. He is Just a fuc*in lcbo cashier. He has no right to say such things to me or to anyone. His job is to be a cashier n i hope he remains that way forever! I was so insulted and hurt and I left n was so disturbed I even got out and cried I couldn't help it. I felt so terrible. Its night now and I am still disturbed. I'm going to call that stores manager and complain tmrw. Its the lcbo at yonge and college above loblaws. Tall white guy, blonde hair cocky attitude, early thirties. Unless you are white I would stay away from that store. Horrible horrible experience. Are the lcbo employees not educated or cultured? That guy should not be facing customers at all. He needs to be firef a nd go do a [censored]tier job elsewhere.

I went to the lcbo on gibb and stevenson (Oshawa center) Saturday night @2040 feb2 / 13. The clerk apparently acting manager would not sell my liquor because she tough that i had to much to drink, she said in front of everyone that i had glossy eyes and that my eyes were all red. I tried to tell her that i had a headache and that i am not a drinker. But she denied me to buy the liquor (52 ounce of vodka and a bottle of wine) i asked her to get the manager and she replied that she was the manager. She was attending the cash register at the far end of the store by the office (Petite blond girl) i wish i would of taken her name but didn't. I intend to go at the store to speak with another manager if there is. . When i left the store and got to my car i could see her making fun with other people in line, i just felt insulted. I am over my 50's and this never happened to me before, i did not realize that lcbo were training their personal to diagnose people and to insult them, (Very bad experience) with the privacy act right now even an hospital is not suppose to release any info or condition on their patients in front of other's. I guess lcbo has different policies. Now if i was so drunk as she said in front of others you would think that her position would of been to report me to the police and advise them that i am driving. (You would think) .

I am a 26 year old living in Markham Ontario visiting lions head for recreation. I went to the local LCBO to get a bottle of wine and bailey's after church for a our brunch meal. I walked in the door and there was no one standing at the counter. Since i needed some assistance I decided to wait. She finally came out from the back and asked me what i wanted. She seemed like she didn't want to help me but i asked her where the Bailey's was anyways. she pointed in the direction and i picked up what i wanted. As I approached the counter she asked for my I.D i showed it to her explaining i just had a birthday and I'm 26 years of age. She rang in my purchase asking me if i had air-miles. I replied "NO" in my experiences the stores the next step is ask me what method of payment i will be using. Instead she grabs it from my hand and said " this card does not belong to you" and threw it back at me over the counter ( it had belonged to my father) I was so shocked by the aggression I said kindly "OK i will pay with debit". As i pulled it out she grabbed that from me as well and examined it. I never had that happen to me before i was embarrassed. I pay with my card and walked out shaking from the embarrassment and aggression this woman displayed. it was not a pleasant experience at all. I can say when i come to Lion's Head to visit I WILL NOT be returning to that store at all. And neither will my father. We will take our business to Wiarton.
I am positive the woman's name is "Debbie" she had blondish hair.
Thank you for your help. I am loOKing forward to hear the response.

I went to the LCBO in Union station (Toronto) on a Friday after work, to pickup wine for an event. A stone faced male staff member stood on the ramp where the doors are, watching customers like a soldier itching for a gun fight. I wandered the isles looking for a particular wine and gave up when I didn't come across any staff to ask (and too hestitant to ask that stone faced one). Unfortunately, as I picked up my selection from a shelf, my large work bag accidentally knocked off an item from a display. The item didn't break but I was startled and had my hands full, so I looked at the stone-face (for some kind of assistance) but he gave me a dirty look; so then I looked at the cashier and she looked away with disgust. So I said "Forget it then!" and lined up to pay. Stone-face then shouted at me from his post: "AREN'T YOU GOING TO PICK IT UP?!"
I simply replied "No!" Then he shouted at me from across his post "UNBELIEVABLE!" . I decided to explain to him that he shouldn't give dirty looks and could have offered to assist. He told me to "SHUT UP AND GET OUT!" I then actually got scared - if someone is willing to get that angry in front of customers, who knows what else he might do?
Afraid for my safety (I'm a petite female), I kept quiet. The other customers also tensed up, and even the big and tall male customer looked worried.
But I then had to walk past this angry, hostile and aggressive staff person to leave the store; I was afraid he might hurl abuse at me on the way out, or worse.
Anyway, I'm going to write to the LCBO about this and will post their response.

i went to purchase a 6 pack of beer at the general store in keene in and around port hope ontario canada and the store doesn't accept credit cards because it affects its profits the storekeeper said to me in person.i find this unacceptable because it affects us as campers and trailer owners when the gas prices are so high and my family travel from etobicoke ontario canada.please resond back to [protected]@hotmail.com thanks

When shopping for Red Stripe beer, I noticed that a special tag (for discount price) was 2 weeks old. I asked the staff members if this was still valid and if not shouldn't it be taken down. 30ish year old feminine male staff member made comment: "Oh, so we're not perfect at everything, big deal !" I was very surprised at this comment and said: "Well, when you have a job, you should at least do it well."

The man actually said: "Yes, sir!", which I ignored. The female staff member kept quiet; when I returned to the store to get the manager's name, the female staff member was very helpful and respectful while the male staff member was standing around doing nothing.

I recommend to consumers not to use this store; use other LCBO outlets or even better go to the Québec side liquor stores where the customer service and friendliness is outstanding. Johnnie Walker is also $3 cheaper there.