Launch of 'the cellarman's NHS Direct'

June 15, 2007: Greene King has launched an online service called Cellar Doctor in a bid to save millions of pounds of lost business through the serving of bad pints.

Dubbed "the cellarman's NHS Direct" by the brewer, the website — www.cellardoctor.co.uk — is available for all licensees in the industry to use. It offers cellar quality advice, information, and solutions to serving quality cask and keg beer. It’s easy-to-use diagnostic tool can help identify the cause of a problem and offer solutions.

Research shows that 41% of people who are served a poor pint will go elsewhere for a better beer, according to Greene King. With the annual spend on draught beer in the UK now topping £12 billion, and four out of 10 customers prepared to vote with their feet if licensees get it wrong, concentrating on quality is an important investment to make.

Justin Adams, managing director of the Greene King brewing company, said: “We’re passionate about quality beer and serving the perfect pint, which is why our job goes beyond the beer leaving the brewery gates. Quality is critical to the success of our customers and our own business.

"Bad beer can lose customers from the pub and the brand forever. Conversely, a reputation for great beer will encourage people to return time and time again.

“The Cellar Doctor is an innovative, easy-to-navigate online service, providing help and support for licensees to understand how best to run a cellar, how to diagnose problems when things go wrong, and how to put them right — all without leaving the pub.”

“The Cellar Doctor is the first of a number of quality initiatives for the trade that we will be rolling out over the coming months.”