S&N Consumer careline, how can I help you?
Mktg Hi. I drink Newcastle Brown Ale, and I love it, but I've just heard that it's moving from Newcastle. I wanted to know what it meant. Will the ale be changing?
S&N The actual product is not changing, no. The change is happening, basically, because we were taken over by Heineken last year, and the name will be changing at the end of next month. The whole operation will be Heineken-owned and branded. Basically, in the current climate, we have had to look at the efficiencies of all our sites. Newcastle Brown Ale has actually been brewed at Tadcaster since 2005 as well, but nobody really realised that. We've been using the Tadcaster brewery to capacity. We will try to look after the 60 jobs - I've had some emails, which are quite rough for us to see. It won't change anything to do with the product; if anything, we're trying to make it bigger.
Mktg I liked the idea that it was a Newcastle Ale brewed in Newcastle.
S&N I know. We won't be changing the name. We understand that people from Newcastle are unhappy. We had someone write in yesterday saying: 'Cheddar is always Cheddar and a Melton Mowbray pork pie is always a Melton Mowbray pork pie.' We were like - 'What?'
Mktg Some potty people, then.
S&N There was one person this morning who said, 'I'll never drink the brown.'
Mktg Well, as long as the taste doesn't change, I think I'll still drink it.
S&N It's the number-one bottled ale. Hopefully people can see that, in order to keep our strong brands, we need to make decisions like this. We hope you'll remain loyal to the brand.
Mktg Yes. Thanks for your time.
S&N Thank you, bye.
Verdict
The call-handler obviously had experienced many disgruntled Newky Brown drinkers, and calmly explained the reasoning for the decision. She also tried to make the conversation light-hearted, and described funny emails she had received. On the whole, her customer care skills were excellent.
Score
9/10