Draught beer
4
perfect pint
Nick Collins, marketing manager
of Inchcape Bahrain, believes it
is absolutely essential that the
bartenders should be informed about
beer and how it should be treated.
In many bars, claims Mr Collins,
presentation of the beer could be
improved.
Heineken and Amstel combined
are easily the market leaders in the
Gulf. Under the motto "noblesse obli
ge", therefore, Heineken and Inch-
cape feel it is their duty to teach the
In the Gulf states of Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai
and Oman a quality project has been started to
teach bartenders how to serve the perfect pint.
The project has been set up by Inchcape Middle
East, the agent for Heineken and Amstel in the
Gulf, in cooperation with Heineken.
bartenders a number of ground rules
via a short course.
The course is called 'a perfect
pint' and lasts two-and-a-half hours.
According to Nick Collins, the
meeting must not last any longer than
that, as otherwise the attention of the
participants might start to slacken.
During that space of time the barten
der is informed about Heineken as a
company and as a brand, about the
brewing process and about how to
serve a perfect pint.
The underlying aim of the course
is to obtain a leading edge in the
draught beer market and to create a
feeling of brand ownership and a
sense of pride in the barmen attend
ing the course. "We want to make it
clear to the bartenders what position
Heineken and Amstel occupy in the
world beer market. Besides, we want
to put across the message that the
bartender earns his money thanks to
the consumer, which means that
customer service is crucial."
Professional
In cooperation with Mart Jan
Gerards, Area Export Manager of
Heineken, Inchcape has compiled a
manual which the sales reps use when
giving the course. To prepare them for
this work an external consultant was
contracted to give them two days of
lessons on presentation techniques.
During the course not only the
manual is studied but a video is also
screened showing the Heineken
commercials broadcast throughout the
world. After completing the course,
those attending are presented with a
certificate stating that they are allowed
to call themselves a 'Heineken Profes
sional Barman'. Each participant also
receives a special tie and a red tie-pin.
To check that the bartenders have
improved the beer presentation, a
'mystery drinker' visits the relevant
bar some time after the meeting and
passes on his findings to Inchcape.
The sales rep then pays a visit to the
bar and tells what the mystery drink
er's findings were. If his verdict was
positive, the sales rep hands over a
silver tie-pin. If a second check shows
that the bartender is doing good
work, he is awarded a golden tie-pin.
After the third check he receives the
'Heineken Master Barman' certificate.
Commitment
Inchcape has set itself the target of
training all bartenders in the region
before May 1995. New bartenders
(there is a high staff turnover in this
sector) are invited to Inchcape's office
to attend the course. Incidentally, the
course will not be a once-off event.
Inchcape intends to organise a re
fresher course each year so as to cre
ate long term commitment to
Heineken and Amstel on the part of
the bartenders.
Inchcape realises that rival brands
may also profit from the course. But
the fact that Heineken pioneered this
course should, feels Nick Collins, give
Heineken and Amstel an even bigger
lead over the competition.
THF. WORLD OF HEINEKEN
