Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Wednesday that it has assembled experts across the state to guarantee customer satisfaction at all Wine & Spirits stores.

The new Wine Advisory Council is made up of restaurant owners, hotel managers and wine experts across Pennsylvania given the task of finding the best values and selections.

Liquor Control Board representative Nick Hays said the council was formed in response to poor customer survey results from 2007.

"Customers were saying that visiting a Wine & Spirits store was more like a chore, and they rarely spent more than eight minutes per visit," he said. "As a specialty retailer, the stores should be doing much better than that."

In addition to adding a wider selection of wines and liquor to the shelves, Hays said employees of Wine & Spirits stores will now receive more education and training so they can interact with the customers and make helpful suggestions.

The Liquor Control Board has retained Landor Associates, an international leader in brand-led business transformation, to oversee the changes made to statewide stores and the online store.

Hays said these changes will launch a revolutionary shift in the wine and spirits shopping experience in Pennsylvania.

Patrick Stapleton III, chairman of the PLCB, announced the customer-focused program Wednesday at the Giant Center in Hershey prior to the start of the Wine Festival.

New members will be named in the coming months.

Stapleton said the council is part of an initiative to improve customers' shopping experience at the PLCB's 620 stores.

A survey of 2,000 customers last year was "a real wake-up call," he said in a release. "Less than half our customers told us they were satisfied with their shopping experience."

The advisory council also will provide tasting notes for wines that will be available in the stores, serve as brand ambassadors for the LCB and work with customers at special in-store events.

E-mail: cdifonzo@lnpnews.com