In This Economy?

But given the financial strain most of us are struggling with, savvy drinking establishments are making strides to ensure that they are the drunkard’s choice. Given the limited amount of coin changing hands these days, bars are going to have to take extra steps to keep their customers loyal.

Hey man, can I get a break?

Enter the Amsterdam Bar, a fine little watering hole in the Exposition Park area of Dallas, Texas. In a brilliant move that shows that they have not only a keen business sense but also are adept in the quickly-evolving realm of social media networking, the Amsterdam recently wowed us. Allow me to share a story. All other bars in the world take notice:

Let’s set the stage by saying that I was fully entrenched in one of those incredibly productive days at the old j-o-b. Oh man, I was a frickin’ fireball in that place — shooting off emails that inspired change in the company’s higher-ups, leading meetings that moved co-workers to long spells of sustained applause in my honor, and generally putting my foot directly into the backside of any problem that came my way. After said ass-kicking I calmly recorded names in list form.

And then the shit hit the fan …

The roommate and the girlfriend both reminded me that life on the home front would be stressful — may as well stay at work, where I clearly dominate. So I did, continuing my Joe DiMaggio-esque streak of excellence. Soldiering on.

But there’s always one person that can sour your mood no matter how tremendous you feel. You may have already guessed it by now. That’s right. Mom called. And my work day devolved into mouthing curse words as I furiously typed on my computer, injuring my spacebar further with the completion of every word. And let’s not even get into the damage sustained by the period key. Something about the finality of sentences, I guess.

Facebook = Free Beer?

So naturally, I turned to my highly-evolved problem-solving skills and dealt with the situation the same way that any red-blooded American would. No, I didn’t punch my mom. I decided that it was time to get a little saucy, instead, enlisting the help of the old Facebook to recruit some comrades.

Within a couple minutes, the Amsterdam Bar threw the beloved “like” status to my update. None of my “friends” showed any interest in getting sauced like me. But the business in question redefined customer service in my eyes. Witness the exchange that follows.

Score! More establishments should follow the lead of the Amsterdam Bar — find people having shitty days and offer to relieve their tired minds with the gentle caress of inebriation. Free shit makes lifetime customers. Needless to say I was impressed, and you can guarantee I’ll be employing this tactic in the future. A bar that doesn’t produce alco-handouts is surely not taking this whole economy thing very seriously.

If it’s good enough for Obama …

Need more proof that a drinking stimulus package is a key facet of our impending go economic recovery? Just ask yourself, “What Would Obama Do?” Even our President realizes the utter importance of throwing a few back every now and again. The Prez employed the help of alcohol as a diplomacy lubricant in the Beer Summit held at the White House recently.

So there you have it. Free beer, shall be our savior. This revelation may very well be the pearl of knowledge that solves our economy once and for all. Not sure how I arrived at that conclusion? Well neither am I, I’ve had a shitty day.

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