Water, Water Everywhere and Still No Beer to Drink

I'm no business genius, but sometimes when I go into a cafe or restaurant and see all of the inefficiencies, where the service is lacking and how the decor is inappropriate, I feel I can fix up the joint better than the owner, who supposedly knows the business inside-out. For example, a restaurant serving "American Style Cuisine: specialising in business lunches and corporate dinners" should not have pink walls and waitresses dressed in casual attire.

Sometimes, I come across excellent marketing that really impresses me, not that I'm a business guru. For instance, we bought a laser printer a few months ago and I receive a note in the mail from the supplier that I can receive a discount on toner if I buy from them. It just so happens that I need to buy a replacement toner - guess who I'm getting it from?

I reitterate that I'm no business maven, but there are just some things that even school children know. For example, if the latest fashion is orange, sell orange clothes, not blue; if it is cold, sell heaters and not air-conditioners; and so on.

Well, my blog-readers, someone had better have a bit of a chat with the manager of my local supermarket. It is the middle of summer - the weather is stinking hot at 2am - and they don't sell beer.

If you read my previous blog, you will note how important an ice-cold stubbie is in this heat. But, no, our supermarket is happy to sell coffee and tea by the trolley-full, but a bottle of beer? Not a chance.

But, hey, give them a break. The supermarket just re-opened after remodelling and changing their name. Perhaps they have beer in stock, but not in the place it used to be. Actually, nothing in that supermarket is where it used to be. Maybe it is prudent to ask where the beer is? I think that is a pretty reasonable idea, don't you? Well, that is what I did, and here is how the conversation went:

Me: Hi. I've been walking around this supermarket for ages looking for the beer. Do you know where it is?
Supermarket Lady: I'm sorry, we don't have beer.
Me: What do you mean? You used to have beer. It used to be over there [waving a finger in the general direction of the rest of the supermarket].
Supermarket Lady: We ran out.
Me: Ran out? When?
Supermarket Lady: Last Friday.
Me: But today is Thursday! That's, like, nearly a whole week! When do you expect to get some in?
Supermarket Lady: Hopefully by Sunday.
Me: Sunday? What am I supposed to drink until then? Water? Ergh...
Supermarket Lady: [turns her back and walks away]

It has been 2 weeks since that conversation and still no beer in the supermarket. Did someone tell the manager that it is the best beer-selling time of the year? Talk about poor timing. It was most likely a supply issue, rather than a manufacturing issue as beer is available elsewhere (at inflated summer prices). There's probably some unfortunate truck driver broken down in the middle of a deserted highway with nothing to drink but a tonne of beer. Poor guy...