Nightlife: Flirt Lounge

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Flirt Lounge has been using a new location and marketing strategy to increase its customer base.  Moving from their original in Jambo Building (Mafi Mall) to Lucky building on the road between Edna Mall and Friendship City Center they have been able to accommodate more people in a sophisticatedly designed venue.

Its luxurious decorations and impeccable service makes party goers feel special. Unlike many clubs in Addis the lounge uses Facebook as its main promotional tool instead of flyers. A professional photographer takes pictures of people enjoying themselves and uploads it on Facebook to show the fun and great time you can have.

Such kind of promotion is effective because the pictures show first-hand experiences of people and lends credibility to their claim of quality service. Friends are also able to share pictures of their fun with others.

“Even though we have new customers coming in all the time, we still promote the lounge as we did when it first opened because we want to remind people what we are offering and that is good entertainment and immaculate service,” said Amsalu Hailu, Manager of the lounge.

Amsalu who started out as a bartender at Club Illusion and Amsterdam has been managing Flirt Lounge for two years now.

“I was involved in every little detail of the lounge’s creation starting from hiring and training the staff to getting the space decorated,” he says.

The establishment works to keep its quality of service topnotch. “There is still a sense that good customer service has disappeared in some places, for some reason some establishments fail to maintain good service and that is what hurts business the most,” said Amsalu.

Asked why he likes Flirt, one regular customer said “it is the entertainment and service.  The waiters, bartenders and guards are very friendly. The service staff is quick to respond to customers’ orders.”

The lounge had also introduced brunch service on Sundays starting from 10am.

“That program is on hold temporarily because we want to do it on a bigger scale. Many of our customers are foreigners and we want to satisfy everyone; that’s why we want to diversify the menu for the brunch a little bit and ensure that everybody get what they want,” explained Amsalu.

The lounge opens its doors at 5 pm. It offers live music three days a week. On Tuesdays, Zemen band, on Wednesdays Beyaynetus and on Sundays Team Donald perform.

“Our live entertainment is really the best in town; we have bands that can meet a diverse audience,” said Amsalu. The live performances start at 9 o’clock.

“The establishment works hard to keep its image as elegant as possible and never compromises service quality; that’s why it will never go out of style,” says Amsalu.