'Third Floor Sam' has strangers buying him beer at work

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan man is getting a steady stream of free beer after putting a clever sign in one of the windows of his office.

The sign sits an office window directly above the restaurant's Tree Room. The sign is several feet tall and reads "PLEASE SEND BEER TO SAM ON FLOOR 3. THANK YOU!"

So far, in the year it has been up, people have sent Sam a total of 85 beers. But who is this Sam with the genius plan? And how is he hanging signs in these windows?

Well, Media Place Partners, a digital marketing company, rents the office space.

Sam Hoats, a senior digital strategist with the company, came up with the idea while watching a soccer game. He noticed some peculiar advertisements on screen which prompted a thought.

“So I’m looking up at where my desk is and thinking, 'man, could I angle some text and make it readable?'” Hoats told WXMI.

The beers started pouring in.

Eli Harper, general manager at Knickerbocker, said, "We keep the score updated there at 85. That's the current count of gifts he’s had in about a year. So, he’s saving some money!"

Harper says their staff has been having fun with Hoats' sign since he put it up.

“It's a fun story that kind of lives within beer city and I think everyone around here appreciates getting a beer purchased for them every once in awhile,” Harper said.