Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#31

Post by quartz » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:12 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

We have a shop near us with a "no laptops" policy, and another with laptop hours. This works pretty well from what I've seen.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#32

Post by trzy » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:13 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Historically, cafes were social forums where people gathered for hours at a time to read and converse. Maximizing absolute profit by optimizing customer throughput is the modern take. But that’s not what cafes are for and so you should not feel bad for forcing owners to understand their business and optimize for both profitability and the cafe experience.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#33

Post by noobermin » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:15 PM UTC

This sounds like workfrom

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#34

Post by bhc » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:16 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

There is a cafe chain in Russia that charges by the minute but most drinks are free. They tried to expand to the U.K. in the mid-2010s, but their test cafes failed, and they pulled out after a few years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziferblat

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#35

Post by dustymcp » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:16 PM UTC

trzy wrote: post #32

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Historically, cafes were social forums where people gathered for hours at a time to read and converse. Maximizing absolute profit by optimizing customer throughput is the modern take. But that’s not what cafes are for and so you should not feel bad for forcing owners to understand their business and optimize for both profitability and the cafe experience.

I worked at a cafe, it worked more like a family than a business, we all got food in the evening and had fun together, the restaurant was the main life, but one shouldnt underestimate the café when it was in a good day, alot of people enjoy just coming in and grabbing togo if its good, more than enough to make up for the hangarounds/workers.

Also it seemed the more people who where actually there the more business it received.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#36

Post by vmception » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:17 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

4? Where! I’m fine that independent cafes charge like $12-$14 for anything now in places I go

Price out other people doing less lucrative things that would be in the way. Bloggers, starry eyed dropshippers, enlightened failed dropshippers Writing books on dropshipping, people trying to start an online jewelry store. Its too bad this can include coffee drinkers as well.

My M1 seems like it has infinite battery, I’ll tether if I have to

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#37

Post by padolsey » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:17 PM UTC

trzy wrote: post #32

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Historically, cafes were social forums where people gathered for hours at a time to read and converse. Maximizing absolute profit by optimizing customer throughput is the modern take. But that’s not what cafes are for and so you should not feel bad for forcing owners to understand their business and optimize for both profitability and the cafe experience.

I would love a return to that historic ideal, though it just wouldn't be economical on its own. It would end up being a loss-making add-on to some larger enterprise.. perhaps a bookstore or a locally funded community centre?

I'm reminded of Ziferblat [1] and other similar "anti-cafes" [2]. They shut down their local one here though, apparently due to not being able to meet the cost of skyrocketing commercial rents.

[1] https://www.ziferblat.co.uk/Coventry/discover [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-caf%C3%A9

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#38

Post by loceng » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:18 PM UTC

cmer wrote: post #30

I discovered a pretty neat alternative to cafes a few years back. I like to go to the food court at my local shopping mall. It's pretty much empty during the day, has plenty of seating, different table heights, outlets, wi-fi, etc. Nobody will kick you out if you're not constantly sipping coffee, and you won't feel the pressure to keep buying stuff. As a bonus, there is a McDonalds often selling coffee for just $1. A…

Bonus if you have decals on your laptop that promote your brand(s) - free exposure or potential conversation starter, especially during any rush times!

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#39

Post by closeparen » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:19 PM UTC

aqme28 wrote: post #22

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Charge enough for wifi or a seat that it's not a problem for you.

There used to be a cafe like this near me in SF. Unfortunately the zoning board ruled that it was more like an office than a cafe, meaning not permitted in a retail space.

Don’t do this unless you want to get shut down.

This isn’t just “the fun police” either. Pre pandemic SF was very sensitive about tech workers/offices crowding out other elements of the city. Work-friendly cafes would be immensely popular, meaning they would take up a lot of retail that could otherwise have more “character.” Now with so much commercial and retail vacancy it’s less of a zero sum game.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21972491

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#40

Post by PietKachelhout » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 3:20 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

This [0] cafe in Berlin charges you by the hour. And the first drink is included. Worked really well for me when I was in Berlin. No subscription needed.

[0] https://kleinmein.gr/en/coworking-space/