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

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

#171

Post by wellthisisgreat »

spiderice wrote: post #122
andyjsong wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, why do you think churches have such high ceilings? Or just sheer volume of air means you're getting more oxygen to your brain vs. working in a 10x10x10 cube. Maybe VR can help with this? Simulate nature without the drawbacks of working outside where there is a lack of internet and the sun glare on your screen.

Like 5 citations needed

Idk about 5, but here is one:

http://assets.csom.umn.edu/assets/71190.pdf

Also anecdotally (or, rather, I just can’t provide a source), I heard from a philosophy professor that the low ceilings in cells of scholastic monks affected their thinking process, driving their hyper-focus on detailed arguments. I don’t quite remember which school he was comparing with though.

An alternative take - since the “abstract-detail-oriented” thinking may be susceptible to feedback-loops, one may consider that they are more detail-oriented in rooms with low ceilings and abstract-minded in rooms with high ceilings, and his brain will make it a self-fulfilling prophecy :)

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

#172

Post by wildmanx »

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…

Not sure this is a problem.

I work a lot from cafes and being the lazy guy I am, I've a selection of 3 places that I go to regularly. The times I work are not their peak hours, so I'm not taking a seat from anybody, but I'm there a lot. Like, 3-4 days a week. I drink coffee, buy some cake, occasionally some wrap for lunch .. by now I've dumped 4-figures on each of my regular places. If I walk by places that I don't frequent regularly -- they also have empty seats, but they don't have those dollars in their pockets that I left at their competition. Why do I not go there? They are not as comfy/cozy. Less comfy chairs, unpleasant lighting, no good coffee, no good cake. Some of those certainly on purpose to repel customers like me. They certainly succeeded at that, but obviously didn't get my money in return either. Winning me as a regular customer is a big win (that's what I tell myself, at least).

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

#173

Post by paxys »

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…

The vast majority of a coffee shop's business happens during the morning rush. If you can't be profitable just from that, the small trickle of customers for the rest of the day isn't going to make a difference to your overall finances, whether they are staying at the table for 1 hour or 4. This is why most coffee shops don't really care about this problem.

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

#174

Post by mtalantikite »

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's a coffee chain here in Brooklyn [1] that has been spreading very quickly who has targeted opening in small spaces, or as short term pop-ups inside other spaces, without much (or any) seating. This probably limits those behaviors you're talking about. They've raised close to $70 million for some reason [2][3].

There's a couple a few blocks from me but I've never tried them, as I just make coffee with an aeropress at home. When I was younger I'd hang out at coffee shops and pretend to be getting work done, but not so much as an adult.

[1] https://www.blankstreet.com/

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglasyu/2021/10/13/blank-stre...

[3] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/blank-street

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

#175

Post by [deleted] »

andyjsong wrote: post #112
enraged_camel wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

…is that a thing?

Absolutely, why do you think churches have such high ceilings? Or just sheer volume of air means you're getting more oxygen to your brain vs. working in a 10x10x10 cube. Maybe VR can help with this? Simulate nature without the drawbacks of working outside where there is a lack of internet and the sun glare on your screen.

[deleted]

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

#176

Post by JanSt »

zmgsabst wrote: post #158
bko wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're armchairing the problem by stating coffee shops exist therefore there is no problem. Many coffee shops do impose user hostile actions like loud music, small uncomfortable seating, etc. The others are big chains that have efficiencies (e.g. lower prices, more efficient workforce, better analytics) that are not available to smaller shops. In most competitive markets you cannot compete (i.e. not lose mone…

You’re assuming that loitering people are a negative on the business — which is a mistake that Starbucks made as well, to their detriment. Starbucks did what you’re suggesting to increase turnover and profit at stores — but the opposite happened: sales dramatically dropped, even though the time to serve a single customer and the average customer stay both dropped. The issue is that Starbucks doesn’t just sell coffee…

I completely agree. Just think about your own behavior: do you choose the empty cafe or the one with many people inside?

Unless the all-dayers are actually blocking space that other customers could use, they are likelier to profit the business than harm it.

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

#178

Post by JanSt »

Firmwarrior wrote: post #160
bko wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Marketing" usually means getting people to know about your product or service and getting them through the door. If the owner has people sitting there and wants them to purchase more, that's more increasing average revenue per user which is limited. How much coffee can someone drink? If someone drinks a plain coffee, getting them to upgrade to a higher margin sugary drink is hard. You can push food and snacks, but t…

If it turns into a cold and customer-hostile transaction, I'll just brew my own cup of coffee at home for 80 cents

Yeah sounds like a MBA coming in and ruining a business by targeting the wrong metrics. Success comes by providing a lot of value, not by pushing as many people through the door as possible through creating an uncomfortable situation so the customer leave quickly.

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

#179

Post by didip »

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…

I have been thinking of subscription only coffee shop.

Members bring some kind of card to scan and enter.

This way, members have a safe place to come in, work, and read whatever they want to read.

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

#180

Post by aylmao »

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…

I’ve always liked the idea of opening a café too. My thoughts on the matter are related to this; I think the biggest stressor for me would be paying rent so if I ever do I’d like to own the location.

I guess that’s hard in the USA where commercial and residential spaces are so strictly kept separate and far away from each other. Where I’m from it’s not rare for a business to be in a place that used to be (or still is) someone’s home. This includes one of my favorite cafes (they make fantastic food) which seems to be the owner’s home lawn and first floor.

I don’t know the exact economics of this, but I can imagine not paying rent means this sort of customer stops being an existential threat and just becomes a nuisance if you want to maximize profits.

EDIT: do note I'm sharing this from the perspective of someone who would set up a café "for fun" and to "keep busy" when retired or something, not as someone who would want to necessarily set up a while operation with employees or live off of this café.

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