Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

washingtonpost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 83 posts

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#31

Post by noobermin »

I wouldn't be surprised if a significant number of people here do this. I do this as well. Most of the time, I'm not asked to leave, but other times, if I feel guilty, I buy something else, like another coffee or a sweet. I suppose I'd willing to "rent" space if it were available.

A funny relevant anecdote. Yesterday, I was at home trying to work, and I could not focus, so I walked to a nearby coffeeshop. Apparently, a group was filming something in half of the shop, so another section with most of the seats was closed off, as well as outside seating in front of it. Naturally, the remaining seats were full.

So, I randomly asked a person if I could share a seat with her. I didn't make small talk, I just sat and read. After twenty minutes or so, she got up to leave. After a while of reading, I saw a number of people come in and be told they might have to take to-go since the place was full. I was more than willing to share a seat at my table, and a number of other tables had open seats, but no one approached me, or anyone else for that matter...

So, I got up, and purchased a slice of cake to-go. A gentleman who was waiting for a chair thanked me and took my place.

Now, on the way home, there is a chocolate shop which has a couple of seats as well. I decided to peer inside, and guess who I see in the window? The lady who's table I took, apparently. :/

I guess I can't fault other people for not being as comfortable about sharing "personal space" as I am, but especially in that sort of situation, it hurts more than it helps.

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#32

Post by noobermin »

_chris_ wrote: post #24

The real solution is the local library needs to offer coffee.

As well as good wifi, some renovations, and better decor[0].

[0] At least in my experience. I'm not sure what it is about coffeeshops. Their decor is just conducive to working, much more than the local library, at least.

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#34

Post by [deleted] »

noobermin wrote: post #31

I wouldn't be surprised if a significant number of people here do this. I do this as well. Most of the time, I'm not asked to leave, but other times, if I feel guilty, I buy something else, like another coffee or a sweet. I suppose I'd willing to "rent" space if it were available. A funny relevant anecdote. Yesterday, I was at home trying to work, and I could not focus, so I walked to a nearby coffeeshop. Apparently,…

[deleted]

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#35

Post by jrs99 »

robotresearcher wrote: post #18
zdean wrote: post #7

This seems like a UX/UI failure on the part of the coffee shop if he has to intervene in the customers' experience. The coffee shops I go to do a good job of making it clear what kind of customers they want by virtue of the experience you have there. This weekend I encountered the first coffee shop I can remember visiting that lacked wifi. I looked around and saw nothing but groups of people in conversation. Other sh…

Did you read the fine article? His cafe does not offer wifi but people bring a hotspot and settle down for the day. What's he to do except talk to them politely?

He's also fine with it when the shop's not busy.

The problem is definitely not the store. The problem is that people are trained by starbucks to treat all cafes like this. His cafe, instantly to me, suggests that it's NOT okay to camp out with my laptop all day there.

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#36

Post by RogerL »

mavdi wrote: post #21

This is becoming a real issue for me. I've basically stopped goings to cafes and bars because the owners seem annoyed by me camping around and I can only drink so many cups of coffee a day. I would gladly pay an hourly rent if they'd be happy with that but it seems once they've decided that I'm not welcome there nothing can change their mind.

Buy coffee, dump it out.

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#37

Post by dataker »

Please stay in my coffee shop.

Although that person is using your internet with a $4 coffee, they're occupying space after everybody "is gone"(9am-11am and 1pm-4pm), contributing with their physical presence.

A newcomer, that may end up becoming a long-term customer, would feel more biased towards places with more customers( or the idea of).

So, although it might seem financially reasonable to kick them out, I doubt it's the best answer.

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#38

Post by inthewoods »

llebttamton wrote: post #29
walterbell wrote: post #6

This is a subset of a larger civic issue with increasing pressure on private spaces as public spaces shrink, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/87169002-d87a-11e4-ba53-00144... "People like public space. Just as they like to work in a coffee shop on a laptop surrounded by others, they want to hang out with friends, to people-watch, flirt, take part in the rituals of public life. In the suburbs, the 20th-century answer to…

The remaining malls in the U.S. are living on borrowed time. In general, there's no/fewer public drinking fountains, fewer public restrooms, shrinking number of places that doesn't involve soup-Nazi consumerism and ever less spaces for homeless and the elderly to not be bothered. It's a not-so-subtle form of hate directed at anyone unable or unwilling to be extorted on a regular basis. Folks are going to get their po…

Interesting article on why the idea that malls are dying may be more a media concept than reality:

http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/03/shopping-malls-arent-a...

"The dead or dying mall is a real phenomenon. But all you have to do is invert these figures to get the bigger picture, which looks very different. If 20 percent of malls are in trouble, then 80 percent are still healthy. If 3.4 percent of malls are dying, then 96.6 percent of them aren't. (When the New York Times ran an otherwise nuanced front-page story on struggling malls in January, the accompanying graphic had a top line of 20 percent, wrongly suggesting that a rash of dead malls was a pandemic.)"

Re: Did you buy that latte 2 hours ago? Think about leaving the coffee shop

#39

Post by ryandrake »

noobermin wrote: post #31

I wouldn't be surprised if a significant number of people here do this. I do this as well. Most of the time, I'm not asked to leave, but other times, if I feel guilty, I buy something else, like another coffee or a sweet. I suppose I'd willing to "rent" space if it were available. A funny relevant anecdote. Yesterday, I was at home trying to work, and I could not focus, so I walked to a nearby coffeeshop. Apparently,…

I've seen this as well. Some people get really weirded out when you sit down and share a table with them when it gets busy. There's a table there that seats six, and you're just two people sitting at it. It's not YOUR exclusive table. You don't own it. If you really want to have a private conversation without anyone around, don't go to a busy coffee shop.
Post reply on HN