In the Bay Area:
A big-wig at Starbucks walked into one of the stores and witnessed a teen with a video game station set-up. Few weeks later, all the outlets were removed in order to discourage people from staying and working. Even with the change, the place is still constantly packed with people studying/working
What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
51–60 of 315 posts
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#52More like "How to put off your paying customers and then complain that business isn't going well".
People working on their laptops are actually not a paying customer. Yes, they might come in and buy a single coffee but then they sit in a corner for 3 hours and occupy a seat that could go to other customers that are actually buying things that make a cafe money. It also has something to do with atmosphere. A cafe should have light chatter and people socializing. If the majority is sitting around in silence, it take…
> it takes away from the special feeling a cafe normally has
If people start using Cafes differently, why hold them to a forgotten standard? Cafes should see a business opportunity in that they can align themselves further with the needs of the consumer. Either that, or the consumer walks.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#53Play background cafe chatter through speakers.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#54If I bought a cup of coffee at your shop and sat down, only for you to tell me that laptops are "not allowed," I'd be very unhappy with your store. Anyway, this is why coworking spaces exist.
Your $3 coffee doesn't entitle you to sit there for an hour though. If I was running a cafe, I'd expect that you'd be leaving within 5 to 10 minutes of finishing your coffee. The very few times I've worked in a coffee shop, I've done that myself. It's not a coworking space.
"expect that you'd be leaving within 5 to 10 minutes of finishing your coffee"
hah... Living in Spain right now.. That attitude wouldnt fly
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#55More like "How to put off your paying customers and then complain that business isn't going well".
People working on their laptops are actually not a paying customer. Yes, they might come in and buy a single coffee but then they sit in a corner for 3 hours and occupy a seat that could go to other customers that are actually buying things that make a cafe money. It also has something to do with atmosphere. A cafe should have light chatter and people socializing. If the majority is sitting around in silence, it take…
Before laptops people would sit around reading newspapers or books, I'm not sure it's changed that much.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#56If I bought a cup of coffee at your shop and sat down, only for you to tell me that laptops are "not allowed," I'd be very unhappy with your store. Anyway, this is why coworking spaces exist.
Your $3 coffee doesn't entitle you to sit there for an hour though. If I was running a cafe, I'd expect that you'd be leaving within 5 to 10 minutes of finishing your coffee. The very few times I've worked in a coffee shop, I've done that myself. It's not a coworking space.
Can I ask where you're from? The purpose that you seem to imagine coffee shops serve us totally foreign to me. Neither I nor anyone I know would ever dream of staying in a coffee shop for only the duration of a coffee. Either you're passing through and you grab a drink to go, or you've come to hang out for a while (either with friends or to pass the time in a "3rd space" working/reading/studying). All my coffee shop visits are either less than 1 minute or over 60. It would be truly bizarre to leave my apartment and spend 10+ minutes getting somewhere, only to stay for 5.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#57So is this about sales or about the vibe of having a coffee place where people hang out and chat? I'd be happy to pay some money to work for longer than one drink at a cafe, but I don't really want to drink 5 coffees to work for a day.
See Workshop Cafe[0], $2/hr for fast wifi, order-by-text table service, suitable spaces for groups, and even some external monitors lying around (as of 2016...) [0]: http://www.workshopcafe.com
Oh wow, that's awesome! If they had a location near Caltrain, anywhere from Redwood City down to San Jose, I'd start going there once every week or so.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm guessing most people using cafes as workplaces are going to baulk at paying for 4G? It can get really expensive if you're working more than a couple of hours a day.
I haven't paid-by-the-byte for 4G for about half a decade now. It's unlimited with my reasonably priced monthly contract (about $30USD/mo), from a mainstream provider in the UK (Three), lets me tether and gives me free data when I'm abroad too (I'm in the US and France a few times a year typically). I hope this doesn't sound too let-them-eat-cake, but I'm surprised that anyone with work-on-app-in-a-café-in-a-trendy-c…
I'm on that all-you-can-eat tariff with Three as well, but tethered data is normally limited to 30GB/month or so. Did you make any account changes to get unlimited or are you bypassing the tethering detection? I haven't seen unlimited tether plans, but it would mean I could work virtually anywhere.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#59OK, to the person who tore wallpaper in order to get to a power outlet, I really hope I never meet you, as I have absolutely no respect for you now. Do not destroy/deface someone else's property like that.
And for the café, I know it's not a perfect solution, but beyond solutions like obtrusive locking outlet covers, or turning off outlets at the breaker, you could also look at swapping the outlet out with an L5-15R. That's the same voltage & amperage as a regular 5-15 receptacle, but uses a circular plug that pushes in and turns. You'll see them (or a similar amperage) on certain Metrolink (in LA) and Caltrain Bombardier cars.
You could either get an adapter (NEMA L5-15P to 5-15R), or change out the plugs on the stuff you'd plug in (like vacuum cleaners). And no, it won't stop someone who is absolutely determined, and who is willing to go out and buy an adapter. But it makes it all the more obvious that this receptacle is not for people to use.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#60How common is it for people to do actual, regular, serious work at coffee shops and the like? I've tried a couple of times and I always feel like such a pretentious wanker when I pull out a laptop and start working on stuff, like I'm somehow broadcasting "oh look at me, I work remotely, aren't I special?"
People are different of cause, they have different types of jobs, and cafes are different as well. However; when I see someone with a laptop on a tiny little round cafe table, I assume that they just want to be seen, or if they're just setting up for an Instagram photo. Their 13" MacBook is often dwarfed by their huge coffee cup, how can anyone work in such crammed conditions? And the noise.... don't people need to think?