No power plugs (I think most effective) & time limited Wifi. A cafe is not a coworking space although when beeing in USA or more specifically in SF I have the feeling people think it's the same.
Why shouldn't it be if it fills some peoples need? Why should a cafe not offer that if it brings them customers?
What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
81–90 of 315 posts
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#82Why not just charge patrons per hour spent in the cafe? Is it really that bad of a business model?
As I understand it they're quite successful. They have opened multiple new cafes in Paris' central neighborhoods.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#83No power plugs (I think most effective) & time limited Wifi. A cafe is not a coworking space although when beeing in USA or more specifically in SF I have the feeling people think it's the same.
Why shouldn't it be if it fills some peoples need? Why should a cafe not offer that if it brings them customers?
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#84So 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.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#85How 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 t…
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#86Earlier 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…
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's up to the cafe owner, really. If they want a cafe with a certain type of atmosphere, it's reasonable for them to take measures to achieve it.
Yeah, but Darwin resumes. Places that don't make it convenient to pull out a laptop might not see as much traffic in 2050.
Open, unrestricted wifi comes to mind as an example.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#88No power plugs (I think most effective) & time limited Wifi. A cafe is not a coworking space although when beeing in USA or more specifically in SF I have the feeling people think it's the same.
Why shouldn't it be if it fills some peoples need? Why should a cafe not offer that if it brings them customers?
If the cafe has plenty of free space, then people working on laptops is extra customers and beneficial. If it has little space, then a person ordering a coffee every two hours is taking away space from more profitable customers who eat, drink and leave in 30 minutes.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#89If 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.
Re: What to Do When Laptops and Silence Take Over Your Cafe?
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.