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> As one of the maligned "people with laptops", I often wonder how much I'm expected to spend. What's the expected $/hour you should drop if you spend all day w
by lionhearted 16y ago
> As one of the maligned "people with laptops", I often wonder how much I'm expected to spend. What's the expected $/hour you should drop if you spend all day working in a cafe?
I think it depends on how busy it is. If the place is dead, they'd probably be grateful for you to sit there and make it look more happening for someone who comes in. But during busy time, clogging up table space for three hours on one coffee is probably aggravating.
When I go to a non-chain, if I want to sit for longer than is normal, I just ask them. "I was thinking of having a coffee and hanging out on my laptop for a few hours - is that okay with you?" 90% of shops will say yes if they're not busy, or tell you when the time that that they get busy is. 10% will give a hesitant yes or non-answer, and I'll either only stay a short time or head out from there. Like everything, it depends on the particular situation.
- jrockway 16y agoWow, actually working together and talking to solve problems instead of passive-aggressive "no laptops allowed" signs or "I hate my customer" blog posts? What a concept...
- drunkpotato 16y agoI like your thinking even better than mine. Although I don't think sarcasm translates well to this format.
- Zev 16y agoWhen I'm in a non-chain coffee shop, I make sure to tip well and to make sure to keep an eye on how active the shop is. Plus, buy a coffee or a small thing to eat every so often if I plan on being there for awhile. If it gets busy and its been a decent amount of time (30-45m-ish) since my last purchase, I'll just head out. The exception to this rule is the coffee place in my college's library; there's plenty of seating in the rest of the building. If I'm on a couch there, I tend to stay there until I'm done with whatever I'm working on.