I suppose it depends on the place. If you tip well you can spend a long time in Starbucks without ever getting hassled. I drop 50c to $1 for each drink, includi

I suppose it depends on the place. If you tip well you can spend a long time in Starbucks without ever getting hassled. I drop 50c to $1 for each drink, including "free" refills. I worked for another corporate coffee company and we never gave any customers a hard time for staying for hours or holding meetings. It was the same philosophy we had for re-doing drink orders no matter what the complaint. Sure, some small fraction take advantage, but for every illegitimate complaint you ferret out by putting up resistance you will irritate at least one paying customer, and that's a customer you lose forever. The economics might work out differently for an independent coffee shop, but I doubt it. I find it far more likely that many coffee shops are opened by people who aren't that great at business or customer service in the first place and just think starting a coffee shop would be cool. In sum, spend as much as you like on the products you want, and don't worry about it. If the shop decides you're a drain on the business, it's up to them to ask you to leave, and lose you as a customer forever. That's their calculus to decide, not yours.