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If you're going to work from a coffee shop, you need to buy something. Co-working spaces are pretty expensive so even a daily 6-dollar latte is a better deal co

If you're going to work from a coffee shop, you need to buy something. Co-working spaces are pretty expensive so even a daily 6-dollar latte is a better deal compared to some co-working facility fees. Anyway, I'm afraid that curbing internet won't be a complete solution since it's easy enough to tether off a phone or connect to an Xfinity hotspot. A potential solution to this problem would be to make useable power outlets scarce. Some laptops can last a full day without a charge, but you'll find that most people will need to plug in at some point if they're working for extended periods of time. Not a perfect solution since it can be thwarted by external battery power banks.

abdullahkhalids 3y ago
With a Thinkpad T series, you can also just swap your external battery.
starkparker 3y ago
It's not just about buying things. These places aren't selling workspaces, they're selling drinks, often to people in their immediate community and often with a goal of being part of the community. So if the community can't get a table, they stop coming at all, and that's a bigger existential threat to the owners than just the money. > The problem became so severe that the bar began to lose its regulars. Esten and his wife would bump into former customers around the neighbourhood and they told him that they could never get a seat at the bar because there were laptops everywhere, so they started going to other coffee shops instead. > “That was breaking our hearts,” he said. These people don't want to babysit tech workers. Even if it's financially sustainable to do, that's not what they opened a small coffee shop or bar to do.
- theoldlove 3y ago
  Don’t most coffee shops sell to the “immediate community?” I don’t think many people travel long distances for coffee. Maybe I’m just a miserable misanthrope, but despite all the rhetoric I’ve never had a “community” experience at a coffee shop. In my experience it’s just cash for drinks and a place to sit. I’ve had much better experiences getting to know people in explicitly non-commercial settings (dog parks, playgrounds, classes, etc.)
  - dharmab 3y ago
    The idea of a coffee shop being a place where people mingled comes from centuries past. Wikipedia has a decent article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_coffeehouses_in_the_17th_and_18th_centuries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_coffeehouses_in_the_17...
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
charlie0 3y ago
Something more devilish is having unergonomic furniture for office work, a seat that's too hard or too high relative to the table, lighting that's more likely to create glare on a screen, etc.
- Jochim 3y ago
  Making your coffee shop an uncomfortable place to be seems like a great way of discouraging the majority of your customers from returning. Low tables and lounge-style chairs are comfortable but they can't reach anywhere near the density of the standard arrangement.
  - charlie0 3y ago
    I've sat on chairs that are comfortable for only a few minutes, then start to get increasingly uncomfortable the longer I sit in them. That's more of what I meant.
    - Jochim 3y ago
      I understand what you mean, I was saying that having to use such seating is likely to result in customers not returning to your coffee shop. That might be ok if you're a tiny shop that only really wants to do takeaway but to me, most coffee shops are a place to relax and have a conversation with someone. A chair that becomes uncomfortable after a few minutes is in direct contradiction to that purpose and indicates either hubris or ignorance on the part of the owner.
pathompong 3y ago
Adjust AC to an uncomfortable temperature and playing music louder than usual should drive away some who would sit all day.
- Arrath 3y ago
  Also sounds like a rather unpleasant place to be employee.
- indigo0086 3y ago
  This is already Starbucks
- screamingninja 3y ago
  I would not want to sit there and enjoy my coffee in peace. I would take my dollar to another location.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> even a daily 6-dollar latte is a better deal compared to some co-working facility fees If you’re buying one six-dollar latte and sticking around for a few hours, you’re abusing the cafe’s hospitality.
- chaz6 3y ago
  Is it too much to expect the local authority to recognize this new trend and provide the appropriate facilities, just like we have parks where we can go to relax or exercise?
  - around_here 3y ago
    They do, it’s called the library.

abdullahkhalids 3y ago

With a Thinkpad T series, you can also just swap your external battery.

starkparker 3y ago

It's not just about buying things. These places aren't selling workspaces, they're selling drinks, often to people in their immediate community and often with a goal of being part of the community. So if the community can't get a table, they stop coming at all, and that's a bigger existential threat to the owners than just the money. > The problem became so severe that the bar began to lose its regulars. Esten and his wife would bump into former customers around the neighbourhood and they told him that they could never get a seat at the bar because there were laptops everywhere, so they started going to other coffee shops instead. > “That was breaking our hearts,” he said. These people don't want to babysit tech workers. Even if it's financially sustainable to do, that's not what they opened a small coffee shop or bar to do.

theoldlove 3y ago
Don’t most coffee shops sell to the “immediate community?” I don’t think many people travel long distances for coffee. Maybe I’m just a miserable misanthrope, but despite all the rhetoric I’ve never had a “community” experience at a coffee shop. In my experience it’s just cash for drinks and a place to sit. I’ve had much better experiences getting to know people in explicitly non-commercial settings (dog parks, playgrounds, classes, etc.)
- dharmab 3y ago
  The idea of a coffee shop being a place where people mingled comes from centuries past. Wikipedia has a decent article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_coffeehouses_in_the_17th_and_18th_centuries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_coffeehouses_in_the_17...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

charlie0 3y ago

Something more devilish is having unergonomic furniture for office work, a seat that's too hard or too high relative to the table, lighting that's more likely to create glare on a screen, etc.

Jochim 3y ago
Making your coffee shop an uncomfortable place to be seems like a great way of discouraging the majority of your customers from returning. Low tables and lounge-style chairs are comfortable but they can't reach anywhere near the density of the standard arrangement.
- charlie0 3y ago
  I've sat on chairs that are comfortable for only a few minutes, then start to get increasingly uncomfortable the longer I sit in them. That's more of what I meant.
  - Jochim 3y ago
    I understand what you mean, I was saying that having to use such seating is likely to result in customers not returning to your coffee shop. That might be ok if you're a tiny shop that only really wants to do takeaway but to me, most coffee shops are a place to relax and have a conversation with someone. A chair that becomes uncomfortable after a few minutes is in direct contradiction to that purpose and indicates either hubris or ignorance on the part of the owner.

pathompong 3y ago

Adjust AC to an uncomfortable temperature and playing music louder than usual should drive away some who would sit all day.

Arrath 3y ago
Also sounds like a rather unpleasant place to be employee.
indigo0086 3y ago
This is already Starbucks
screamingninja 3y ago
I would not want to sit there and enjoy my coffee in peace. I would take my dollar to another location.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> even a daily 6-dollar latte is a better deal compared to some co-working facility fees If you’re buying one six-dollar latte and sticking around for a few hours, you’re abusing the cafe’s hospitality.

chaz6 3y ago
Is it too much to expect the local authority to recognize this new trend and provide the appropriate facilities, just like we have parks where we can go to relax or exercise?
- around_here 3y ago
  They do, it’s called the library.