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Love this post. One family business is running businesses like these, and it frustrates me to no end when people (for whatever reason, not just working on a la

Love this post. One family business is running businesses like these, and it frustrates me to no end when people (for whatever reason, not just working on a laptop) hog a seat and a table for hours on end after buying the cheapest thing they can find on the menu once when they walked in. I don't mind if someone sits there for 10+ hours a day if they keep on buying food and coffee regularly, and I know I've sat at a table for hours on end working but even went as far as to make a timer on my laptop to get up every like 30 minutes to go get something. But it's crass to sit there like "oh, this seat is mine, I bought ONE small cup of coffee 3 hours ago, stop looking at me like that". It's one thing for a coffee shop to look busier by having a whole bunch of people sit there and work away, attracting passers-by, but it's another when people who don't buy anything just hog the tables preventing new customers from coming in because they see a total lack of available work space. That being said, I remember once when I was at a family friend's coffee shop and there was one customer who just. wouldn't. leave. He was told about their time limit policy about customers getting x hours with purchase (rarely enforced...except with people like these) and he was like "whatever" and acted like he was going to buy something but then settled back in and worked. I saw this go on for 20 minutes when I decided to boot him off the wifi. I don't think he realized I was purposefully doing so until I kept on kicking him off, and the outrage on his face was unbelievable. It was as if he felt he was entitled to sit there and do whatever he wanted after buying a 50 cent bottle of water earlier, how dare I interrupt what he was doing. Unfortunately it's those types of people who ruin the whole experience for all the reasonable folk. Lastly, the advice about getting to know the owners/employees is the best :) I don't spend much time actually working, but when I have there were always a few customers I got to know and even once ended up working with because they decided to chat me up after seeing whatever I was doing on the side, like reading some tech book or coding on my laptop. I always included a little something for them, like free cookies. Those are the kinds of customers that make my day.

lsd5you 17y ago
"I don't mind if someone sits there for 10+ hours a day if they keep on buying food and coffee regularly" Isn't this a bit consumerist, consume something or get out? (And didn't that jump out at you when you wrote it?) Perhaps there should be a 3rd way, paying for time at a table. The problem is the pricing (and people taking the piss).
- pwmanagerdied 17y ago
  It's the nearest choice most place have to what you suggest. There are few venues that allow you to pay directly for table time, but you're (ehtically) doing the same thing by regularly purchasing items from them.
  - lsd5you 17y ago
    I guess my point is, that its probably about time we had different pricing models. I am not trying to be obtuse, and i do get what you are saying, but regularly purchasing items is (in my estimation) a bigger problem than the one it solves. obesity+consumerism > slightly broken cafe market I would suggest a nominal rate (after the first hour or two) would make everyone happy. It is quite likely the average stay would increase as people would not have taking up space on their conscience.
    - cema 17y ago
      Obesity has nothing to with it. You can buy water. The point of effectively buying table time is valid, imho, and I agree that buying food (or other stuff) from the cafe is a good approximation.
- silencio 17y ago
  I admit it is, but it's a coffee shop, a business...not your house or an office or a coworking space or your friend's couch. What else were you expecting? Something and somebody does have to pay the rent. Seats and tables and sofas are there for customers to sit down and enjoy what they purchased, not for some person to work for hours on end without buying anything. I personally don't care how someone goes about supporting the shop though - I'd be fine with someone paying like a couple bucks an hour or even like a $5/hour includes bottomless coffee and a snack plus outlet and wifi kind of deal. But most coffee shops don't have employees that would be comfortable with making a deal like that on-the-spot with a customer, nor is that a really obvious thing for most people to even propose. So in lieu of paying for a table or offering to do so, someone could just occasionally get up, stretch, and buy a cookie. I didn't say it had to be a large cup of coffee every hour :) Just a little something occasionally to show that you're not just going to make yourself comfortable there without buying anything more.

lsd5you 17y ago

"I don't mind if someone sits there for 10+ hours a day if they keep on buying food and coffee regularly" Isn't this a bit consumerist, consume something or get out? (And didn't that jump out at you when you wrote it?) Perhaps there should be a 3rd way, paying for time at a table. The problem is the pricing (and people taking the piss).

pwmanagerdied 17y ago
It's the nearest choice most place have to what you suggest. There are few venues that allow you to pay directly for table time, but you're (ehtically) doing the same thing by regularly purchasing items from them.
- lsd5you 17y ago
  I guess my point is, that its probably about time we had different pricing models. I am not trying to be obtuse, and i do get what you are saying, but regularly purchasing items is (in my estimation) a bigger problem than the one it solves. obesity+consumerism > slightly broken cafe market I would suggest a nominal rate (after the first hour or two) would make everyone happy. It is quite likely the average stay would increase as people would not have taking up space on their conscience.
  - cema 17y ago
    Obesity has nothing to with it. You can buy water. The point of effectively buying table time is valid, imho, and I agree that buying food (or other stuff) from the cafe is a good approximation.
silencio 17y ago
I admit it is, but it's a coffee shop, a business...not your house or an office or a coworking space or your friend's couch. What else were you expecting? Something and somebody does have to pay the rent. Seats and tables and sofas are there for customers to sit down and enjoy what they purchased, not for some person to work for hours on end without buying anything. I personally don't care how someone goes about supporting the shop though - I'd be fine with someone paying like a couple bucks an hour or even like a $5/hour includes bottomless coffee and a snack plus outlet and wifi kind of deal. But most coffee shops don't have employees that would be comfortable with making a deal like that on-the-spot with a customer, nor is that a really obvious thing for most people to even propose. So in lieu of paying for a table or offering to do so, someone could just occasionally get up, stretch, and buy a cookie. I didn't say it had to be a large cup of coffee every hour :) Just a little something occasionally to show that you're not just going to make yourself comfortable there without buying anything more.