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I feel guilt about this all the time. I work remotely, in the UK but on US Eastern time to synch with my team. Fortunately this means I can go to cafes after th

I feel guilt about this all the time. I work remotely, in the UK but on US Eastern time to synch with my team. Fortunately this means I can go to cafes after the lunch rush, but make sure I buy enough food and drink to not be a freeloader, tip well, and if it's busy - move on. Working from home is what I'm going back to anyway, it's just nice to get out of the house.

Domenic_S 11y ago
It's way easier if the cafe also sells food. Me and 2 others basically built a company some years back out of a cafe in Sacramento, but we always bought lots of coffee and bought our lunch there as well. We all shared 1 table too so the space was used well, and of course talked to the owner who had no problem. Here's a great way to discourage campers: no outlets, not even 1.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  Yep, brand new food court here in Canberra, Australia has no outlets. The outlets in the older food court have been hidden but can be found if you know where to look.
  - Sevrene 11y ago
    I have never worked outside of my own private space. I just feel uneasy, unsure and anxious that I am doing someone wrong by doing so. If someone has covered up or hidden the outlets, to me that's a very clear sign that they don't want me there (atleast for that reason), and as such I would feel really guilty for using them. I suppose that's slightly different in a food court though, it's a bit more public than a coffee shop.
- bazzargh 11y ago
  One of the cafes in the area put packing tape over all the outlets. When they did this I worked out that the coffee I drank cost over 200 times the electricity they saved-as you say they must be trying to displace people, not save money- but my MBP lasts nearly 6 hours[1] so I'm not so easily put off if the place is good :) [1] I use Turbo Boost Switcher to stop the cpu running hot and gfxCardStatus to stick to integrated graphics. This seems to give me nearly 2h extra. I don't need speed for compiles or anything like that.
  - kijin 11y ago
    Hiding the outlets could act as a filter that only lets people camp out if they own a brand-new, expensive device with long battery life. That could work very well if the cafe is trying to cultivate a richer and trendier clientele. On the other hand, it would also look similar to how Abercrombie & Fitch refuses to make clothes in large sizes, in order to prevent fat people from shopping in their stores.

Domenic_S 11y ago

It's way easier if the cafe also sells food. Me and 2 others basically built a company some years back out of a cafe in Sacramento, but we always bought lots of coffee and bought our lunch there as well. We all shared 1 table too so the space was used well, and of course talked to the owner who had no problem. Here's a great way to discourage campers: no outlets, not even 1.

voltagex_ 11y ago
Yep, brand new food court here in Canberra, Australia has no outlets. The outlets in the older food court have been hidden but can be found if you know where to look.
- Sevrene 11y ago
  I have never worked outside of my own private space. I just feel uneasy, unsure and anxious that I am doing someone wrong by doing so. If someone has covered up or hidden the outlets, to me that's a very clear sign that they don't want me there (atleast for that reason), and as such I would feel really guilty for using them. I suppose that's slightly different in a food court though, it's a bit more public than a coffee shop.
bazzargh 11y ago
One of the cafes in the area put packing tape over all the outlets. When they did this I worked out that the coffee I drank cost over 200 times the electricity they saved-as you say they must be trying to displace people, not save money- but my MBP lasts nearly 6 hours[1] so I'm not so easily put off if the place is good :) [1] I use Turbo Boost Switcher to stop the cpu running hot and gfxCardStatus to stick to integrated graphics. This seems to give me nearly 2h extra. I don't need speed for compiles or anything like that.
- kijin 11y ago
  Hiding the outlets could act as a filter that only lets people camp out if they own a brand-new, expensive device with long battery life. That could work very well if the cafe is trying to cultivate a richer and trendier clientele. On the other hand, it would also look similar to how Abercrombie & Fitch refuses to make clothes in large sizes, in order to prevent fat people from shopping in their stores.