I am sitting in a coffee shop watching fellow coffee drinkers strike up conversations with strangers, friends, and business associates. Another dozen or so people are sitting alone, plugged in, browsing the web, getting work done, and updating their Facebook statuses. Baristas are chatting behind the counter, taking orders, and making drinks. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.
I update my @coffeeshopchat Twitter status, letting my followers know that I am on the verge of striking up a conversation. I shift to the right and introduce myself to a fellow Internet junkie who is wearing a Seattle Mariners hat. As a diehard fan myself, we talk about recent trades. I shift back and send another tweet. When I’m at the coffee shop, my online and offline conversations often converge. I scroll down and come across an article about how coffee shops are pulling the plug on laptop users in New York:
Amid the economic downturn, there are fewer places in New York to plug in computers. As idle workers fill coffee-shop tables — nursing a single cup, if that, and surfing the Web for hours — and as shop owners struggle to stay in business, a decade-old love affair between coffee shops and laptop-wielding customers is fading. In some places, customers just get cold looks, but in a growing number of small coffee shops, firm restrictions on laptop use have been imposed and electric outlets have been locked. The laptop backlash may predate the recession, but the recession clearly has accelerated it.
Our conversation about the Mariners shifts to coffee shop culture, as I gather his opinion on the coffee and WiFi dilemma:
This won’t fly in Seattle. Look around. Everyone is plugged in.
I look beyond my fellow Mariners’ fan and overhear a conversation about networking, job hunting etc. I catch a glance at the computer placed between them and a series of new tweets display, linking to job opportunities.
I Google No More Perks and blog post after blog post that mention the article quoted above pop up:
- The Tragedy of the Coffee Shop
- The NYC coffee-shop office is endangered as small cafés start putting restrictions on laptop use
- Beginning of a Trend? Coffee Shops Restricting Laptop Use
- Why Go Job Hunting at a Coffee Shop?
- As coffee shops cut the cord, are they cutting their own throats?
I Twitter search for No More Perks and people are spreading the word. In caffeinated conversation friendly places and in online coffee shop known as Twitter, people are talking about why this matters to them.
I scroll through the comments of the article and the response is mixed:
Great — I wondered when the coffee shops were going to roust these self-important dweebs out of those chairs and send them on their way.
These coffee shop owners have it all wrong. Instead of kicking people out or making them feel bad, just charge for your WiFi access.
It’s more of a sad reflection that these coffee shop owners know little of their trade and merely want to turn them into a fast food hub. That’s not a coffee shop – it’s essentially a drive through.
I seem to remember that someone by the name of J.K Rowling, in an effort to get away from her household for a few sane hours went to a local coffee shop to write. Now we’re saying people who use the coffee shop to create, work or whatever are moochers? You’re not a moocher if they offer Free Wi Fi.
I’ve been working from coffee shops for over a year now. I always purchase something, consistently leave feedback cards for the management, and honestly get treated like a family member by the employees.
Coffee shops were also places where business – of all sorts – was conducted. Many writers also adopted them as their place of work. Philosophers and scientists would spend hours debating their field – over just a coffee or two.
What a novel idea, actually talking to someone other than a computer or cyberfriend.
Coffee shops have the right to manage their business and Internet access as they see fit, whether that’s offering it for free or for a nominal fee. Every coffee shop differs in their offerings (coffee, food, Internet, ambiance), but every action has a reaction, and restricting Internet for the reasons described in the article may backfire:
As a Brooklyn resident, I will make it a point to avoid the establishments mentioned. The Starbucks on 7th Avenue in Park Slope is comfortable and staffed by nice people.
More and more people go to coffee shops to network, search for jobs, and simply hang out. Pulling the plug is one way to ensure that customers don’t linger for too long, but coffee shops are known as third places, places where people can regularly go to take it easy and talk with friends, neighbors, and strangers. So what can coffee shops do?
Coffee shops can get to know their customers and vice versa. When coffee shops and their customers rely on each other, taking advantage of perks is less likely, and more drinks are likely to be purchased.
If you choose to restrict Internet access, consider placing electrical outlets near counters rather near tables for 2 or more, regulate it (e.g. 1.5 hours per purchase), and/or turn it off during large rushes rather than remove it altogether. Consider hosting a coffee shop conversation about your WiFi access with your regulars customers.
Or leave it be, increase bandwidth, and leverage it to connect with customers and build a community. Create a Facebook page, set up a Twitter account, and use it to increase clientele like Coffee Groundz in Houston. Allow customers to place orders online? It’s inevitable.
And lets not forget that the recession is affecting millions of people, which include the owners of coffee shops. Want to offer a service to make your coffee shop unique? Connect with local career experts. Invite them in and allow your customers to get work advice. If fees are involved, the coffee shop could receive a percentage.
Whatever you do, find ways to draw upon the realities of the world to make your customers want to buy another drink and tell their friends about your place rather than someone else’s. Transform your coffee shop into a story worth telling and people will want to be apart of it.
2 Comments
Being an owner of a coffee shop is one of the hardest jobs in the world. I know, I owned one many years ago. It also taught me a very great deal about human nature, and for that I am grateful.
I was incredibly lucky that my place was frequently full of really interesting people and many were well known musicians, writers, actors, politicians and playwrights, all happy to enjoy all that was on offer. But it was not always the case.
In the early days I struggled with the question of people staying without buying anything or sitting for 3 hours with a glass of tap water. Customers are like children, they like boundaries and often have a lot of fun trying to break the rules. Then either by luck or judgement, I found a way to deal with it.
First of all, I was happy for people to be in the shop as a busy place attracts customers. An empty place does not. The problem was only when the loiterers were taking tables that lunching customers needed.
I started a conversation with the person. I showed interest in what they were doing and how they were feeling. By the end of the short conversation they very nearly always bought something to drink and I was usually able to recommend something to eat! If not, they would soon pack up and leave. It was the relationship that made the difference. It is so much harder to ignore someone who has made the effort to be interested in you.
The chain coffee shops that we have so many of today don’t have that connection with their customers. They think they have a relationship through their branding but it isn’t powerful enough to create reciprocity which is what you need to keep the flow going. The flow of ” I offer a service/product and you buy my service/product.”
Coffee shops are meeting places. Places for conversation and connection. Today that means virtual connections and business owners need to understand that they have to engage customers and to some extent educate them. Putting tape over power sockets or banning laptops is short sighted because you become better known for something which is nothing to do with coffee or food!
In the end people go where they are welcome!
@Amanda I’ve asked a lot of people how they feel about “No More Perks” and you have captured much of why people love coffee, conversation, and coffee shops. It’s all about making connections in open spaces, and nowadays connections are made offline and online. And I completely agree that connections include those made with coffee shops owners and Baristas.