Cafes and laptops/tablets???

sporina

I have wondered about this numerous times over the last number of years but today it reached a peak..

I wonder what is the school of thought amongst cafe/coffee shop owners when it comes to people using laptops/tablets (studying) in their establishments?
It seems they buy a coffee or what ever but stay ages; I don't know the maths but I would imagine that people who use these gadgets stay longer than those not and perhaps spending perhaps the same or probably less money, thus taking up space which other paying customers could use. This obviously reduces profits.

And today - it screamed at me - it felt as if I had walked into a library as oppose to cafe. eg I was meeting a mate for lunch - we were there 2 hrs and spent nearly 18e. Out of say 10 tables on one floor - almost everyone was on a gadget. I spotted 2 people on laptops who were there when we arrived and they were still there when we were leaving and both had a 1 cup beside them during that whole time. I can't say for sure but I imagine thats all they got. People coming up had to leave and presumably look for a seat on another floor.

Anyone any thoughts on this? Or even better, any cafe owners/managers on here with some insight?

Erik Shin

Kill the free WiFi, gets rid of the moochers.

Barry Badrinath

Cafe cvnts?

Bunch o'****

Donal55

And invariably they take all the good seats around by the walls and the plug sockets leaving the other suckers at the door or in the middle of the floor.

Come to think of it, who would be liable if I accidentally tripped and spilt my coffee over their mac, tomorrow?

ED E

You were there today, but might not be back for a fortnight. The macbooks are there every day. May buy infrequently but they're consistent custom. Try to dissuade them and you'll soon be closing up.

TrustedApple

That was me in college I used to live next to costa coffee there was notting more then I loved bringing my laptop with me and doing coffee work and enjoying a nice coffee I could stay 2 hours or so but I would be in nearly 2 or 3 times a week

sporina

ED E wrote: »

You were there today, but might not be back for a fortnight. The macbooks are there every day. May buy infrequently but they're consistent custom. Try to dissuade them and you'll soon be closing up.

I go out for lunch most days - granted I would not stay 2 hrs..
And have had to leave several places over the years due to tables being taken up (tables for 2/4) by one person on a gadget..
And I am one of many from what I have witnessed.

I would really love to know how this effects the economics of running such an establishment.
And I suppose I am more concerned with places that serve food (breakfast/lunch) as oppose to just cafes with beverages and baked goods.

Beyondgone

I love earwigging on people who insist on having meetings in coffee shops. Often, they're discussing quite important stuff too.. I now have a waaay better grasp of the GAA's finances because 2 of their good lads were having an important meeting at a table beside ours.. and there's been plenty of other occasions. Why people would want to meet in a public place to discuss sales/financial matters mystifies me. It's a coffee shop. Find an office ffs. Anyone could be listening. Even me.

Ken.

It's like seeing a roadside cafe with a load of trucks outside it. The truckers know the good spots so that's where I'm going for grub. Same with a cafe, your more likely to go in to one with a few people in it rather than an empty one.

Beyondgone

Barbie! wrote: »

It's like seeing a roadside cafe with a load of trucks outside it. The truckers know the good spots so that's where I'm going for grub. Same with a cafe, your more likely to go in to one with a few people in it rather than an empty one.

Breakfast in Mother Hubbards..any time of the day. One of life's small pleasures.

sporina

Barbie! wrote: »

It's like seeing a roadside cafe with a load of trucks outside it. The truckers know the good spots so that's where I'm going for grub. Same with a cafe, your more likely to go in to one with a few people in it rather than an empty one.

at a risk of contradicting you - i'm talking about people having to leave places due to there being no space what with tables taken up as said earlier..

if the cafes were empty save the gadget goers now thats a different story

Beyondgone

sporina wrote: »

at a risk of contradicting you - i'm talking about people having to leave places due to there being no space what with tables taken up as said earlier..

if the cafes were empty save the gadget goers now thats a different story

Truckers tend not to be big laptop users. They also tend to like a different sort of establishment. Less Costa, more cosy.

Ken.

sporina wrote: »

at a risk of contradicting you - i'm talking about people having to leave places due to there being no space what with tables taken up as said earlier..

if the cafes were empty save the gadget goers now thats a different story

Yeah, I get you now. My analogy was wrong in those circumstances.

Oh and you can contradict the hell out of me. I've got a mother,wife and daughter. I'm rarely right.

Pelvis

Barbie! wrote: »

It's like seeing a roadside cafe with a load of trucks outside it. The truckers know the good spots so that's where I'm going for grub. Same with a cafe, your more likely to go in to one with a few people in it rather than an empty one.

Not me, I'd be far more likely to go where there are less people.

sporina

Barbie! wrote: »

Yeah, I get you now. My analogy was wrong in those circumstances.

Oh and you can contradict the hell out of me. I've got a mother,wife and daughter. I'm rarely right.

lol..... awe i love your attitude.. fair play.. good sport

wakka12

Well whats the alternative? Tell them to get out? See how long your cafe lasts with that behaviour towards customers.
Its a pretty ****ty thing to do if the cafe is packed and new customers are looking for seats. its just one of those things that people have to feel obliged to not do, for moral reasons. Theres nothing that cafe owners can do about this problem really

Silentcorner

Barbie! wrote: »

It's like seeing a roadside cafe with a load of trucks outside it. The truckers know the good spots so that's where I'm going for grub. Same with a cafe, your more likely to go in to one with a few people in it rather than an empty one.

This needs to be nipped in the bud.

Truckers stop where they can park their trucks, namely, restaurants/cafes with massive car parks....nothing to do with the quality of the food...

Its a bit like suggesting that airports serve the best food because planes from all over the world park up there...

joeguevara

sporina wrote: »

I have wondered about this numerous times over the last number of years but today it reached a peak..

I wonder what is the school of thought amongst cafe/coffee shop owners when it comes to people using laptops/tablets (studying) in their establishments?
It seems they buy a coffee or what ever but stay ages; I don't know the maths but I would imagine that people who use these gadgets stay longer than those not and perhaps spending perhaps the same or probably less money, thus taking up space which other paying customers could use. This obviously reduces profits.

And today - it screamed at me - it felt as if I had walked into a library as oppose to cafe. eg I was meeting a mate for lunch - we were there 2 hrs and spent nearly 18e. Out of say 10 tables on one floor - almost everyone was on a gadget. I spotted 2 people on laptops who were there when we arrived and they were still there when we were leaving and both had a 1 cup beside them during that whole time. I can't say for sure but I imagine thats all they got. People coming up had to leave and presumably look for a seat on another floor.

Anyone any thoughts on this? Or even better, any cafe owners/managers on here with some insight?

So 2 people were there for 2 hours and spent €18. That's 4.50 an hour, pretty much the price of a coffee. Your not as good a customer as you think you are.

Beyondgone

wakka12 wrote: »

Well whats the alternative? Tell them to get out? See how long your cafe lasts with that behaviour towards customers.
Its a pretty ****ty thing to do if the cafe is packed and new customers are looking for seats. its just one of those things that people have to feel obliged to not do, for moral reasons. Theres nothing that cafe owners can do about this problem really

Oddly, that isn't how it works. Often, the inverse is true. My old lad ran a restaurant famous for how rude the waiters were. People came just to be insulted. It was the attraction. When that policy changed, it vanished off the map. People are odd in ways it is hard to comprehend.

wakka12

joeguevara wrote: »

So 2 people were there for 2 hours and spent €18. That's 4.50 an hour, pretty much the price of a coffee. Your not as good a customer as you think you are.

wtf? And the person who also spent two hours+ there and only got one coffee for 3 euro ( 1.50 an hour) is a considerably worse customer regardless which was his point? So whats your point?

wakka12

Beyondgone wrote: »

Oddly, that isn't how it works. Often, the inverse is true. My old lad ran a restaurant famous for how rude the waiters were. People came just to be insulted. It was the attraction. When that policy changed, it vanished off the map. People are odd in ways it is hard to comprehend.

Thats hardly a common scenario though? Maybe it worked for that particular restaurant out of novelty but I think a safe rule of thumb for restaurants would be to treat their customers nicely if they want them to come back

Beyondgone

Silentcorner wrote: »

This needs to be nipped in the bud.

Truckers stop where they can park their trucks, namely, restaurants/cafes with massive car parks....nothing to do with the quality of the food...

Its a bit like suggesting that airports serve the best food because planes from all over the world park up there...

Toughers springs to mind.. the carparks whopping... the food..erm, is food. Lovely. Honest. It's always packed.

whippet

I often leave the office and head for a coffee shop with my laptop ... I'm far more productive when i don't have people annoying me ... also when I'm out and about visiting customers coffee shops are the only real place to get a bit of work done rather than battling traffic to get back to the office.

Mind you I don't I don't take the piss ... I'll buy coffee .. lunch ... snacks when there .. I could easily spend €20+ a day in coffee shops .. keep the receipts and it's a win win

ProudDUB

There is a cafe near my job, that that has a sign on the door, saying they have no wifi, as they are all about promoting conversation and "real" socializing. Me hole ! It's so they won't attract the lap top brigade, hogging all the tables when they are busy. It's a smart move imo, as its the only cafe in the area (with a lot of officer workers) where people can sit down and get "proper" hot food.

sporina

yeah it if it was me I would just cut off the wifi - no need to shun anyone.. but the gadget folk probably would not bother staying too long if at all.. thus leaving space for people who probably spend more/stay for shorter periods of time..

I would love to hear from a cafe owner/manager though - get some facts/1st hand info - anyone out there?

Its a good discussion though

WHIP IT!

Beyondgone wrote: »

I love earwigging on people who insist on having meetings in coffee shops. Often, they're discussing quite important stuff too.. I now have a waaay better grasp of the GAA's finances because 2 of their good lads were having an important meeting at a table beside ours.. and there's been plenty of other occasions. Why people would want to meet in a public place to discuss sales/financial matters mystifies me. It's a coffee shop. Find an office ffs. Anyone could be listening. Even me.

Did anyone else find the phrase "two of their good lads" hilarious?? Love the GAA, have played & followed it all my life - and I can totally picture the pair of them

pilly

I can see both sides I suppose. The person on the laptop might be someone who goes in every day and has their lunch there and hangs around. He could be there winter and summer. So why should he feck off when a load of visitors come in.

Then again the ones who only buy one coffee are definitely taking the piss. If I was the owner of a busy caf? and someone was regularly at it then I'd have a quiet word and say you know there are people waiting for tables.

seagull

When I drop the car in for a service, I tend to walk across to the nearest coffee shop and work there until it's done. I've wound up spending a full day there before. Over that time, I've probably bought 3 coffees and lunch there, largely because I feel guilty about hogging their resources. Would they prefer my business or to tell me to go away?

nikkisclearout

Barbie! wrote: »

Yeah, I get you now. My analogy was wrong in those circumstances.

Oh and you can contradict the hell out of me. I've got a mother,wife and daughter. I'm rarely right.

Legend !

sporina

seagull wrote: »

When I drop the car in for a service, I tend to walk across to the nearest coffee shop and work there until it's done. I've wound up spending a full day there before. Over that time, I've probably bought 3 coffees and lunch there, largely because I feel guilty about hogging their resources. Would they prefer my business or to tell me to go away?

well you are spending money so i wouldn't have a prob with you - but in recent years being in and out of coffee shops/cafes, there are some people on gadgets who really are treating the places like libraries (buying perhaps one beverage)

No evidence yesterday of any of the gadget gang having eaten - but I wasn't observing them close enough to know the stats

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

You were there today, but might not be back for a fortnight. The macbooks are there every day. May buy infrequently but they're consistent custom. Try to dissuade them and you'll soon be closing up.

Also presents an image to the walker by that the place is popular and packed.

There is the age of adage of seeing a restaurant or cafe empty is a bad sign.