cafes, wireless, and Davis

[jadelennox]

story found via dk_medianation:

From the Globe on wireless in cafes:

In Davis Square, Diesel Cafe charges for wireless -- about $14 a month -- but co-owner Jen Park said she also confronts customers who are not buying food. Perhaps the worst offenders are the people who buy coffee at the Starbucks across Elm Street, then head for the comfortable red booths at Diesel with their Starbucks cup in hand, she said.

``My approach tends to be friendly, like `Can I get you anything?' " Park said. ``Usually, the answer is `no.'
...
Up the street in Davis Square, O'Naturals offers wireless as a free amenity, but recently began shutting off its signal during its busiest hours. Manager Sonja Seglin said laptop users used to linger on a single cup of coffee during lunch, leaving nowhere for newcomers to eat their soups and sandwiches. The lunch crowd complained, and O'Natural's now shuts off its Wi-Fi access from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
...
The way Brandli sees it, Diesel offers ``a bargain" as far as workspaces go: Each month, she spends about $60 on food, plus $14 for the internet, much less than the cost of renting an office in Davis Square.

I've seen people sit in the Diesel with nothing for an hour during busy times, then take a lunch bag with sandwich and drink out of their bags and happily chow down without paying a cent.

Comments

[cleanup-davissq.livejournal.com]

It is inexcusable to hog a table with one coffee and a muffin for over an hour while people who want to eat a sandwich have to wander around or leave. It is outrageous that someone has the gall to take food out of a bag from home or some other establishment.

Too much nicey nicey with these types. Just tell them you need to eat and would they mind if you joined them (as you sit down). Ditto for the laptop booth hogs. If they don't comply, turf 'm out!

[jadelennox]

See, now this I disagree with. There is absolutely nothing wrong with spending an hour at a table at a cafe if you've bought food there. Five hours with only a cup of coffee and a muffin, yeah, then you owe the cafe a little rent on your table in the form of something else to drink. But it's a *cafe*. If they didn't want you to be able spend even an hour they'd have a time limit, and they certainly wouldn't have wireless.

Bringing food from elsewhere, that's a different story, and is just rude.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I dunno. One of the things about paying for the wireless is that it kinda is like paying rent. If I work there for several hours and bring my own sandwich, but buy coffee and a snack, and buy my wireless, I consider my obligations done.

rent is higher than that

[cthulhia]

wireless charges, coffee and snack is probably insufficient to cover the costs of several hours' rent. If enough people have similar attitudes of entitlement it is likely a major factor in their frequent price increases.

that said, just look up every now and then to make sure there are empty tables. If it's not during rush times, you're probably not costing them money.

Re: rent is higher than that

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Another calculation is this: if I felt I had to spend more than $6-$10 (not including wireless), I wouldn't go there at all. If I didn't go there at all, they would have lost my business. Assuming I don't block anyone else who buys more from sitting, I still give them more than they'd have if I didn't go at all.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, places like Diesel provide wireless as an amenity for their customers. If their primary business was providing Internet access, with food on the side, it would be different. But as it is, I don't agree that you're "paying your rent" by buying wireless. I don't know what %age of the wireless fee the cafe even gets - my total guess would be that the ISP keeps most of it.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

"It is inexcusable to hog a table with one coffee and a muffin for over an hour..." Fair enough, but do me a favor and don't glare too hard at folks who perhaps cleared their sandwich plates before relaxing with their refilled coffee and dessert?