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

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

they could start charging for it, like the diesel does. (does starbucks charge for their wifi?) i don't know if that would actually change anything, and i'm sure they'd get complaints (no doubt from people who now sit there for three hours with one cup of coffee) but at least they'd be making some money off it.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Starbucks charges for Wi-Fi everywhere; they have a deal with T-Mobile hotspot. I used to have an account with T-Mobile when I was travelling for business and used it at many Starbucks around the country.