The Independent Coffee Shop: World's Next Dodo Thanks to Tech?
When we were in college in Chapel Hill, Patrick bought me a Christmas gift. It was a book on how to open a coffee shop. We made a pact to one day open a coffee shop together. Patrick wanted to call the cafe "Cool Beans." I told him he'd be going into business alone if he named it that.
We saw coffee shops as places to meet other thinkers, other students, other nonconformists. One of our favorite cafes was near campus. It was called The Artist's Escape.They had board games and poetry nights. Until Starbucks moved in and closed them and Trio, another local favorite, down.
We were convinced Starbucks moving on to the main drag signaled the end of the independent coffee shop.
We were wrong about Starbucks being responsible for ending the independent coffee shop era. There is something bigger and sadder than big box hurting local coffee shops. And that something is technology.
Flash forward to today. One local Boulder coffee shop has a sign that reads, "Free Wi-Fi" in all caps. Underneath, in a smaller font, "Open your laptop / No place to charge batteries here." It is displayed prominently in the window. The sign is laminated, matter-of-fact. You can sip your latte here until your battery gives out.
Yesterday I asked a barista at another local cafe what their policy is regarding laptop users who nurse a single cup of coffee for an entire day. He said, in essence, that he isn't sure how to deal with the tech crowd. They come in, hang on to a cup of coffee long after it has gone cold and take up precious seat space. Some of these laptop nomads come in, don't make eye contact with the employees and don't buy anything. They sit with their laptops in front of them for hours, without paying for the service. Some, as the Wall Street Journal article, No More Perks: Coffee Shops Pull the Plug on Laptop Users suggests, come in asking for a cup of hot water so they can steep their own tea bag.
I'm of two minds on this issue.
I get it. I know entrepreneurs need space and internet access to do their work. As a business owner, I know we got bills to pay. So what's an ethical laptop nomad to do? And what is a friendly coffee shop owner to do? I asked my peers on Twitter. Many answers suggested coffee shops charge a per hour wireless fee. Others suggested mimes.
These are the responses I got to my original tweet:
- hoosteeno before granting wifi access, take cc #. charge hourly until checkout, include free bottomless drip coffee/tea. 'coworking lite.'
- Sincemydivorce Offer them an incentive/create conducive atmosphere for holding client meetings - free cup of coffee for every client meeting ?
- DesignBabylon wifi password lasts for an alloted amount of time. need to a)purchase coffee/tea/cookie or pay minimal fee for addt'l time
- seekatiesew give them a code to access wifi good for one hr with each cup
- LanceWeber "If you see someone looking for a place to sit and work, be a good neighbor and offer to share your table!"
- mbosano sell them 30min wifi slots with free coffee??
- zinco_ninco Make really damn good coffee!
- melsidwell panera has a lunch policy re: wifi. it kicks you off after two hours btw 11a-2p (or something). seems fair to me.
- JeremyK31 maybe there's a way to charge money for coffee along with a certain amount of time for the internet?
- tcabeen Write down a GTFO policy, develop a rep for being both crazy and lovable and unpredictable. Then enforce the policy as you see fit
- hyperlinked Sell something other than coffee, possibly something that's not so stimulating but leaves a nice energy buzz? (Green smoothie)
- thereasaf turn down the heat so their coffee gets cold and they have to get refills. I kid, if goal is 2 create awesome exp, let them sit.
- jasonglaspey how about you provide wifi access for 1 hour with every purchase. access code is printed on the receipt.?
- jwithy Provide awesome sandwiches/baked goods. Put up subtle, guilt-inducing signs. Give one free refill but charge 50 cents after that.
- darinpersinger punch cards to get free stuff. buy four cups get one free or something.
- admomentum set up conversation areas that don't cater to the tech crowd in addition to computer friendly areas. so you limit the wifi hogs.
- fishnette darn good coffee question - difficult. two-drink minimum? minimum charge? musical chairs???
- maslowbeer do what @coffeegroundz does. Create community around it. Make it a place to converge with others.
- amanda_iles An idea for coffee shops to get tech folks but not wifi freeloaders: Give 2 hours of free wifi w/purchase. Renewable all day.
- SmithWill Servers should step from behind counter and sell to seated patrons nursing 1 cup. Non-takers get booted for non-performance,nicely
- oranparker BONUS 2 WiFi timers: You can avoid "lurkers" with "can't talk now. on a timer." I always get caught at coffee house by lurkers.
- anile If they bake on the premises it would be impossible to resist a snack!! Yummy aromas and beautiful presentation might help!
- anile also: name your wifi router "snacktime!"
- oranparker WiFi sign-in timers. You get a sign-in code good for 1 hr w/purchase of $3.50. U get food, WiFi + setting. Keeps purchases moving.
- UpsideUp Parking meter at each table?
- tomesnyder Charge for wi-fi, give coffee away free.
- slackmistress Rent space? Like an hourly fee? Sort of like co-working space but there's no lease. I think it's totally fair.
- bodisagency Make a cute sign, ask for donations. Explain the situ from business owner perspective. Say, we help you, you help us, kinda thing.
- APLewis Freeloaders are a cost of doing business. If seats open let them stay. If tables full, ask them to make room for paying customers.
- JasonPollock WIFI log in codes with each cup of coffee. Each one expires after 30 minutes. Or 45.
- hereslizz give them one free hour of wifi with each purchase.
- Tricon Hire a bunch of mimes to flood the place and start a silent argument with the drifters.
- yosoykia give them 60 or 90 minute internet access codes, 1 per purchase with a minimum amount required
- lance one hour wifi lease for every dollar spent on food/drink.
- tenaciousN I'd start charging them for access. Free for the first hour, then more expensive the longer they stay.
- declinedesigns every 2-3 hours. As a wifi user, I wouldn't mind getting a drink every few hours to use free internet and enjoy people-watching.
- lauriewrites Usually? Sell better, uncomplicated snack/lunch food-beyond stale baked goods. #1 thing I'd do. It's almost always horrible.
- Mandalynn17 limit how long they get free wifi? for 1 cup of coffee, you get 1 hour of wifi...
- declinedesigns I'd make it an option to either pay, say, $3 for 2 hours of wifi, or that the wifi users have to buy a certain amt of food/drink
- Dav3Ston3 "15 minutes internet free with Coffee"
- npilon A cup of coffee/serving of food gets you a code for X amount of time on the wifi. You want more, you buy more.
- brandius I read an article about a coffee shop that changed their wi-fi name. "Know whats good with internet browsing? Our muffins!" Clever.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Reader Comments (16)
I was in on this discussion a bit over twitter, but it came up earlier this week as I walked through Wicker Park in Chicago with an out of towner (@lfar, the creator of @20SB). I was telling her why I went to a specific coffee shop after we'd been asked to pay $7 for 2 hours of WIFI at a shop we tried to hole up in for some digital planning. We ate our bagels at that shop, left, and went to the shop down the block with free WIFI (where I bought a coffee right away).
I do understand the issues that might pop up regarding exploitation of WIFI availability, but I just don't see the overall cost benefit of discouraging techies/entrepreneurs. We get hungry, we get thirsty, and we're sitting there in your shop.
I suppose I'm not fully up on what the real impact is; are WIFI costs THAT high? Are shops losing business because 'seats are full'? It just seems as if WIFI is now sort of expected in lots of places, and coffee shops trying to push out the laptoppers seems like it will just result in a new tech culture taking hold to the benefit of some other type of business.
A very good question, and one that caught my attention recently. Some of the ideas I've had —
- Pay For The Privilege: laptop users need to pay for the privilege, but get unlimited wifi usage and maybe free refills. Enforced through password protected WiFi.
- Laptop Tables: Large communal tables with power outlets and ethernet in the middle. No wifi. Feel free to use power and internet, but you have to sit at the laptop table.
I don't understand how people do it. I fantasized about the coffee shop programmer lifestyle till I tried it while living in New Orleans for a month. The seats in the coffee shops were hard and uncomfortable and the wifi was slow and scarce. After about an hour in a handful of different shops I was back in my apartment working off the sofa.
I'd much rather have my ergonomic chair, full size monitor, and external keyboard / mouse at home.
Hey Gwen, nice job with the crowd-sourcing! Someone should do that for a product on using social media as a force for good. Oh, wait...
As for me, I kind of like the requirement to buy something (should be obvious, but not everyone gets it) and perhaps not providing outlets if things are getting too hectic for the place. @Powell's here in Portland does the first one - if you sit down without buying something, a barista will come out to nicely (well, relatively) ask, "What would you like to order?"
Otherwise, I'm a nomad and have good relationships with the places I work at. If it gets crowded, I don't really want to be there either, so I'll leave.
My idea was actually a service where the mobile workers pay a monthly fee, say $20, that gives them unlimited time at tables for the month. They'd get a card to put on their laptop that lets the employees know who's paid and who hasn't. Guests could get 2 hours of free wifi with a purchase and they'd get cut off until the next purchase. The point of the monthly fee is that all day squatters would be limited, and the rest of the traffic would circulate.
Just a thought.
Ooh I really enjoyed reading the other replies too. It's interesting to read some people ask for a cup of warm water to steep their own tea. Niiiice. ;)
I usually buy water and/or fruits if they have them. Usually the crowds make me head home sooner rather than later.
Coffee shops are great places to meet clients and potential clients. They have limited appeal for working solo though because it really is more comfortable at home.
One person taking up an entire table (and sometimes two, as cords reach across the space) is rude and should be discouraged. How about this: when a customer opens up a laptop, a barista places a count-down clock that beeps after one hour? Times up!
I was always pretty sensitive to not being a WiFi mooch in college. If I knew I was going to be working for awhile I always made sure to buy a big lunch from my favorite cafe (oh, how I miss their kickass fancy whole grain sandwiches!) So far, since moving to DC I've only seen 1 shop institute a sensible policy-- want WiFi? Buy something, on the receipt you get the code that locks you out after X amnt of time. Though I can see how that policy can be gamed too, it's better than putting up a loud sign relegating laptop users to the most uncomfortable chairs in the shop.
Living in Los Angeles, I am convinced that free WiFi at coffee shops saves many a struggling writer from thoughts of suicide or the need to move in with their parents, both dire (And I'm actually not being flippant here).
There is amazing community found at coffee shops, necessary even for the techies out there. I would hate to see free WiFi go the way of free parking. But I do think that customers must buy something in order to have the privilege. In every coffee shop I frequent, the regulars may not break the bank every time they come in, but they show respect to the ownership, develop relationships with both the ownership and other patrons and are repeat customers - even returning without their laptops at times.
Good food is a great incentive for plopping down some extra coin too, particular for those of us who sometimes spend 6 to 10 hours in our local haunts.
I've actually stopped frequenting certain cafes because they DON'T offer free WiFi, places in which I spent a lot of money over time.
Put coin/credit card operated meters on electrical outlets. No staff time consumed.
Many bars with pool tables have free-pool hours during slow times, lock them up during rush hours. You should see the freeloaders rush out the door when the tables are locked up! Would work for WiFi.
Starbucks weighs in on the debate (via @chrisguillebeau)
I'm speculating here, but aren't there other industries that successfully operate on the "give away something for free in exchange for possible business?" Gas stations sell petrol at cost in hopes of convenience store buys, movie theatres stay open based on jacked up snack prices.
I look at free Wi-fi that way -- an advertising expense of sorts.
When I worked at home, I spent about a day a week, probably three hours total at the local coffeeshop. I could make coffee at my hous, but going there got me out of the house, being around other people, listening to music. I appreciated my local coffeeshop for that, and I saw them as an anchor in my small community.
If free Wi-fi was costing them business, it wasn't obvious. Never a shortage of chairs, etc.
If coffeeshop owners are simply peeved because people use their Wi-fi and only spend $2, then they should charge more for coffee, charge for Wi-fi, not offer it at all.
Curse Starbucks if you will, but they have a business model that's still somewhat succeeding in this economy. They charge enough for coffee to keep them afloat, and partnered with AT&T to sell Wifi in their shops.
Just my 2¢. Or twelve. ;)
Although not a typical setup, I've got one that might work.
STEP 1:
Set up the wifi logins to expire in 2 hours. Now set up a server to randomly create the logins and have these codes print out on each receipt. The server would also include a "time/date" function to only accept the codes used on that calendar day or however you decide to do it. There would be some integration with the POS (point of sale) software so it calls out to the server when printing the receipts, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Now you have a system that is automatically giving wifi login codes on each receipt that is good for 2 hours and only the current calendar day. Could fraud happen with this system? Of course, but at least something was bought to get that receipt which has the wifi login on it.
STEP 2:
Set up "power user" group... Set up some of the accounts to have unlimited access and give those to the locals who want to pay for unlimited access as a monthly subscriber.
Problem solved. Next? World Peace? The perfect pie?
I like the second idea, Ken. Or maybe the iStock model of selling "credits" -- buy time in chunks, in advance.
Customer benefit: The more you buy in advance, the cheaper the rate.
Coffeehouse benefit: Customer will repeat business at your shop since they can spend their credits there.
Hot, hot ideas all around. Would love to see them implemented. If you ping your local coffee shop and find out what they're doing, please let us know.
I love the idea of paying per-hour and getting unlimited drip coffee or tea refills. I think coffee shops could charge more per hour than what the average customer spends, because of the lure of "free" refils!