Discussions
Pulling the Plug on Laptop Users
Posted by timethief • 8/07/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: coffee-shops, cyber bums, free-wifi-connections, laptops, Libraries, restraurants
No More Perks: Coffee Shops Pull the Plug on Laptop Users
They Sit for Hours and Don't Spend Much; Getting the Bum's Rush in the Big Apple
Excerpt:
" ... 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. ... "
Read the full article -> online.wsj.com/article/SB124950421033208823.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Related articles:
www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/06/are-coffee-shops-really-cutting-off-laptop...
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/05/no-more-perks-coffee-shop_n_252425.html
- Discussion:
I read the foregoing articles above wondered how many BC members living in other locations have experienced this plug pulling at their favorite coffee shop hangouts.
In the small community I live in our library does not allow the consumption of food and drink on the premises. One has to book an appointment in advance to use their cyber connections and everyone is limited to 1 hour no more than once weekly. The restaurants do not offer cyber connections so there has been no plug pulling.
I asked 2 restaurant proprietors why they don't offer cyber connections, particularly for the tourists, as our community is a tourist destination. The answers I got are below.
No way I'm offering wifi to anyone. Restaurants are social places for eating, talking and meeting people. Those who isolate themselves behind a laptop screen, purchase a single cup and except more that one free refill are cyber ddicted bums and spongers. I don't want or need them here.
I'm in the business to make a living and I can't make a living from cyber campers who nurse a single cup of java and spend hours on end avoiding making contact with my other customers. I don't want them here because they aren'tt customers; they are users.
Questions
(1) Do you cyber camp in libraries, restaurants and other location so you can use their cyber connections?
(2) If you do, then are you concerned about this plug pulling trend?
(3) Do you have an opinion you would like to share on this topic?
User Comments
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(1) Do you cyber camp in libraries, restaurants and other location so you can use their cyber connections?
I never do, I own a pc (dont like Laptops at all) and my wife has a laptop and the laptop never makes it past the garden fence (she uses it outside in the summer when the UK gets its one day of sunshine and inside all other times)
(2) If you do, then are you concerned about this plug pulling trend?
Although I am not concerned about the plug pulling I imagine a great number of people will be if it were to happen in the city I live.
(3) Do you have an opinion you would like to share on this topic?
My opinion is that I do have to agree to some extent with the proprietors of cafes and bars as I do see many people taking up sofas made for three or four people with their face right up to their laptop screen and only taking one sip of coffee in an hour.
On the other hand though, laptop users may not buy much coffee but a cafe/bar owner is actually driving away one form of customer by removing this cheap to run yet great service which doesnt make sense to me in the current economic climate...shouldnt they be fighting for all forms of custom to keep the tills flowing?-
Thanks for the response. I live in a very small community. Here anyone whipping out a laptop and hammering away on it in a social spot like a restaurant would without doubt be considered a social outcast by the locals.
Also we do have computer shops that anyone can go to a pay a small fee to use their wifi connections. That's why I don't expect to see coffee shop and/or restaurant owners here step on the toes of their neighbors the computer shop owners.
And, when it comes to forms of customers we all enjoy the tourist income directly and indirectly but we are expatriated urbanites who cheerfully left many city "conveniences" behind in exchange for moving to this place sans all that stuff.
In other words, the locals on our small islands - rule! If tourists don't like what they find here outstanding natural amenities and opportunities to view wildlife (the gulf islands are gorgeous) then the attitude of the locals is "There's the ferry. Bye, bye." -
I do feel there is a huge difference between small towns and communities and cities.
Cities dont care for their neighbours and its a dog eat dog world of commercialism where small towns and communities carry a more friendly and social atmosphere where every one knows each other and wont stand on each others toes.
In an area like yours you will find people supporting each other in the local community (directly/indirectly) as you have mentioned while in the city I live people will do what ever they can to drive business to themselves away from other companies.
In this manner it will be interesting if some cafes purposely keep the Wifi idea as a way of gaining custom from those that remove this facility.
P.S its late sorry about the paragraph long sentences..that only half make sense!
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this hasn't impacted on australia, in fact the opposite has happened, cafe society is on the increase, there was an article about it yesterday here. But the gov has sold everything, has given a way a lot of money to families and business to stimulate the economy and is billions in debt-
@acousticguitarist
this hasn't impacted on australia, in fact the opposite has happened, cafe society is on the increase
Are you referring to urbanized locations or to places in the countryside? In British Columbia there is a vast difference between the two. In cities cyber-squatting is on the rise. In the countryside locals are sending negative messages to any food services business people, who lean in that direction. These business people need local business to survive. Social shunning and business boycotting are very powerful tools. They simply won't survive if they ignore local sentiments and step in the toes of the computer shop owners, who do offer wifi connections for a small fee. -
the city cafe's are full, we don't have the same problem here. And there are more cyber places opening up.
Yes there are people losing jobs but people are sitting with lappies and drinking lattes.
I don't like it much, my laptop screen is too reflective. I was going to try and do a lot of y work in cafe's but the light is too bright here -
i don't believe people here are feeling "the recession".
now if australia started selling its resource land to companies from other countries it would be a whole lot worse -
just let ruddy ruddy know what to sell next and he'll do it
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hahaha... i'll be his adviser ^^
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It is rare to see places with free wifi in Tucson. Most of them charge you a fee for the connection. Fortunately I have internet both at work and at home so I don't need to go to those places to get online.-
Nice to meet you Deray28, I am also from Tucson too. -
I have internet at home and when I had a problem with my ISP I simply purchased time on a terminal at a computer shop for a very modest fee. I would never dream of camping out in a restaurant with a laptop open in front of my face. This is a small community and I ♥ chatting with folks when I'm in restaurants.
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I don't own a laptop but where I live. They are hooking the entire city to wifi. It isn't exclusive to coffee shops. It's every where.-
The whole city is being connected to wiFi now that's interesting.
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They tried to do that in my hometown, got about halfway through installation and then the company they were contracting with raised the price significantly and it was abandoned. -
In WV we have two things working for us. First, While the rest of the country has been experiencing a recession we have been doing well. This is because WV relies heavily on coal mining as a job.
Secondly, Governor Joe Manchin has budgeted WV and we have had a surplus for the past few years and then the stimulus money just came in too.
We were fortunate enough to get a grant. Though I doubt all that would be happening if the WV economy had been as bad as the rest of the country.
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1) Do you cyber camp in libraries, restaurants and other location so you can use their cyber connections?
Nope, I never do. The truth is I can never do my work or read in public places even if I wanted to. I simply can't concentrate.
2) If you do, then are you concerned about this plug pulling trend?
I am only concerned for those who need a spot to check their emails or access Google Maps if they are traveling. That's what I use teh HOT SPOTS for.
(3) Do you have an opinion you would like to share on this topic?
I live in a downtown area of my town, the popular coffee shop here is always full with people. Of course, they run a thriving business but I always see people sitting there with their laptops and an small Iced coffee which seems neglected. I am not sure that if wi-fi camping affects new customers but I sure have seen signs in a coffee shop 'No Wi-Fi camping between 12-2 PM'.-
@owlbarn
The truth is I can never do my work or read in public places even if I wanted to. I simply can't concentrate.
Thanks so much for commenting. I'm the same. There's no way I could concentrate and I wouldn't to spend my social time in restaurants with my face staring at a laptop screen.
I am not sure that if wi-fi camping affects new customers but I sure have seen signs in a coffee shop 'No Wi-Fi camping between 12-2 PM'.
Thanks for also letting me know about the signage you have seen in Tucson coffee shops. I conclude that if there wasn't a problem for customers wanting to eat and not being able to do so during launch hour due to cyber squatters, then there wouldn't be any signs. It will be interesting to hear how widespread this practice is and what the responses are to it.
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I never cyber camped in a coffee shop, like Owlbarn, I can't concentrate and feel observed and self conscious. I never understood the trend to go and study to any coffee shop, and I've seen many people doing it.
I can understand that restaurant and café owners are concerned about this kind of customers, they take a lot of space in the shop for a long time and with a very low consumption, which doesn't sound very good for the business, even in recession times.
What would be great and many people would benefit from is to cover the entire city with wi-fi hotspots, not high speed, to avoid abuse, but free to access for everyone. They've started doing that in some small cities in Spain and I hope it's soon available everywhere, although I think it might still be a bit far away...-
@giinga
Thanks for your contribution. owlbarn, you and I seem to be very similar. Yes, it would be wonderful if there was free internet access for all. I'll look into where these places in Spain are located.
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Most coffee shops in Seattle don't have internet connectivity to begin with. Some in Atlanta do (where I spend most of the year, but not right now), but there aren't very many coffee shops in Atlanta to begin with in part because Atlanta is quite possibly the least pedestrian friendly city on the planet.-
@jeremy
Thanks for commenting. I've never been to Atlanta and it's been years since I visited Seattle. I didn't like it much.
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We have a few places here with WiFi, and while some charge, others are just in a hot spot that I guess people hack into or whatever.
I wonder if these coffee shops also ban the reading of books or daydreaming, talking, or any other activity that take up tables and time? Becasue really? Why do they care if the person is sitting at the table on a laptop, a blackberry, reading a book, playing chess or talking to friends? If they are squatting at the table without making a magical number of purchases, then they are squatting at the table - laptop need not apply.
If the business are really that concerned, they could impose a time limit on tables along with an occupancy limit for tables (No singles/two tops sitting at four tops or booths, no sitting for more than an hour etc)-
Why do they care if the person is sitting at the table on a laptop, a blackberry, reading a book, playing chess or talking to friends? If they are squatting at the table without making a magical number of purchases, then they are squatting at the table - laptop need not apply.
Where I live we are expected to eat, chat and move along. If we wish to play checkers, chess or whatever, there are public patio spaces provided for those purposes, and for just chatting or day dreaming without purchasing any food and/or drink. In fact, in the public patios you can bring and consume your own food and/or beverages. -
Right - we have a lot of that here too - time limits.
So why are they targeting laptop users? If there is a sort of limitation placed on customers, then making them unplug when they arrive seems to be a rather arbitrary and useless thing to do.
Particularly if the internet users have to pay a fee for logging on. -
In my community that isn't the case. No coffee shops or restaurants here offer cyber connections. Only the computer shops do. However, in the articles I linked to in the OP you will find there are locations where pulling the plug is the case.
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I'm not sure if they're doing that here...but I still don't get it. To me that's like saying - "don't use your cell phone at our tables". Or more simply "Stop talking".
*shrug* -
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Where I live we are expected to eat, chat and move along. If we wish to play checkers, chess or whatever, there are public patio spaces provided for those purposes, and for just chatting or day dreaming without purchasing any food and/or drink. In fact, in the public patios you can bring and consume your own food and/or beverages."
That's a whole cultural difference, then, that extends far beyond laptops. I don't know about the US as a whole, but in the midwest many coffee shops are stocked with board games, books, etc. and it's common for people to hang out in them for hours talking, writing, studying, etc.
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I'm not too worried. The only public wifi I've ever used was on campus, which pretty much covered every single inch of university owned property, even the parking lot.-
@trailofpen
Thanks for commenting. I assume this isn't an issue where you live.
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I've got an idea invention:
Coin Meter - PAY - Plug and Play - sign on.
That way the shops will get money for usage - and time spent.
They can set their rates...
Win win.-
They used to do that long LONG ago, but it didn't catch. It's more cost effective to not offer the service period.
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What with the invention of the iPods and Blackberries, I'm surprised anyone takes a laptop out anymore unless they're working on some sort of large project.
You can easily surf the net on those things, with your carrier's connection. -
McDonald's has that--it's something like $2/hour to use their WiFi. That's not exactly the kind of place someone would want to hang out all day and use the Internet anyway, but I definitely found this useful when traveling...since we don't make firm plans when traveling, I couldn't make interim hotel reservations in advance. But it was easy to exit somewhere with a McDonald's when we got close to wanting to stop and hop online to find a hotel and make sure there was a room available.
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@wagerwitch
It's not a win-win situation if it's a very small town and there are computer shops already offering cyber connections for a small fee, and restaurants and coffee shops which are supposedly in the food and beverage business that don't offer cyber connections. Where I live if coffee shop and restaurant owners did install what you suggest they would be perceived as muscling in on someone else's business. In cities where there are already cyber connections offered in coffee shops and restaurants this perception probably doesn't exist. -
TT, I don't understand your last comment here. Are you saying that someone offering a superior product (combined access to two things many people like to enjoy/use in tandem) is a negative because it's bad for the businesses that are offering less?
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I'm not arguing for or against anything. I'm simply describing how differently this would be perceived in the small community I live in.
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It was the "it's not a win-win" situation that I didn't understand. If the user wants the service and the shop owner can increase profits by offering it, who is the non-winner in that situation?
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No one if your context is a city environment where competition in business prevails.
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Since I don't own a laptop I can't based my opinion from personal experience. However I feel that the above argument of the store owners do hold weight. After all the Internet has been good in isolating us from social contact. -
I have a laptop, and while I don't go to coffee shops much, when I do I find the wifi really handy - IF it works!
It's not just laptop owners, though. I've had a hard time finding a seat amongst people just yacking and cradling that one cup of coffee for hours on end. If laptop owners get time limits, so does everyone else. -
Well, Downtown spokane is wired for broadband, so you can just find a parking lot that gets reception to sit in.
Libraries don't seem to be unplugging either.
Coffee shops are a waste of resouces anyway
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"Coffee shops are a waste of resouces anyway"
BLASPHEMY!!! -
Only *certain* coffee shops, Agit, only certain ones...
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I'm a man. I make my own
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Yep, I hang out at Panera any time I need to focus. Keeps me away from other things on my desk, the ringing telephone, even the temptation to jump up and start a load of laundry. I don't do it FOR the wireless connection--I've got that at home--but I couldn't do it without the wireless connection. I'm mindful of the issues raised here, though--when it gets crowded, I make it a point to unplug and leave outlets available for others, and I always buy both breakfast and lunch there when I work there all day. There are about a dozen other professionals, real estate agents, attorneys, etc., whom I see there on a regular basis--I assume the rationale is similar for them, as I doubt that any of them are lacking internet connections at home or in the office.
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My laptop goes everywhere with me. I have a 17in Macbook pro, I use a AT&T Service to get on the internet. I get internet anywhere a cellphone signal can be found. So no, I do not cyber camp. -
Bump
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