To ask how long it’s acceptable to sit in a Costa or similar to work?

[Curious2021]

Obviously I’d buy a coffee/cake but what’s the kind of acceptable time limit?

I used to work in Costa a lot as a student. Home was too distracting, and the library was just too quiet. So I'd often walk down to Costa early afternoon and stay 2-4 hours. I made sure I always had a coffee in front of me which meant maybe one every 30/40 minutes. Used to work through any special menu fairly quickly .

If it got particularly busy I'd leave, but as I'd rarely even have someone next to me, it wasn't exactly often.

I wouldn't now during the pandemic but perhaps when we've settled in hybrid working, I might from a late lunch to the end of my day occasionally, for a change of scenery.

@legotruck not to be nasty, but cafes have tables of differing sizes. No one’s hogging a table of 4 for themselves.

Costa is a huge corporation. I really wouldn't be concerned about them losing out on a few quid because I'm taking up space at a table.

As long as you are buying something every 45 mins - an hour or so, stay as long as you want.

At a small local cafe it's different but I generally wouldn't work from those anyway unless it's a very quiet time of day and there are lots of tables.

[quote callmemaybee]@legotruck not to be nasty, but cafes have tables of differing sizes. No one’s hogging a table of 4 for themselves.[/quote]

Lots of people sit at tables of 4 if there are no smaller tables available. It's commonplace. In fact in my local Costa there are 2 tables for 2 with sockets available and 8 tables of 4 with plugs. People who are there for hours to work will often lean towards the 4 over a 2 with no socket when the others are taken. I used a table for 2 in my example and put in brackets 4 to try and avoid having to respond to this though. Of course it happens.

[quote Mountaingoatling]@AppleSouffle I have done this for years and leave my laptop out and plugged in. I take my phone, bank cards and house keys with me. Never had the slightest issue in multiple countries.[/quote]
Bit shocked reading this!

I work for the government so have access to security clearance needed documents on my work laptop. I’d get sacked if I left it unattended. It’s sort of the same as NHS or bank staff leaving a laptop unattended which would give someone access to mass medical records or bank accounts.

I have a MacBook as my personal device, and wouldn’t leave that unattended either as it would be attractive to thieves !

@shrodingersbiscuit

So sad to hear that some libraries are running 15 minute appointments. One of my happiest memories is of writing/finishing my thesis in the British Library, and ov going every Saturday morning as a child to get my 12 new books to read! Libraries truly are worth their weight in gold.

Our library is open, people can stay for up to 3 hours! Hopefully longer soon. Please check your local branch.

I was coming to say Wetherspoons too.
You get hot drinks for 99p and then free refills and free WiFi and no one cares how long you sit there.

I used to go to the Starbucks near me to revise/write essays. It was placed near a complex of offices so it was extremely busy between 8-9am and 12-1 for lunch time. Apart from that it was extremely quiet and it’s a pretty huge Starbucks so always looked very empty when not at these times. I used to head down at 1ish and stay until about 8 and this was never a problem, I got really friendly with the baristas. I spent a lot of money on coffee and snacks too I made sure I wasn’t sat there nursing an empty cup. I think it would have been different if I was hogging a table that was needed though.

I used to go to our local library with my laptop and a flask of tea. I would sit near the huge windows overlooking the street and people watch while I worked.

I went into Costa the other day for lunch. It was a real treat for me as hadn't been able to get out for ages. Couldn't get a seat. Students sat at every table on their lap tops with no food or drinks. It felt really selfish. I would say that, if there are empty tables and you keep ordering, then maybe an hour or so. But if other customers have no where to sit, then you shouldn't hog the tables.

@NannyAndJohn and @SchrodingersImmigrant I today got permission to wfa (work from anywhere). In India in lockdown I had similar permission. I advise our organisation on GDPR and data security. I'm single but I wonder how many wfh calls are overheard by spouses and kids. Insecure managers overcontrol.

@AppleSouffle people keep an eye out even without being asked and the plugged in presents an additional barrier. As the daughter of an overprotective mother, I made a conscious decision to trust and not to live in fear! Maybe not for everyone but it is liberating. Lock the screen. Check work insurance. Risk is less than the psychological damage that viewing everyone as a threat causes!! (For me...

I have a MacBook as my personal device, and wouldn’t leave that unattended either as it would be attractive to thieves !

You can completely lock down your Mac remotely if anyone steals it. It isn't usable by anyone else after that. They really are not attractive to thieves.

[quote Mountaingoatling]@AppleSouffle people keep an eye out even without being asked and the plugged in presents an additional barrier. As the daughter of an overprotective mother, I made a conscious decision to trust and not to live in fear! Maybe not for everyone but it is liberating. Lock the screen. Check work insurance. Risk is less than the psychological damage that viewing everyone as a threat causes!! (For me...[/quote]
I'd get disciplined for this. We're not allowed to leave our work laptops unattended anywhere other than home/work, and that's only if they've been locked and the whole area secured.

Back when I used to occasionally work from a coffee shop (pre-Covid), I used to put all of my equipment into my laptop bag and take it to the toilets with me, but leave a coat on the chair (i.e. something that if it got stolen wouldn't trigger a disaster) and ask someone nearby to keep an eye on it for me.

I may have misremembered but I seem to think that in French cafes after an hour the waiter will bring you the same drink again.

I used to sit in the basement room of an independent cafe. Upstairs is always busy, but the tables in the basement were never all used. So I used to just get a drink when I wanted one.
I have never gone into a cafe for just 15-20 minutes, far too quick.

There were late night coffee place in London about 10 years ago and they were filled with students studying

Prepandemic I used to stay all afternoon in large branches and bought a couple of meals plus coffees and snacks (around £20). They were fine with it and even had special areas for people to sit and work. I wouldn’t do if somewhere with few tables.

@Hugoslavia

I went into Costa the other day for lunch. It was a real treat for me as hadn't been able to get out for ages. Couldn't get a seat. Students sat at every table on their lap tops with no food or drinks. It felt really selfish. I would say that, if there are empty tables and you keep ordering, then maybe an hour or so. But if other customers have no where to sit, then you shouldn't hog the tables.

I don’t believe you 🦑 I don't think there were students sat at every table without food or drink. I think you, sir or madam, are exaggerating because you couldn't get a table in a busy shop.

@mariemare that's interesting! Working in IT 95% of replacement hardware is due to liquid damage. We have 0.7% as theft/ loss and this is mainly people leaving the laptop in a bar after work in a laptop bag! Don't your IT team understand that when locked and set to bar 'additional users no one can access the laptop?

I think it depends how busy it is. I'm thinking pre-covid as I haven't gone out to such places since as maybe it's not good to hang around so much. Before covid you'd get students etc in with laptops doing work for hours with just a tea or small thing. I'd sometimes go for a change of scenery to do some work.

I think the staff don't mind if you stay a while as it's not like their shift ends sooner if you go. And I imagine sitting for a longer time gives them less work to clean the tables etc. I'd never sit for a while in a small cafe like that though but Costa and Starbucks aren't going out of business anytime soon.

Can Mumsnet check if somone is posting on their own thread under a new Username ?

Wrong thread sorry

I noticed a new notice on a board outside our local coffee shop today “laptop users 1 hour only”

I often have work meetings over coffee - anything over 90 minutes would buy a second drink
Other times if I’m on my own I’m only there 30 minutes or so
My local costa are used to me and my staff - we keep them in business! Some days I’m in there 2-3 times