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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

People who 'work' at cafe tables

339 replies

BeagleMum1 · 28/06/2023 10:04

Why do cafe's allow this? I'm sitting in a cafe and over half the tables are being sat at, by a single person on laptop, 'working'. These tables could seat up to 4 people. Some have bought a cafe drink but others are just sitting there without a drink or food.

They are table blocking and at busier times, will prevent other customers who might buy more drinks / food from getting a seat. AIBU?

OP posts:
Throwncrumbs · 28/06/2023 10:26

ParachuteAway · 28/06/2023 10:12

Not much different to someone meeting a friend and nursing the same coffee for an hour or so

It’s is, many people are not sat there all day using the cafe electricity to power their lap top and phones, I can’t see how cafes make a living tbh. I was sat in a local one the other day most of the nicer tables had people sat at them with lap tops and about half didn’t even have a drink. I shared my table with a lady I didn’t know and she mentioned it to me and I could see her point. Won’t be going there again as it’s a ridiculous way to run a business. Waiting to see if it closes down.

KimberleyClark · 28/06/2023 10:27

Is there a gap in the market for "laptop cafes" exclusively for workers? You could buy a table for a morning or afternoon to include drinks and lunch, say for £35?

flurbubbly · 28/06/2023 10:31

KimberleyClark · 28/06/2023 10:27

Is there a gap in the market for "laptop cafes" exclusively for workers? You could buy a table for a morning or afternoon to include drinks and lunch, say for £35?

These already exist and are quite popular.

I've seen this exact thread on MN several times before, and I don't get it. It boils down to: other people exist, and are sometimes annoying, and I resent other people being in my space. OP, would you complain if the cafe was full of parents buying one coffee then staying for hours while their kids roam around?

I work from cafes a lot, and the cafes I work from are always mostly empty. So I'm not taking space away from anyone.

LaBefana · 28/06/2023 10:35

Several cafés I go to have a rule about no laptops at lunchtime, e.g. 12 to 2 PM.

brunettemic · 28/06/2023 10:39

What did the cafe say when you approached them about it? Better yet what did the people say when you asked for the space? How is it any different to parents/grandparents going in for 2 hours and buying one drink each with prams and buggies taking up loads of space?

I do this sometimes, if I’m travelling for work or have dropped my car in for something it’s easier to sit somewhere and crack on with some work. I’ll probably buy two drinks and some food in that town so what’s the issue?

YouveGotAFastCar · 28/06/2023 10:40

Cafes near me actively encourage it. Infact, there’s a new Pret and a load of independent cafes near me and most of them have encouraged me to work from there if I want - and quite a lot of them will bring over free drinks if I do. They want it to look busier, and they want you to stay and have many drinks/lunch there.

If I do work out, I go out and have a “lunch break” over the busy lunch period so they’ve got their tables back for when it’s busy; but they’ve never requested this and a couple have said not to bother.

I suspect you’d have fewer cafes to go and meet friends in if people weren’t working/eating in them more often…

Prettypaisleyslippers · 28/06/2023 10:41

If you infrequently use the cafe then you are probably generating less income than the ones there daily, maybe no drink in front of them as they’ve already eaten/drank and it was cleared away?

There are restaurants/cafes around me that offer all day wifi with unlimited coffee/tea and pastries for £9.95, bloody bargain and they get people in.

also if a cafe looks empty then less people are likely to go in

gogomoto · 28/06/2023 10:41

My local cafe allows it from 8-11 and from 2-5 if you order one drink per session. If you want to stay over lunch you should either have a table for 2 or be at the long shared bench, and you need to order a full meal plus drink. Basically £20 for the day!

User19844666884 · 28/06/2023 10:44

Throwncrumbs · 28/06/2023 10:26

It’s is, many people are not sat there all day using the cafe electricity to power their lap top and phones, I can’t see how cafes make a living tbh. I was sat in a local one the other day most of the nicer tables had people sat at them with lap tops and about half didn’t even have a drink. I shared my table with a lady I didn’t know and she mentioned it to me and I could see her point. Won’t be going there again as it’s a ridiculous way to run a business. Waiting to see if it closes down.

Show quote history

using the cafe electricity

3p per hour at todays rates to charge a laptop or phone.

Chersfrozenface · 28/06/2023 10:56

If I can't get a table because a lot of them are occupied by a single person on a laptop, I'll either plonk myself down at one of those tables and not mind how loud I talk, or leave and tell the staff why.

I'm just as much a customer as they are. And I'm usually with one or two other people, and two or three coffees and cakes add up.

I can't think why cafes don't have designated tables for laptop workers to occupy together, leaving other tables free.

Maverickess · 28/06/2023 10:57

Well it's obviously working for them, and given it's their business and all then they're allowed to decide that.

If it doesn't work for you then you have a choice to not go, not demand they should change their business model because it doesn't work for you, find somewhere that does and don't go. It's not a public service, it's a business and the nature of that business means you're never going to please everyone, why can't people just accept that somewhere isn't for them instead of demanding that everything should change because they don't like it?

LlynTegid · 28/06/2023 11:02

Cafes need all the business they can get.

MrsSkylerWhite · 28/06/2023 11:04

These people may well have kept cafes going during the pandemic when no-one else was using them.

No doubt if the owner has a problem with it, they’ll move them on.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 28/06/2023 11:04

LlynTegid · 28/06/2023 11:02

Cafes need all the business they can get.

Exactly.

it’s bizarre that people can’t see that the annoying folks with their laptop who go in and spend money 2/3/4 days a week are valuable customers for the cafe.

if they were costing the cafe more than they were making cafes would soon Chuck them out

Avondale89 · 28/06/2023 11:06

flurbubbly · 28/06/2023 10:31

These already exist and are quite popular.

I've seen this exact thread on MN several times before, and I don't get it. It boils down to: other people exist, and are sometimes annoying, and I resent other people being in my space. OP, would you complain if the cafe was full of parents buying one coffee then staying for hours while their kids roam around?

I work from cafes a lot, and the cafes I work from are always mostly empty. So I'm not taking space away from anyone.

Show quote history

A huge number of MN threads are just miserable people complaining about other people existing in the world in a way the OP does not agree with. Truly bizarre and completely arbitrary depending on their lifestyle. I hope I never get that bitter and twisted.

OP - go to a different cafe that does not permit people to bring their laptop. Or just stay at home. I don’t know why you think people ought to shut themselves away to accommodate you.

ShockingLipstick · 28/06/2023 11:12

It's no secret that cafe owners would rather someone in their cafe than nobody if it's not busy however when it's busy cafe staff DO come and tell you to move to another table because a bigger group has got in or the cafe is getting crowded.

They usually also hover around you asking you if you want to order another drink or see the food menu so you hopefully get the hint. It is annoying when a single person hogs the best table for ages nursing the same cold cup of coffee. They're not even people watching or enjoying the view, eyes totally glues to their devices.. a total waste for them to hog such a seat with a good view but if I say anything I will be the 'Karen' (and yes I hate that term but this is exactly the sort of thing THEY would call me if I said a word).

AlexTfan · 28/06/2023 11:18

Cafés have to accept they will lose custom if those table hoggers are encouraged. They probably tut and eye roll if normal customers talk too loudly while they are oh so busy “at work” occupying the best spaces.

I imagine those who approve on this thread are guilty of these behaviours.

CowboyFromHell · 28/06/2023 11:19

ParachuteAway · 28/06/2023 10:12

Not much different to someone meeting a friend and nursing the same coffee for an hour or so

I agree. There’s seems to be an assumption made by some posters that people who work at a laptop in cafes will spend less £££ than those meeting up with a friend in a cafe. I don’t think that’s necessarily true.

I wfh some days and sometimes go to a cafe for an hour or two. I purposely go to one that’s big and that always has spare tables. I’m pretty sure I buy around the same amount of drinks as others there, whether they’re alone or with friends.

ShockingLipstick · 28/06/2023 11:21

If you're with company you're spending double than a sole customer unless that customer keeps ordering every 45 minutes.

AlexTfan · 28/06/2023 11:23

ShockingLipstick · 28/06/2023 11:21

If you're with company you're spending double than a sole customer unless that customer keeps ordering every 45 minutes.

Exactly.

CowboyFromHell · 28/06/2023 11:24

ShockingLipstick · 28/06/2023 11:21

If you're with company you're spending double than a sole customer unless that customer keeps ordering every 45 minutes.

And so what? Cafes have a history of catering to people who are by themselves. Decades before wfh on laptops was widespread I - and many other people - would go to a cafe and read a book for an hour. I still do this sometimes. Cafes are not just for people in groups.

flurbubbly · 28/06/2023 11:25

I don't tut or eye roll at anyone, and I'm pretty sure I spend more money than the group of mums with toddlers who all ordered one coffee each, brought in tons of outside food, stayed for ages, and left a mountain of rubbish and food smeared on the chairs and tables I saw yesterday.

I also wrote a book that cracked the Sunday Times' top 20 non-fiction bestsellers in cafes so take the whole "let's put "work" in quotation marks to indicate people can't possibly be doing actual work" and shove it.

Creepyrosemary · 28/06/2023 11:28

A cafe near my old place had a long table with sockets in the middle and a low wooden screen for anyone who wanted to work with their laptop there. It was nice. They bring in money by ordering coffee, like you.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 28/06/2023 11:28

ShockingLipstick · 28/06/2023 11:21

If you're with company you're spending double than a sole customer unless that customer keeps ordering every 45 minutes.

And if that customer goes in 2/3/4 times a week they likely spend more than you overall.

WandaWonder · 28/06/2023 11:36

I presume if the cage has a problem they would say something, sure if the worker takes work calls and has meetings so are noisy fine annoying but working quietly I have no issue

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