People who 'work' at cafe tables

[BeagleMum1]

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?

I feel a lot of the hatred towards remote working customers is driven by jealousy.

OP, did you tell the cafe owner that they are doing cafe-owning wrong? How did that go?

I work remotely part of the week and DH does most of the time. Neither of us feels the need to set up shop for the day in already busy cafes. Nothing at all to do with jealousy.

That was a reply to the You obviously never go to cafes! because as it happens, we don't all live in the same area.🙄

@Andanotherone01 do you never have to visit the bank, post office or the dentist midweek? Sometimes it's a really convenient way to get things done on a lunchbreak. Remote working is such a boon, thanks to WiFi and cafes, it doesn't have to mean being chained to your home office as a substitute to being chained to a shared office. My workplace actively encourages us to work from cafes for a change of scene. It's meant to be good the old mental health.

do you never have to visit the bank, post office or the dentist midweek? Sometimes it's a really convenient way to get things done on a lunchbreak
Of course I do but I'm not setting my laptop up in one.

@Andanotherone01 No, I mean say the bank/postoffice/dentist is far away from your home. You go to a nearby cafe, pay for coffee/s and maybe a scone/teacake work until lunchtime, then get stuff done. The cafe owners are glad of the income, especially in the mornings when it's pretty dead, and you get shit done. Everyone's a winner. You should try it sometime.

I regularly work in the cafe at my gym. Year round. There's usually two people sharing the table, both working. Either unknown to each other or acquaintances. We use the big tables as that's where the plugs are.

Come the bloody holidays, we're expected to move out of the way because the world and his dog have turned up with their kids. Nah. You can't expect other people to change their daily/weekly routine because you've changed your daily/weekly routine.

I remember someone parking himself at the table I was using with his children, I was mid phone call and had something about so and so being a cunt. He was apoplectic. Maybe don't come and sit on a strangers lap if it's an issue to you.

Last year they put signs on the tables saying "dining/working", hopefully they'll do it again this year.

There’s one near me that is full of laptoppers. It’s fine but I do ignore them when with a group and they huff about us talking and drinking coffee. It’s a cafe, that’s what it’s for.

Another place turns off the Wi-Fi between 11 and 2.

I've seen some cafes in London 'renting out' a table for a day for £25. It included 1 drink & free refills.
It's bums on seats during the quiet times.

Oh not this again

the world has changed and many people have computers with them a lot.

What's the difference between someone sitting alone with a book or sitting alone with a computer?

A lap top does not take up the space of a person. So shouldn't stop ypu sitting down

Just ask someone to budge up if you need that space

Not always practical though. I often meet clients in community settings, and it sometimes happens that someone doesn't turn up or an appointment ends early and I have an hour or two to kill.

The obvious thing to do is to go to a cafe and catch up on some admin. I always buy a coffee though, and often some lunch as well.

The Cafe is not your personal workplace. It's a public space. Go and do your phone calls somewhere private if you are effing and jeffing. I don't blame the parent for getting annoyed with you.

I work remotely, but I actually work from my HOME. No jealousy here.

@BeagleMum1 we may disagree about customers working from cafes, but I agree with you that no customers should be swearing, whether they're chatting with friends or on a conference call.

No jealousy here either, I'm retired!😃

Most public libraries are Hubs nowadays, surely they'd be better places to work than cafes.

Or the guy who took a zoom call without headphones. Arsehole. “Sorry about the background noise I’m in a cafe”

Our library is open from 10-12 on a Tuesday, 3.30-5.30 on a Thursday and 9-12 on a Saturday. Not really much use for working (or anyone tbh).

Same all round this way - libraries that are left are scarce

🤣

Some of us work ‘on site’ which could be anywhere in the country, and sometimes the work location can be a field, or a street. Sometimes you have extended periods of downtime where you need to be walkable from the site but want to catch up on e-mails during the day. Cafes are perfect for this, and you can get your lunch at the same time. It’s blinkered to think everyone has popped round the corner for their cushty home office to sit in Starbucks instead. For some people it’s the only way to get lunch, an drink and some WiFi and if cafes didn’t want this they wouldn’t provide the service would they.

Yep a Performative 'worker'. He thinks he's the Bear Grylls of the business world. Instead of scaling a mountain, he's having to navigate the harsh conditions of his local Costa. Poor love.

OP you really need to educate all these cafe owners on how to run their business. You obviously know better than them.

No that's not good. Round my way they are open 5 days a week, closed on Sundays and either Tuesdays or Wednesdays (depending on location) 9 to 6.