Laptops banned in cafe

[Pricklylikethecactus]

A cafe in Canterbury has banned laptops after people asked staff to be quiet when they were on zoom calls, asked for the music to be turned off and generally ruined the atmosphere. They also said that these customers blocked tables, that could be used by more profitable customers as many of these people would just by a £3 coffee and keep the table for several hours.

I’ve worked from cafes from time to time, but always try to make sure I spend a some money periodically-even if it is a cake to take home or an extra coffee to pay my way, but I do see others just paying for a single drink.

Is this cafe in Canterbury right, are these people taking the piss? And do you ever do this and find somewhere to work for several hours and only spend a tiny amount-and why is that ok? These places are trying to run a business after all.

There are other ways they could have dealt with this that are much less abrasive... like switching the WIFI hub on and off every 5 mins; practicing the trombone or blaring out Simon & Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence at full blast and then encouraging everyone to have a sing-a-long; frying up several dozen kippers; running a Spray Tan side hustle in the same space... as well getting naked, talking loudly about liposuction and whether you can make candles out of the fat, etc.

Having a sign saying NO LAPTOPS is going to be very damaging for business.

It's not WFH if you are in a coffee shop! Just get back to the office, FGS.

That's a good idea.

Although if they fill all their tables with WFH types, they may lose passing trade as people will just assume after a while there won't be any spaces.

So doing half and half might be a good compromise.

I took my dd to a costa near Tate Britain a few weeks ago. All the tables were laptoppers. We took the last one and we were squashed between an Italian woman on a noisy zoom call and two huge blokes having a long manly swaggering business meeting. We had a sandwich each and a drink - never cheap obviously, but the customer experience for us sucked ass.
I see why they all do it but it sucks for the rest of us.

Cafe sounds right to me.

It is up to the laptoppers (and the cafe) if they want to work from a cafe but I do get cross when I am meeting people in a cafe and get evils from the laptoppers for making (normal) conversation. They are working from a cafe, I have not wandered into their office.

Should I overhear something important or confidential, am I expected to keep it to myself? I am not employed by their company and I have not sought that information - it has been broadcast across to me. They risk irritated people putting information up on Twitter.

I live in a university town. Quite a lot of cafes here have a laptop ban during lunch time on weekdays and all day on weekends. Makes sense imo.

Completely agree with this cafe. If it’s in Canterbury high street then it’s incredibly busy with tourists and familles willing to buy more than a coffee whilst hogging a spot for hours, and working from there wouldn’t be possible anyway I’d imagine. How rude to ask staff to be quiet!

Having a sign saying NO LAPTOPS is going to be very damaging for business.

Not necessarily. There is definitely a growing market for people who just want a relaxing coffee and a catch up with a friend without feeling like you are sitting in a boardroom

DP and I were out today and went into a chain (Ole and Steen for those that know it). Four students were taking up a two seater table each with their laptop and books. They were together as they were talking to each other but totally oblivious, likely on purpose, to the many people hovering around trying to get a table, while they took up 4.

What made them even more CFs were they had Tupperware out on the table with their own food. One was even snacking on a box of Jaffa Cakes which they definitely don’t sell in there. Really surprised that the staff didn’t say anything to them

Of course they are right, you can WFH, the office or the library. Cafés are businesses too and need to make a profit. How do you think they stay in business otherwise?

Libraries…

It’s a good idea.

@Pricklylikethecactus it is not just the workers having zoom meetings, it is students using laptops for studying and writing essays, again only one coffee lasting two hours!! genuine customers cannot get a seat, never mind a table for 4!!

I WFH, which is what it says on the tin. HOME. Why are people working from cafes for hours? I could t think of anywhere worse to work from!

I often take my laptop to a coffee shop for a change of scenery/ambience when working remotely. However, I would never dream of asking for quiet/music off - that's just rude (and what noise-cancelling headphones are for)! So for that reason these cafe owners are not BU.

However, on the topic of 'table hoggers' staying for hours with one drink, I've often wanted to purchase another hot drink - but in most coffee shops this isn't possible without leaving your seat - and an expensive piece of equipment unattended. Which people are just not going to do. Take your equipment with you? Then you risk losing your seat!

Customers should be able to order further items on an app and have them brought to their table. But then these companies would have to pay 'wait' staff and they clearly don't want to do that. If someone has another feasible suggestion, I'm happy to hear it.

In terms of this particular cafe, Canterbury has a significant student population - I imagine this is the group in question. It is of course the cafe's prerogative if they want to ban these people but Canterbury isn't exactly short on coffee shops, so it's a move that could actually prove more costly to this business than a few 'missed' lattes.

Good for them
its a cafe not a bloody office

So have a policy of a minimum spend per hour or something. Canterbury is touristy, when it's summer and when it's sunny, but for a large part of the year and during weekdays it can be pretty dead. If I was them I'd set up WFH booths and lean into it not put a smug ban on laptops

This^
I hope other cafes will follow this example.

This! Coffee shops in London would be finished if they banned laptops. I went to a biggish Neros recently. Every single table was occupied and almost all of those, maybe bar one, had a laptop with them.

DHs minimum wage job involves visiting people at home. He is expected to do paperwork on a laptop at a nearby cafe. This is not that unusual in low paid jobs on the move.

Good for them!
We went into a lovely cafe in Crickhowell but struggled to find a seat because all 8 of the 6 person tables were occupied by single individuals on their laptops. We ended up squashed on a table for 4 with two strangers, not a comfortable experience, we won’t be returning for sure.

There should be a minimum spend for laptop users or a flat fee per hour. It's taking the piss to buy one drink and sit there for hours.

Cafe perfectly within its rights to ban laptops if they think it’s detrimental to their business.

I have bought a coffee and sat for hours working. I normally buy lunch or something too but not always. I assume if there are other spare tables that my working at one won’t hurt their business and I do buy a lot of coffee there so don’t feel bad about sitting for hours, but I pack up if it gets busy and I’d be blocking someone who’s just bought.

Over the years I’ve found cafes go throw spurts of popularity and so if a cafe I frequent gets busy often, I move on to another that isn’t doing so well. I don’t think I’d consider making a city centre cafe a regular haunt as they’re almost always busy.

That's exactly how board games cafes work, free seat to eat but if you play board games then its £5/£6 where I am for four hours. For your money, there is no obligation to buy anything at all. Another ones bundles a drink into their 4hr pricing model.

The only issue with charging, is that expectations come with it so the terms and conditions would have to specify what people can and can't expect

Work from home booths would change the look and vibe of the place and is probably not possible if it’s only small. Nothing wrong with doing it but equally no reason to. It’s up to the cafe owner to decide what direction they want to take their cafe.