To think that campers in cafes are really, really annoying?

[LinnettdeBelleforte]

By 'campers' I mean people who sit for ages and ages after they have finished their drinks, either talking on the phone or on zoom on their laptops, or just chatting, while other people are wanting to sit down?
I was in a coffee shop today which is quite small and very popular. It's a bit cramped, but beautifully furnished, spotlessly clean, the coffee is great and the staff are lovely, so it's always heaving. I dropped in for a quick one this afternoon to find it heaving, so I said I'd wait for a table. There were four tables of people who were just sitting with empty cups. I waited for ten minutes and was about to give up when finally one couple got up and left. I then grabbed the table, which I shared with two gentlemen who had also been waiting. The woman next to us who had also been camping took the hint after about five minutes and left. I ordered my coffee and drank it over the course of about fifteen minutes. Over that time, one man was sitting on his laptop with an empty mug the whole time, one girl on her phone was the same. People kept coming in and then giving up, I drank up and left. The staff kept looking meaningfully at the campers who just blanked them. If I had been running the place, I would have a notice saying that at busy periods, people are required to vacate the table if they are not ordering.

The staff need to move non consumers on.

I agree, but I also felt for them because they are really friendly people and the place has a nice vibe. I think management is to blame, they should probably have a sign up. But I also think people are just so bloody rude and inconsiderate. I don't know why they think they are entitled to treat the place as their living room.

That's very poor form from The Campers. I've known some cafes who have had to put signs up stating the allowed duration of a table without a reorder. Some people do take the piss.

I think for an independent cafe it's very selfish because the owners lose money

Don’t get me started on the selfish CF’s that take up tables for four and drape their coats and bags over the two armchairs and the spare seat on the sofa while they nurse one small espresso for three hours while “working”!

They don't bother me I just move their stuff and sit down. Tough for them

Exactly! I feel a bit differently in Starbucks, although the principle is the same.

If I ran a cafe, I would not allow any of that nonsense.

I think it's in the middle of YABU and YANBU

At exceptionally busy times, I agree people should ideally move on. But that said, sometimes that's why people go to the cafe in the first place, to relax in an ambient atmosphere. Coffee's cost a lot, and sitting down with your mag or phone or newspaper afterwards makes it more..justifiable I suppose. I mean if you don't intend to camp for a while you may as well have got your coffee anywhere (unless the coffee there is exceptional).

Are campers more likely to be regulars than drop-in's?

The staff kept looking meaningfully at the campers who just blanked them.

They need to get tougher if they want to survive.

But yes, I agree, people shouldn’t overstay, especially if they have a local library.

Exception is for those who can’t afford to heat their homes. Our council have arranged warm spaces for those without somewhere warm.

However if they're daily regulars I might make an exception

I’d have just asked if they were moving as there are no other tables. Did you not do that?

You don’t know how long they’ve been there though - if I’ve been there for twenty minutes chatting to a friend and just finished my drink I’m not going to feel bad about staying another few minutes. Obviously being there for hours is unreasonable but if I can’t stay longer than it takes to gulp down a drink I’m not going there in the first place - part of what I’m buying as far as I’m concerned is the opportunity to talk to my friend for a while. If staff have a problem with that they need to speak up or put up a sign, I don’t deal with “meaningful glances”.

It’s so inconsiderate. The only places I tried to do work at when I just bought a drink were places like big Starbucks when it wasn’t that busy so I wasn’t inconveniencing anyone.

In my local cafe this morning there was a student sitting with his knees drawn up and his feet on the bench. He sat there for 30 minutes, chatting away. People just don’t care anymore. Cafe’s are treated like living rooms.

Easy to say but owners live in fear of poor reviews. That’s what the cf campers rely on, they can give a “ I was kicked out/bad service” type review .

No, but I was actually about to. I kept glaring over at the one couple who were yapping over empty mugs until they got the hint. If they had been much longer, I would have spoken up.

yes selfish
I wonder if they tolerate this because the campers are regulars at quiet times as well so overall get more money from them?

People are rude. If they want to camp they can go to a Wetherspoons or a Tesco cafe or somewhere big enough to not be impacted. But the lovely independent won't survive peoples selfishness for long, then all they'll have is Spoons & Tesco.

Loving the expression 'campers'

The ones I was talking about were about half an hour with empty mugs, not twenty minutes drinking and five or ten chatting. I know because I was there for about half an hour in total.

A coffee in Spoons is 1.56 and the can refill for free all morning day and evening. This would be a better option for them

I own a cafe, we have a sign up that says there may be a time limit on tables during busy periods. My staff are great at keeping an eye on how long people have sat and what they've purchased, and I often move people along if they're 'camping' (love that phrase btw)

Generally people are really good and do move on, some people can be a bit snotty, but at the end of the day, we can only stay open if we're making money and we can only make money if people are spending. I know myself I'd be aware and not hog a table if I'd finished and people were waiting, even before I had my own business.

Our local encourages it - they were very close to having to close before they started doing so!

Realistically it can be a good money earner if the cafe isn't regularly full. So say I go in at 10am - drink, sandwich. Then around 12 get another drink. Have a brownie at 2. Whereas if they didn't allow me to do that, when it fills up a lunchtime they might have had 1 extra customer, but the rest of the time before/after they wouldn't make anything extra as there are always free tables.

Our local popular cafe are experts at this. If its busy, they simply ask said campers " can I get you anything else?" If the answer is no, they get 5 mins before being told the table is needed for other customers.