Fed up with drinking coffee in other people’s offices.

[canyouseemyhousefromhere]

That’s what it feels like lately. I popped in for a coffee in a local coffee shop and was surrounded by four separate people working with laptops, headphones and piles of paperwork talking loudly to ‘clients’ . No food or drink in sight. I have just heard one of them invite 2 people to a meeting in this cafe, he’s busy arranging chairs (carrying them across the cafe) as I type.
I have no particular problem to people working in coffee shops but some are really taking the p now.
They often take the best tables and are now frequently causing a nuisance. I have seen two groups of shoppers change their minds whilst in the queue not sure if it’s because of the office people or just coincidence.
Is there also a confidentiality issue here perhaps? A list with personal information was clearly in view on the table.
Does anyone else feel fed up with this or am I just being a misery? 🤷‍♀️

They always used to be for eating and drinking...

If it was as you say @canyouseemyhousefromhere I'd tell the manager why I was leaving, or leave a review

If the staff don't kick them out, you have to assume it's fine

Someone talking on the phone is ALWAYS louder

Obviously that was her first thought, but she doesnt believe so.

Ha Ha! I'm referring to the multiple posts about dogs in coffee shops.

I know, I'm just joking! I agree, it's a common theme!

Ooh. I’ve not heard of these. Will look out for them in future!

Lapdogs

People are actually sleeping in the beds at IKEA in China. So this is nothing.

I agree. I live in a university town and it’s almost impossible to get a seat in any coffee shop due to students treating it as a workspace. I’ve had to give up at least one local favourite as my friends and I can never get a table- people with laptops on every single table, papers spread out so no one else can sit there, even on the largest five seater in the place. It’s OK if one or two people are working quietly but if everyone is doing it really changes the vibe (even if it did leave space for anyone else!). It’s not a pleasant place to go for a catch up any more so we’ve had to find somewhere else. As the OP says it feels very much like we are invading their workspace rather than using a coffee shop as a coffee shop.

I think it’s another symptom of people having a lack of respect for shared spaces. Same reason people listen to music out loud, put their feet up on train seats and have conversations on loud speaker in public places. They’re happy so why bother with anyone else?

My personal bugbear is people on the pre-7am commute who think the train is their personal office but that’s for another thread.

I work in cafes on weekends. I don’t take calls and be loudly annoying. I use large chain places, I’d not camp out in an independent.

The main one I use has just added a bunch more tables with socket access, but still has plenty of seating that’s more suited to socialising. So they’re not discouraging it.

Some pubs are offering wfh deals with drinks and WiFi for a set price.

@sweetpeaorchestra have you thought about introducing bookable co-working slots? Host coffee do this, you can book a 4 hour slot for £10 which includes 1 drink.

https://www.hostcafelondon.com/work-from-host

There are now laptop cafes now which are the only ones I go to. My DH's gym is the same. There is a quiet area in the cafe bit but all those who make phone calls are in the common areas. Some even have the gall to give dirty looks to those with kids playing or tables of people chatting.
I don't allow my staff to work in public spaces if they need paperwork or make phone calls/team meetings. Terribly unprofessional not to mention as annoying as fuck for others.

Evil plan……
which songs can we play that will cause maximum pain.
There is a rude one, that comes to mind about wet private parts.

I hate people who do this and spoil the ambience of a place. Yackking loudly into a screen and being generally annoying. It’s a coffee shop, not an office space.

I’m one of those invisible middle aged women but if you seriously annoy me, I become distinctly visible and vocal.

Three men sat down in one of my favourite coffee shops and it was clear that two of them were interviewing the third chap for a job. It was excruciating for the poor lad and not remotely appropriate to ask such personal questions in a public space. I was sat less than 2 feet away facing them. After a few minutes, I couldn’t stand listening to them bore on, so I started interrupting their conversation with some inane chatter and they thankfully decided to move on. I hope they re-think the suitability of their meeting space next time!

@Maraudingmarauders explained the delicate balancing act really well.
Firstly social media gathering momentum that you’re unfriendly has a real impact.
And we made the ban before COL got really bad, when we could fill the tables with food buyers during the week.
Now we would like the trade of laptop users, within reason, but they take it pretty far.

Of course we ask them to move on if it’s been ages but its another job for a sometimes young front of house staff manager to manage (if owners aren’t there.)
take it you’ve not run a hospitality business?

We had the unfortunate experience of being next to a full blown meeting.it was full of moving forward,I've spoke to Shell ,all the subsea options and engineering are being examined yada yada.
Oil and Gas types tend to be full of their own importance.
Encounter this a lot in NE Scotland.

Thank you, that does sound great. I worry we’re a bit shabby chic/ student-ey to warrant bookable slots. But a meal deal or something might be a great idea, thanks

No don't worry about it, loads of places do it. If you see where host coffee operate from, a working church at the weekends but an operational cafe in the week, it's shabby chic as well.

£10 for 4 hours & maybe 2 coffees might suit your client base better.

If they're in a meeting maybe just sit next to them and start scribbling in a note pad, occasionally staring at them and nodding. Then pretend to call someone and say "yes it's as we thought" and repeat the last jargony thing they said. Then continue scribbling in your pad and nodding.

The city I live in has a cluster of companies from one particular industry, and the early trains to London are full of Billy Big Balls types shouting into their phones. I've never had the guts, but as I sit there making a mental note of the things I'm overhearing I would love to jot the key points down on a piece of paper and silently hand it to them at the end of the journey. Bonus points for getting their name.

Billy B Balls
<Company Name>
Meeting with supplier x next week
Discussed profit margin with Steve and decided to go low on this one
Need to get the supply chain report published asap - warehouse manager is getting twitchy

And at the end:
The email address of their CEO or similar, which I've just googled, just to keep them wondering...

Like I said, never had the guts to do it, but often wonder what their reaction would be 😆

I think the issue though is when people are speaking on their phones or laptops, they are significantly much louder than the norm and that's the problem. I'd have no issue with someone on a laptop but I don't want to listen to their conversation at full volume. I've seen a few coffee shops that have a separate meeting room space that people can use for this very purpose, but it's rude to encroach on people who just want to enjoy a coffee and relax

Even if he is buying drinks, it’s just not on for him to bring his own lunch. Total pisstaker.

Good idea, most pubs are pretty empty during the day anyway, they need to diversify a bit if the want to stay open, very tough business to be in at the moment

Look, coffee houses have ALWAYS been a popular venue where important ideas are discussed. From Cafe Central and Sperl in Vienna, frequented by Trotsky and Freud, to Bedford, the favourite of Hogarth and Fielding, to Will's on Russell Street, where Pope mapped out 'The Rape of the Lock', they have often been neutral places where people have met to work, to swap intellectual and political ideas, to plot.

As far as I can tell, OP wants coffee houses to be places of silence, or of the most anodyne small talk possible. Not only is that a remarkably ahistorical view of their history and function, I also find it rather limiting, and a bit sad.