AIBU to sit in Costa for 2 hours?

[SnippySnappy]

If you buy ONE coffee... what's the max time you should spend there before it enters into 'taking the piss' territory?
1 hour? 2 hours? 3?!

Depends how busy it is...

30-40 mins?

45 minutes

Yabu. Thats a long time to sit and nurse a single coffee.

That doesn’t even give time to finish a coffee unless you’re a speed drinker or have disgusting milky beverages that are already half cold.

i’d say an hour per coffee is reasonable.

If the staff are happy and aren't asking you to move off, then I guess the actual amount of time doesn't matter.

I think I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than sit for hours in Costa, but each to their own.

Depends on whether you’re actually costing them money by staying. If there’s pressure on tables/lots of customers, then I’d buy another coffee if I wanted to stay more than an hour. If it’s quiet, I’ll take as long as I want to.

1hr I think ☕️

As long as I wanted, unless people were actually waiting to get a table. I don't feel bad about taking up space in a chain like Costa.

I'd say an hour but if its busy and you have finished it's more polite to leave.

30 mins. Takes 5 mins to drink a hot drink, otherwise it’s cold!

30/40 mins. Why would you stay longer!?

more to the point, why would anyone think its reasonable to spend 2hrs plus in a retail premises when other paying patrons could benefit from your chair/table

How on earth can it take you 30-40 mins to drink a coffee?! However hot it starts off, it's going to be only warmish within 15 minutes!

I sat and nursed a Costa coffee while I was waiting for DH to finish his first chemo session one Christmas Eve, it was mid lockdown and while Costa were open I couldn't be on the ward with him. Home was over 90 minutes away, the weather was truly awful and Costa was nearby, open, warm and dry. I was there for over two hours, no-one challenged me, there were free tables so I assumed it was OK.

Coffee would be stone cold in an hour and I don't take milk

It depends if it's busy. If it's not, it's better for the business to have a customer at some tables than to look empty.

That said, id stay a long as I needed/wanted to, but can't see it being much longer than 30 min.

I was in a coffee shop in a nice market town recently and many tables were taken with what I assume were sixth form students actually studying ...with books. I've never seen that before.

I go to my local Costa often to study for a change of scene. Nice atmosphere, comfortable and around half full. I get a large latte and stay about an hour. If I have time and want to stay longer, I get another one. It genuinely takes me over 30 mins to drink one of their coffees as they come out so hot and I don’t mind it as it cools. I’d never order a hot chocolate though, always drink them in 5 mins flat!

I go in there at other times eg with the kids and have spent a fortune there over the years!

Maybe it’s our local ones, but it’s not even cool enough to start drinking until at least 30 minutes in - I don’t know what they do to it!

This. But generally I don’t feel guilty with the big chains. Id probably not do longer than an hour without buying a second though!

An hour tops ,2 hrs I'd be bored out of my mind.id have exhausted my people watching and a wee scroll in that time.

No way would a coffee stay hot for half an hour! How long do you take to drink?!

I think it depends on the Costa, how busy it is etc.

When I moved to my house the wifi wasn't set up yet, so I worked in my local Costa for about three straight days. I bought a drink every 2 hours, and it was never busy in that time (its huge). Had it got busy I'd have moved on.

I wouldn't do it in a small business.

1 hour. Although agree with others that I would stay longer if not busy. Wouldn't stay longer in a small business

It depends on how busy it is. If there are free tables and not preventing anyone else from sitting down, I think you can stay as long as you want.

Don't people tend to go in coffee shops for a reason like meeting friends or having a meeting etc so not literally just to neck a drink? Pointless to go in for less than 45 mins to an hour really unless you are busy and just want a drink.

Our local Starbucks is full of students with laptops and books … they spend hours there. It is huge though.