Comments on: Drip, Drip, Drip

By: andrew

andrew — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:43:25 +0000

Hi Shin,

I think the main problem these coffee shops are facing is people setting up shop at the store. Since it is easy to just be there all day and use the wifi and not move on.

while it is important to accomodate the legitimate needs of your customers, and provide a quality experience to bring patrons back, I can see it getting frustrating for the shop owner to have people using tables and hanging out all day on the computer conducting business of their own.

ultimately I think the main point of a coffee shop is to sell coffee and tea. Internet cafes are more for cyber squatters.

BTW in Tokyo there is a starbucks on every corner, but Seattle’s Best Coffee is in Shinjuku.
andrew´s last blog ..Wednesday, August 12, 2009

By: shindo

shindo — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:55:36 +0000

I often try to do what I can to be a good customer. As one of the WIFI users, the whole discussion has made me think about being a better customer. Hopefully, what I say in the post will help others think about that too. In the future, I think I’ll ask fellow WIFI users if I can share their table, as it frees up space for people who want to sit down for a cup of coffee and chat.

I think they know about the library. I hope so. They can’t bring their drinks there, though. Libraries, though, are an excellent public service and are in great need of support.

By: urban bohemian

urban bohemian — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:37:36 +0000

Well said. I can talk–in a coffeehouse, no less–about this issue for quite a while and I am happy to do so. But my main points are that, as you said, the free access to internet is a perk. And that people have left home to be alone in a public place for a long while.

If I lived in a “college town,” I might feel differently because there would be a fun (crunchy, free-spirited) coffeehouse available to visit. But unfortunately the urban landscape brings places like Starbucks and the “little guy” that’s struggling to keep up with the Starbucks. Respect the business and they’ll respect you. I’m working or commuting during the “busy” hours in the week, so this is rarely an issue for me. But as a customer who sometimes just wants to sit, enjoy a cup of coffee and chat with friends, it is really a turn-off to walk into a coffee house and see that there are no seats available because the laptop brigade is taking them all up. It takes public privacy to the extreme.

Honestly, haven’t these people “studying” ever heard of a library?
urban bohemian´s last blog ..coffee: new neighborhood, clean slate?

By: GranDiva

GranDiva — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:16:53 +0000

I was pondering the ROI on public wifi the other day while sitting in Panera. My wifi hadn’t yet been set up at my new home, so I used Panera as my official wifi place of choice. I’m wondering, does it really cost that much to have wifi? It seems like a $50/month venture + the $30 router to provide a value-added service that separates one coffeeshop from the next.

Personally, I think that if cities would provide free wifi, they would be making a pretty big gesture toward education, while encouraging businesses to be more creative in the luring of clients.

All that said, I will go to a place with free wifi before its wifi-free counterpart every single time.
GranDiva´s last blog ..Death of a saleswoman