On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 8:37:44 AM UTC-10, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2017-02-26 12:58 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>
> >> The owner is a friend of mine and I suppose it is up to her to
> >> decide whether the amount they buy is worth the space they take up.
> >> If it were me, I would be changing the WiFi code.
> >
> > These days some places have to provide free WiFi to be competitive. I
> > think that soon most businesses will be expected to provide this
> > service for their customers.
> >
>
> There are pros and cons to having it. Some people expect it. Businesses
> use it to attract customers, and if they use it wisely, extract some
> information from it. If I were running a coffee shop I would have to
> consider it carefully. I would not want all my tables for four or more
> people taken up by single people using it as a desk to do their
> business. I might try to limit the signal to an area with a bar or
> smaller tables. I would also require a log in and set a time limit.
> People in a coffee shop should not need more than 15-20 minutes to
> drink their coffee and eat their food. Save the table spaces for paying
> customers.
>
> I gave the example of a woman who abuses the wifi at the local place.
> She is there every day for several hours, even at lunch time when it is
> busy. She takes up a table for four while groups of 2-3 have no where to
> sit. She has a coffee or two while she is there. Meanwhile, there could
> have been 4 or 5 parties of 2 or more using that table.
>
> One of the reasons I seldom go into Starbucks in this area is because
> there is typically nowhere to sit. Every table is taken, usually by a
> single person with a laptop. It has happened so many times that I don't
> even bother anymore. I might stop by if passing one, but I certainly
> don't go out of my way to go to one.

I have seen that in our Starbucks. Typically, these people will have the best seats in the joint. People like me will sit in the back or outside. I suspect that the ones with the best seats are also their best customers - regular/repeat customers.