The advent of wireless internet in U.S. coffee houses really sparked the work-from-coffee-shop movement. People wouldn’t be working from coffee shops nearly as much without Wi-Fi. I know a number of people that work from coffee shops (either daily or once or twice a week). So what is it about working out of a coffee shop that appeals to so many? It is the buzz of coffee shop charm and the endless stream of new people to watch. Some might say it’s about creating restraints. Some might say it’s about getting away from people at the office. Others might say it’s because they like it. A few weeks ago the Tucson Citizen had a writeup about people who work from the coffee shop. It’s worth a read.
Jason Haeger I actually saw a commercial recently that portrayed just such a scenario. It was pretty interesting to see. 0 Reply April 19, 2006
Jason I think one of the reasons is that it is low overhead. What better than to have high speed internet, great coffee at your fingertips, and some music all for 2 bucks. I am one that has fought myself back and forth about the use of free wi fi. Is it the better choice for the coffee house owner? Should there be a time limit and code situation that would force people to pay for a drink or pastry to use the net? I have come to decide that it should be free. Let the customer do their work. I will say this however: If you are using a coffee house for your office, help them out by buying more than a 12 oz brewed coffee. Nice post.. ..be bold. 0 Reply April 19, 2006
Chris Tingom Yeah, I should’ve thought about the obvious — low overhead. I think the key, as you pointed out, is to realize you’re on someone’s turf and respecting that. Thanks for the comments guys. 0 Reply April 19, 2006
MikeFTrevino We offer free wi-fi in our shop. It just made sense in the long run. The money would be made up in short time just by the users alone. Tag on the regular customers that don’t use it but appreciate it’s potential usfulness for them and those that tag along with the users, and it’s cost is made up very quickly. For those that suck up bandwidth but don’t buy a drink the first few times are on us (which is just rude to hang-out in place of business without purchasing or serious shoping), but once we see a pattern we are not timid and will let them know how the access is paid for; the drink purchases. If we get the people who like to hang outside and surf from their car, we’ll cut the connection, as long as no one is surfing in the shop, just to frustrate them. Those people are just plain creepy. 0 Reply May 31, 2006
