Coffee shops are taking Wi-Fi off the menu

Los Angeles Times / latimes.com ^ | August 8, 2010 | Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times

[OrangeHoof]

Since I got a notebook computer with WiFi, I didn’t care if a place had WiFi or not. Now, I find I sometimes make decisions on where to dine based on whether they have WiFi. Since I usually dine alone, I admit I’m not the target audience for a lot of businesses and I doubt I would take my computer if I was dining with others.

But it is a plus in my view if they offer it and if they need to find a policy to keep “campers” (as waitresses refer to people who stay for hours and order practically nothing) that fits their business model, I’m fine with that.

I may stay at some places for several hours, it is never without compensation for the business and a gratuity for the waitress so I feel as if I am a fair customer. I’ve never had a business ask me to leave.

[chrisser]

You might have a winning business model there. Advertise the coffee shop as a shelter from EMPs and solar flares. Put in shelves by the door, where patrons can park their tinfoil hats, while in your sanctuary.

I'd be a customer.

It's not so much the techies that I'd like to get away from as the idiots with the long, loud, and annoying ringtones that they don't recognize when playing on their own phones. Then, when they finally do deign to answer, carry on a loud conversation of mostly personal nature, or a sales call, that everyone within 100 yards can hear distinctly.

Would I pay for a cup of coffee at a store where that couldn't happen? You betcha.

[livius]

I used to live in a college town about 5 years ago where you couldn’t even get into the local Starbucks because people had been sitting there all day doing research for their master’s thesis. I stopped going there (I did my research at home, and I went there to have a cup of good coffee and see other human beings) and so did many other non-students.

However, as wifi has become more available, things seem to have settled down a bit. I don’t see the plague of students quite to the extent that I used to, and Starbucks has actually improved its lackluster menu, so maybe there are more paying guests turning up now.

[saltlick]

Hola, chooseascreennamepat

"Of course he has no overhead and is not allowed to make a profit and the loss leader items miraculously cost nothing to make up for your attitude,

Have you ever run a business?"

Are you calling a $4.50 latte a loss leader at a coffee shop?!

Remember when Starbucks closed stores and their stock went south when gas prices hit $4.00/gallon?

I have enough business sense to know that I would prefer to sell some lattes at $4.50 each and have some people frequenting my place of business, even if they stay a few minutes longer than some arbitrary time limit, than to have no customers and sell no product.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Libraries here offer digital ebooks and audio books for “free” (ignoring taxes) downloads. I recently discovered the audio books & I was astonished at the quality. Not long ago, they were crappy: read by library volunteers; recorded with crappy equipment, onto crappy cassette tapes; and, often abridged. Now, they're published by the private sector; read by professional readers (actors, radio announcers, etc.); using studio equipment; and available on-line in several formats. I've been “reading” half a dozen audio books a week.

There are thousands of books available for download, so the waits for digital versions aren't much worse, than for printed versions.

[raybbr]

Heh! Wait until they MANDATE WiFi in these private businesses.

But only for the "poor" and "underprivileged" - the rest will pay a "tax".

[raybbr]

Took a table all day, spent (not profit) $11 and calls it even!

If a business is paying $100 a month - that's about $3/day for high speed then I bet they are still making out.

[chooseascreennamepat]

Never been in a Starbucks in my life and never will. AFAIAC, Dunkin Donuts makes the best coffee. But, SB sure makes the $$.

[mainsail that]

“If a business is paying $100 a month - that’s about $3/day for high speed then I bet they are still making out.”

Hmmmm, that makes sense if they are using the wifi from outside, not taking tables that others can use, or alienating real customers with their cables.

[Still Thinking]

I wonder what is going to happen to libraries as the printed word becomes more and more digital. For a library to have one or two copies of a particular book, and lend it out free of charge, is not a threat to booksellers. On the other hand, there's no way libraries can obtain digital copies of a book etc. and make them available online for free. No one would buy books (or online access to them) anymore.

I don't see why you couldn't do a digital version of the same thing. Let people open digital versions of the books, but limit the total simultaneous number to 5 or something.

[Still Thinking]

I think if it were my shop I’d wire a timer up to the wi-fi router, so it reboots ever 15 minutes or so. You get free wi-fi, but it’s crappy wi-fi...

Not bad. Too inconvenient for moochers, but adequate for checking email or some short term need. By doing that instead of rebooting, you don't aggravate the guy who logged on 30 seconds before reboot. I think instead of having the router reboot, I'd just give out 15 minute leases per MAC, and they expire after 15 minutes, and that particular MAC can't get a new lease for 5 minutes or something. Workable for someone who has a momentary need, discourages the sit-all-day moochers, and not unreasonably painful for a paying customer whose short-term task takes 16 minutes instead of 15.

[petercooper]

Look for funny pics to post on FR.