No E-Books Allowed in This Establishment

[TimMason]

If you think of the bar, café, or restaurant as a place of conviviality, then finding it filling up with singles with their noses glued to a screen of whatever kind is disconcerting. The typical neighbourhood café in France is, above all, a place where people can meet other people - and there have been complaints that in some districts this is no longer the case, and that anyone attempting to have a chat will be frowned upon by the screen junkies who now have taken over the shop.

So it may be no bad thing that *some* bars and coffee shops remain off-limits to intensive screen users - and maybe even to the kind of people who think it's all right to break off conversation with you to answer their cell-phone for a ten minute chat with another acquaintance.

[ski_power]

Wouldn't it be a good idea to either restrict internet access (server autokicks after X minutes) or totally shut it down during peak hours then?
Then, although there would still be 3G toting people, nevertheless the average turnover rate would increase significantly I believe.

[HamsterRage]

I think they are fixing the wrong problem. If the issue is that people are hogging tables, then address that. Have a sign that says, "Maximum use of a table from 12-3 PM is 15 minutes. We'll reset the clock on you if you buy another $5 worth of coffee and snacks."

That makes much more sense to me.

[Worldwalker]

It makes more sense, yes, but do the staff have enough time (at rush, remember) to time how long customers have been there? And do they want the hassle and hard feelings engendered by throwing people out of the place?

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I suspect the difference is that the book readers are probably not hogging tables at rush hour.

And that's really the bottom line. The shop allowed people to do things other than buying and consuming their products -- and still does, other than for a few hours at certain tables -- with the implicit understanding between them and their customers that polite people would not hog tables when it was busy. It's the reason a store I shop at doesn't give out free popcorn anymore: people were taking armloads of bags of it out to their cars. It seems that the entire concept of politeness, civility, sharing, and not being a total ass, is long gone. Rules and laws are stepping in, out of necessity, where etiquette stepped out. And we all lose.

hear, hear!

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by kjk

lol. Their 20 oz venti coffee is around 2 bucks here.

Yeah, and you can buy starbucks brand coffee in your local megamart and make your own at home and surf for hours on your computer, almost like being there, but at a fraction of the cost!

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by MsAstoria

Yeah, and you can buy starbucks brand coffee in your local megamart and make your own at home and surf for hours on your computer, almost like being there, but at a fraction of the cost!

I don't go to Starbucks alone (well, unless I'm waiting for somebody, as they're usually nice places for a woman) but with some friends, and yes, the coffee is more expensive (and I NEVER drink coffee at Starbucks but tea or frapuccino, I like coffee), but you can be talking there for a couple of hours before walking again (Spanish girls here )

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by TimMason

If you think of the bar, café, or restaurant as a place of conviviality, then finding it filling up with singles with their noses glued to a screen of whatever kind is disconcerting. The typical neighbourhood café in France is, above all, a place where people can meet other people - and there have been complaints that in some districts this is no longer the case, and that anyone attempting to have a chat will be frowned upon by the screen junkies who now have taken over the shop.

It sounds rather pleasant over there in France.

[Penforhire]

The story is funny to hear but the issue is real. There are people I always see hogging a seat at the local Starbucks and the majority are use laptops, students I assume. No, I'm not one of them. I often eat lunch at a restaurant facing them and then walk over for some coffee and to continue reading for a bit after lunch.

You can rant about bringing your Moby Dick paperback club to meet there all you want but electronics are 80% of the issue.

I do think they could improve, not completely resolve, this with one hour wifi access per drink purchased or similar.

As far as table enforcement, if they are serious, just have a timer built into each table. Have the cashier able to reset it remotely on each purchase. Common courtesy is anything but common these days (if it ever was, lol).

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I suspect the difference is that the book readers are probably not hogging tables at rush times. Not many people can get away with leaving the office for hours at a time to read a book.

'Tis true. I rarely am reading at rush hour times. And if I saw a place was busy, I wouldn't be hogging a table for hours. I am at my worst on road trips actually, because I have tendinitis in both arms that is aggravated by driving. So I do pick out places to sit, eat, drink, REST, read for an hour or so of recovery before driving on. It's the only way I can get through a long drive. But I don't pick peak times, because who likes reading in the middle of a lot of rush and noise anyway?

And actually, I don't have trouble with a shop putting some rules in place, but I think a better way of doing so would be posting a table time limit of some kind to make people aware of the issue, phrased in a polite, or perhaps even humorous way, rather than a banning of any/all computer like device use. I think that would go over better with customers.

Though I suppose picking on something visible, like a reader or laptop makes it easier for waiters to enforce. Wonder if they also ban cell phone use... those have screens. And plenty of people use them to read, surf the web, text, etc... these days.

Ah well, the thing to do is to be aware and considerate of others around us, then it's less likely we'll see such rules proliferate.

[HamsterRage]

I wonder if a coffee shop actually can tell you not to do something like that? Legally, I mean.

Clearly, if you're monopolizing a seat without purchasing product, they have right to turf you. But for using a computer or ereader? I dunno.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by HamsterRage

I wonder if a coffee shop actually can tell you not to do something like that? Legally, I mean.

What? Why on earth not? They don't have to serve you at all, for crying out loud. No shoes, no shirt -- or a computer, no service

[DuskyRose]

I think the all encompassing 'computer' rule is too vague, but then again they really don't have the time for their employees to go around and make a lot of distinctions between computers, netbooks and anything else electronic.

I've notice, and have read about, the various coffee/sandwitch shops having problems with 'squatters'. Not people who bring their computers in with them at lunch, or who take a break and surf, but with people who are actually setting up shop and doing business in the stores rather than having a true office. They come in, set up, and actually arrange to meet clients at these places. Saving on having an office space or directing clients to their home office. I've seen a couple of them in action. One was a realtor, with clients and a laptop pulling up various homes the couple might be interested in, and one was some sort of party planner talking to prospective clients about her services.

For people who don't want clients in their homes, and clients who don't want strangers in their homes, and those who want to forgo the cost of renting office space, I think the free wifi/lounging aspects have been too good to pass up. Costing these places a table during the rush hours because they're camping out for long hours.

So instead of training all their employees on how to spot/rate various devices, they've put the ban on all of them just to save time and energy.

[pietvo]

Originally Posted by HamsterRage

I wonder if a coffee shop actually can tell you not to do something like that? Legally, I mean.

Clearly, if you're monopolizing a seat without purchasing product, they have right to turf you. But for using a computer or ereader? I dunno.

Well they are the owner, so I suppose they cab decide what you can do and what not. As long as it is not discriminating in any sense. But if they don't tell you in advance, and you have your order, I also think they cannot limit you in an unreasonable way. Like forbidding you to look at your watch (because according to their definition it is a computer). Or reading a book. If they don't allow reading books they should tell you in advance. Then you can choose whether you want to order or not. Once you have your order you should be allowed to consume it in a reasonable way, including while reading your book. If that book is on an ereader, that should not make a difference. Redefining the ereader as a computer is ridiculous: it has a completely different purpose and size. If they would forbid me I would give them the choice: I continue reading or else I leave without paying. And then the shop would have lost a customer, not only for that occasion but for ever. A coffee shop or any similar business is not only a place where you buy and consume drinks but it also has a function of temporarily relaxing. If that includes reading for you that is part of the deal. Again: unless they have forbidden that in advance.

A lot of comments here have focused on the point of occupying tables too long etc. But that wasn't the point: The guy from the shop came immediately, at the time the client was starting to drink his coffee.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by pietvo

A lot of comments here have focused on the point of occupying tables too long etc. But that wasn't the point: The guy from the shop came immediately, at the time the client was starting to drink his coffee.

If they have the rule in place, then they don't have to wait until a customer has been there for long to ask them to shut the computers down. They would ask as *soon as they realized he had one on*.

Not that I think it's a good idea to cover all computers with such a vague rule, but you've got people who don't know a computer from and ereader trying to uphold company rules, trying to keep their jobs in this economy. I'm sure they'd rather err on their employer's side if they're going to err at all.