07-12-2006, 11:00 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 349
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Ars Technica: Free Wi-Fi Spawns Cafe Backlash
"Cafe owners have found that WiFi brings customers, but also a host of problems. Some people purchase nothing at all, some buy the cheapest item on the menu, and most stay for hours at a time, tying up tables that are especially needed during the lunch rush. Others park outside and surf the Net from the comfort of their vehicles�for months on end. Coffee shop owners are now fighting back."
I had a good chuckle when I first received the article, as I'm equally guilty of hanging out at my local Panera much longer than I should, all because of the free Wi-Fi. However, due to my extremely guilty conscience I likely inherited as a side-effect of my conversion to Judaism, I did make sure that I bought something at least once every half hour I continued to lounge there. Now that more cafes are becoming hotspots and more devices are being integrated with Wi-Fi, the issue of cafe owners is not getting customers to come, but getting them to leave! :wink: Have you noticed the trend in your area? Are you part of that "cybersquatter" crowd? Have you come in as a legitimate customer, only to be annoyed by others that do just that? Your thoughts, please.
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07-12-2006, 11:13 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,097
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I'm not a 'cyber-squatter', but I frequently go into coffee shops and see numerous people using their laptops with no coffee or anything else on the table. Do they have no internet connection at home? Are they fighting with their spouses and would rather be anywhere else but at home?
I'm a huge proponent of free wifi, and think that pay models like at Starbucks are a dying breed. Unfortunately, these squatters are likely to get coffee shop owners thinking free wifi isn't the greatest idea.
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07-12-2006, 11:31 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 251
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I have surfed a few times in Panera. When I moved, it took a couple of weeks to get internet access at my new home so I'd head over to Panera and spend 30 minutes surfing the web. However, I would also buy a sandwich and drink when I did it.
My local Panera cuts off the wifi during the lunch rush. I can't say that I blame them. If people using a free service and not buying anything are keeping paying customers from using the table, its a no-brainer to turn off the wifi.
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07-12-2006, 11:43 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 67
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I find this sad. Likewise I am a massive supporter of free WiFi. Living in the u.k. there are virtually no free WiFi hotspots, everything is based on a subscription model, so vacationing in San Francisco was a fantastic experience.
However I think cafe owners have to move on. Free WiFi is successful (maybe too successful) and has got customers in the door, now they need to adapt to prevent this problem from growing. Rather than switching WiFi off I'd much rather see cafe owners invest in a router/system that can generate codes valid for say 30 minutes that can be given out with each purchase at the till.
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07-12-2006, 11:59 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 86
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:devilboy: I guess you could call me part of this crew. Although I do differ by purchasing a new drink the minute mine runs out. Looking through my past week bills I must have spent nearly 100$ buying drinks at the local Starbucks alone! Thank goodness they don't charge for bathroom usage :lol:
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07-13-2006, 12:07 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,520
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by spacerace
However I think cafe owners have to move on. Free WiFi is successful (maybe too successful) and has got customers in the door, now they need to adapt to prevent this problem from growing. Rather than switching WiFi off I'd much rather see cafe owners invest in a router/system that can generate codes valid for say 30 minutes that can be given out with each purchase at the till.
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Didn't McDonalds pilot something like that a few years ago? Super size a meal and get 20 minutes of internet access?
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07-13-2006, 12:33 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 359
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The worst I do is sit down and work for 20 minutes, THEN buy something (I start feeling guilty). Most of the time I'll stay for 2 hours at most.
Can't say I agree with buying something every 30 minutes. My body can only handle so cofee & stuff before I blow up the bathroom.
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07-13-2006, 01:17 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 14
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I rarely use wifi at cafes but when I do I buy more than my fair share.
I can definitely see why some cafe owners might be pissed. Some ppl are just squatters. Cheap b@stards. I'd cover all the electrical outlets di those squatting tards run out of juice and have to leave. Cutting off wifi when the squatters get out of control is another great way to get rid of the parasites.
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07-13-2006, 02:13 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 378
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I always get my major internet activities done at home. When I leave the house, I leave it for a purpose and surfing in a coffee shop is never part of that purpose. Afterall, when I'm away from home I get a small screen, no keyboard/mouse, I can't download/stream anything properly, etc. Therefore, my usage of free Wi-Fi in coffee shops have been limited to quick e-mail checking. As one of the posters said above, it'd be great if they give out temporary codes upon purchase. They can set a purchase price range and associate that with the number of minutes available. That way, people purchasing the cheapest items will get the least amount of time on Wi-Fi. It's only fair to the coffee shop owners as devilish as this may sound. :devilboy: I can see some major profit for those people who come up with such types of software for coffee shops.
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07-13-2006, 09:06 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 810
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I love free WiFi - paying for it is foolish to me because those services offer incredibly limited coverage and so they seem highly impractical and a waste of money unless you frequent your local Starbucks and Borders a LOT.
I think what matters most, is simply that cafes and the like need to communicate with and educate their customers about making purchases in exchange for taking up space and utilizing free WiFi. I mean, no restaurant would just allow you to come in and sit at one of their tables and stare out the window or read a book or have a conversation with a friend, and basically take up space without buying something. They'd kick you out. Why would dealing with this be any different or anymore difficult just because free WiFi was involved? It wouldn't. It doesn't take much to guilt someone into making a purchase in exchange for space, product and service, and convenience, or to kick someone out. After awhile of this, these people would get the message and go somewhere else or begin making purchases. Any establishment would have the last say in terms of this and could call the authorities if it became necessary to enforce their rights, which would get the message across to everyone else. Of course, that would be extreme, but it's happened before.
If I'm at a cafe or similar establishment that offers free WiFi, I will definitely buy something. It's nothing short of odd social behavior for anyone to go to a place like that and sit there for hours taking advantage of their free WiFi while not buying anything. It's not anyone's personal living room, it's a business.
Now, although I will make purchases, I won't make purchases according to steady and continual time increments. When I go to a place like a cafe, I go there to relax, and so I won't burden myself like that. But if I'm there for a lengthy time, I will make more than one purchase, and perhaps multiple ones. I just play it by ear. It depends on how expensive the place is, how big the place is, and how long I'm there.
Where I would make an exception to this rule, is if someone was outside in their car and not taking up space inside the cafe. But this too, has its limits. As long as they aren't taking up customer parking in a very limited parking lot (a large parking lot is a different story), or parked right out in the very front of the establishment, or "wearing out their welcome" by sitting there everyday or much of the week for hours on end as though they were stalking someone, then I see no problem in utilizing the free WiFi even without purchase. I would also make this exception for someone inside a hotel lobby or airport. There may be a few other exceptions, but I'll leave that for another time.
And once again, there are limits. Sitting outside a cafe in a car, or sitting inside a hotel lobby or airport without buying anything, everyday or for many days for hours on end is just inappropriate. Everything with moderation.
And of course, it's never appropriate to sit in a parked car directly in front of someone's house without their permission and utilize their WiFi. Nope. That's not just weird. That's creepy. I've seen that happen before with someone I knew who had their network unsecured at the time, and as soon as they went outside to investigate the person who'd been sitting directly in front of their house at night surfing the net, the person sped off. That behavior is nothing short of seriously disturbing and is most often indistinguishable from stalking which is pro forma behavior for pedophiles, rapists, and other criminals. That might sound amusing to some, but it shouldn't be. People have been arrested before for their free, extended WiFi visitations. And the inability for people to tell the difference between a stalker and someone browsing the net from inside their car is subsequently the reason free-WiFi-wielding businesses also have a problem with people who park outside their establishments for extended periods. You just can't tell for absolute certainty what someone is up to inside their car, which is the main point. It's bad enough when people do that with a business, but it becomes even more personal in a residential neighborhood, and people who do that should be, at the very least, heavily fined, and at most, arrested, depending. And I'd say to anyone engaging in this behavior, if you need an internet connection that bad on your laptop when you're out and about, then for crying out loud, go to a cafe where they offer it and have yourself a latte or buy a wireless PC Card and service.
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