The Entrepreneur's Guide to Coffee Shop Etiquette

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Coffee Shop Etiquette

an awesome, awesome well-researched and thoughtful guide to cafe etiquette. by surveying many actually **IN** the industry, this mashable article really digs into the nitty-gritty of how to be a good, respectful, well-liked patron of coffee houses.

just one juicy except to wet your appetite and convince you to read the whole article:

"

We asked each of our entrepreneurs and coffee shop vets to give some final tips of advice for others hoping to master the coffee-shop-as-office lifestyle. Isaf says that in most cases, the trick is to follow the Golden Rule: “Don’t be ‘that guy.’ Everyone knows who ‘that guy’ is … don’t be him.” Here’s a bit of insight to exactly what that means:

• Don’t bring your own food.” — Phillips
• “Enjoy the space provided for common usage, but don’t freeload. It sucks for everyone and will mean losing access in the future.” — Isaf
• “Try not to have anything super offensive up on your screen — think of that as equivalent to cursing loudly throughout the coffee shop.” — Pelsinger
• “The staff works hard making your drink, getting your food, cleaning up after you and even keeping the Wi-Fi up. Remember to tip. I suggest using the same percentages as at a casual dining restaurant.” — Dustman
• “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Baristas know a lot about their shops and will be happy to tell you, for example, when the best time to bring in a large group or the most power-outlet-adjacent location is. Finally, this is probably very obvious and applies far beyond coffee shops, but as long as you pay a small amount of attention to the people around you (both employees and fellow guests), you’ll be fine. A little empathy goes a long way.” — Kasperowicz
• “It’s so very not cool to not bus your own dishes if there’s a visible bus tub. Sure, eventually the café employees will get around to it, but in the meantime you’ve just left the rest of us staring at your garbage, and you’ve messed up your spot so it can’t be filled by someone else immediately. That’s just rude.” — Shipley
• “Frequently, power outlets are at a premium in cafés. Just as you shouldn’t hog all the prime seating locations when the store is busy, you shouldn’t hog the power outlets. Belkin makes a fantastic small, easy-to-stick-in-a-computer-bag power strip that has three outlets and two USB slots. There have been several times when I’ve been out either at the airport or the cafe and have been a hero for everyone there because I had that power strip. Great way to make some friends!” — Dunning"

i promise for a more personalized update soon. my personal life is in family-crisis/anxiety mode right now.

laptop hell a.k.a. using cafes as your office

within the last couple of years, an alarming (to me, at least) trend has taken over the vibe of cafes.

when i first started *REALLY* getting into coffee--in my early teens, circa 1995--there were really only 2 types of coffee houses: the sterile environment of mega-corporation chains (or independants aspiring to BE like said chains), or the somewhat-inspired-by-"Friends"'s-central-perk-ish variety (funky artwork. oversized, mis-matched couches. loud conversations. poetry slams. etc.)

clearly, i preferred the latter.

since the ascent of FREE WI-FI, i have been hard pressed to find a locale that emulates those of my impressionable youth--> a cafe where awesome coffee is served, in a boisterous environment where people gather together, great music is played, and generally, the decor is cozy yet eclectic. what is left is a dismal, dreary, library-esque f eel to what would otherwise be great cafes. folks come in with their laptops (where i'm working right now, more than likely macs), buy a singular cup of coffee or similarly cheap item and camp out for endless hours!!! they are rude, sometimes even shush-ing chatty customers! WTF?!?!? they rarely tip (don't even get me started on the issue of tipping! it WILL be an entry in and of itself), and are general parasites, sucking up space, energy and the liveliness of the cafe.

which brings me to this article: STFU. I Bought Some Dang Coffee, and I'm Never Leaving This Cafe. (an excerpt i thoroughly enjoy follows right here--->) "While smaller, locally owned cafés (obviously) don't publish their financials, roughly speaking you can expect a return of about 70 to 80 percent on a cup of coffee or latté. That doesn't factor in other expenses the shop has, like rent and insurance and payroll. And a high-end cafe with great beans and skilled baristas will, oddly, often earn less overall than the place on the corner with the airpot full of hour-old brew that tastes like santorum."

while written in a style that is 95% tongue in cheek, what is alarming is that it TRULY echoes how the majority of customers feel. many don't stop to think of the difference between camping out at a crapfucks, or at a high-end, independent cafe. to spend anything less than $5 and sit long than an hour is a huge drain on the resources of any small cafe. sure every item bought generates a profit, but it is on that item ONLY. it does not factor in the cost of labour, of energy consumption (from their computers), turnover rate (or the impediment thereof), the destruction of social interaction, and even the effect it has on lowering the quality of work environment on the employees.

i understand getting out of the house to do work-- as i said in my last post, i *DID* just finish 2 years of graduate school. but being a fucking leech is UNACCEPTABLE. go to a library. pool resources otherwise spent on your low-cost item and sign up for an office share. curtain off a corner of your home/apartment/whatever an designate it as "office space".

so you may be asking yourself, baristachick, how can i help change this sad state of affairs? well: 1.go to cafes to interact. learn the names of the staff. ask them about why things are done they way they are (believe me, if you're going to a great cafe, the staff will LOVE to geek-out and tell you all about everything). ask them about THEMSELVES---> they are people too. 2. have loud conversations about interesting subjects at the cafe. don't let yourself be shush-ed. 3. engage your cafe neighbours in conversations. 4. don't be afraid to <> share tables. 5. keep your time there to a minimum if you can only afford to spend about $5. 6. bring new people into the cafe. talk it up. invite your friends/neighbours/co-workers/family. 7. ask the staff/owners what you can do to make the cafe thrive. share your ideas with them.

remember, you are in a public space. not a museum. signing off!