People working on laptops in cafes 😡

Nannan2

Pix5, no one has said it should 'revolve around us' but it should not revolve around these seathogging laptop workers etc either- people have 'a right to sit' as you put, for as long as it takes them to have their refreshments- anyone whom 'just bought another coffee or water' after being told about this problem should be asked to leave- i know if i were working there thats what i would tell them.To leave.If a lot of these people are working from home folk,then thats exactly where they should be,at their home.

Sorry, just don’t agree.

They may not just be wfh paye workers, they might be students, they might be free lance, they could be applying for jobs!

We all have the right, for want of a better phrase, to sit in a cafe, reading a book, on our phones, using a tablet or laptop.

It’s perfectly ok to ask to share a table, especially if it’s one person using a nice comfy table for four. But at no point would I condone or support the staff asking anyone to leave unless they hadn’t purchased anything or were being disruptive or aggressive.

Graphite- Just cause you buy a few coffees and (perhaps) a lunch doesnt mean you have a monopoly on being there all day,and hogging the comfyiest seating which would be better for elderly or disabled people,or pregnant mums etc. You could at least pick the normal tables & chairs.

But why, Nannan? Why is there a 'should'? Can't people be able to adapt?

We are always hearing about how people WFH has impacted on coffee shops and sandwich bars in cities - why impose that impact on small towns, or other areas too?

Cafés with permits for computer usage ..

This is brilliant and many are repeat clients of the café who need a place to do their research, journalism features, homework amongst other computer reports or actividades.

Many are students ( university level ) or freelance reporters whom need a place to work ..

They cover their breakfasts / lunches or snacks ..

This is an exceptional service.

Fallingstar

Jeez am fairly new to this site and is something else to see how posters get stuck into a poster and then just carry on getting stuck in.
Am sorry I posted the blooming thing now.

No, never ever be sorry. You raised a valid point, we responded, some agreed with you, some didn’t.

Most of us are pretty agreeable folks and like a good debate (argument) but the majority of us are quite laid back.

Please don’t be upset or offended and do continue to post.

Hope you’re ok

Pix5, no one has said it should 'revolve around us' but it should not revolve around these seathogging laptop workers etc either- people have 'a right to sit' as you put, for as long as it takes them to have their refreshments- anyone whom 'just bought another coffee or water' after being told about this problem should be asked to leave- i know if i were working there thats what i would tell them.To leave.If a lot of these people are working from home folk,then thats exactly where they should be,at their home.

Graphite

Who says? Are they for book groups? Knitting groups? Mother and baby groups? Business meetings? Job interviews? All go on at my local Neros. They are just a place to do whatever people want to do and drink coffee at the same time.

So what if I do want to work there? I order coffees. I order lunch if I’m there at midday. I’m a customer like anybody else.

The average high street is likely to have dozens of cafes. Cafes here vastly outnumber all the vape, barber and nail shops put together. Cafes want the business.

I agree

Its difficult.If people buy tea coffee etc..you cant throw them out ...

Pix5

It’s life. I have rare autoimmunes and travel to London on the train and tube to get to hospital. Sometimes I feel so ill I can barely stand, but people have the right to sit. I’m afraid the world doesn’t revolve around us.

If someone doesn't notice and release their seat for you - and it is the case most people are very self-involved and don't notice = then I would say it's perfectly acceptable to smile nicely at a young man (or, if there's no young man, there then in order of priority children, older man, young woman, etc) and explain you really do need a seat because "illness" (with quick one sentence explanation of what that illness is) and they should release their seat for you.

If this doesn't seem to work too well - then for future reference put the volume of your voice up a bit so that those in surrounding seats will hear your request. That should hopefully release the original seat and the young man or children who has just been asked gets up for you. But, if not, others will have heard too and one of them should offer instead.

Some librarys have installed a café inside them so that the people who are there a long time,maybe students,or workers on laptops can use this to full advantage,freeing up normal cafe tables.Might be worth mentioning next time your in that Nero's that last time you couldnt get a comfy seat,and why,and ask if they'l help you get a comfy seat? Maybe the staff can have a 'polite word' with them instead of you? And it will also draw their attention to these seat- hoggers,who,even if they buy a couple of coffees etc still should not be hogging the best seats in the house like that,and counter staff might be too busy to notice that theyre doing that?

It’s life. I have rare autoimmunes and travel to London on the train and tube to get to hospital. Sometimes I feel so ill I can barely stand, but people have the right to sit. I’m afraid the world doesn’t revolve around us.

I think this happens a lot nowadays and cafe owners aren't happy either. If they make a complaint that someone has been taking up space and using their electricity to charge laptops, enjoying their heat and light etc all for the purchase of 1 coffee then the customers just buy another coffee or water.

Please keep posting Falling star. It's important to hear the different opinions unlike an echo chamber.
Posts on here often go off piste but that can be fun too.
You've touched a nerve 😜

Sorry - I got distracted and didn't attach the quote. That was in response to Oreo.

Why? Surely they are 'for' what their customers want to use them for?

That will vary from area to area, but in the end the managers/owners will do what works for them or close down. If someone issued people in my Wednesday group a ticket with a time on it we would just go elsewhere. We come from different towns, and many are reliant on buses getting in at different times, so whilst we aim for 11.00am, some arrive at 10.15 and others at 11.15. As I say, the owners are happy for us to be there - they push tables together in advance - as we are a reliable source of income. Passing trade is, by definition, unreliable, so it makes sense.

Maybe that wouldn't work in London, or in Windermere or other tourist places that rely on people resting their legs whilst taking in the attractions, but those managers will have their own ways of dealing with that. I don't think that one size fits all.

Falling star and dear husband,
I am sorry to hear all of this.
I also like coffee at cafe Nero. Yes, I noticed that there are far too many people just working on lap tops. In a way they got used to this during COVID when they were all isolated at home. Those days are gone and they are behaving in an exceptionally selfish and ignorant behaviour. It is about time we said something to the managers on our way out. Take care of yourselves

They're customers too

Doodledog

I don't think anyone is upbraiding you, so much as disagreeing with the 'cafe police' who want everyone to conform to their view of what cafes are 'for'.

A few of us have disagreed with that, but made a point of saying that we understand your disappointment at not getting a suitable seat, particularly given your husband's disability. Please don't feel 'got at' - I don't think it's like that at all.

Your first paragraph made me smile in a wry way….what cafes are for😄

Indeed Allira and Oreo. I made it clear that I respected other peoples opinions, and made sure that I didn’t make it personal.
Anyway back to the topic in hand, which is btw about people using laptops in cafes and not about how foolish, entitled, or illogical I am.
Thank you.

Costa seem to be the worse for laptop tappers sitting for hours in cafes.
The one on the table next to ours last week didn’t even have a cup either full or empty.
I meet a friend there every week for a coffee and chat before we go shopping and if they are sitting at the chairs and sofa bit of the cafe we plonk on the sofa opposite, it’s for four people in any case.
You should do the same next time Fallingstar just nod hello if they look up.
And ignore any disparaging comments on this thread.

Allira most definitely 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

GrannyGravy13

Fallingstar don’t stop posting, very rarely will there be a thread where everyone agrees.

Well, yes, I agree 😀
Yes, most people have their own opinions, of course.

But there are ways of saying things without upsetting those who ask a reasonable question.

Fallingstar don’t stop posting, very rarely will there be a thread where everyone agrees.

Allira

Fallingstar

Jeez am fairly new to this site and is something else to see how posters get stuck into a poster and then just carry on getting stuck in.
Am sorry I posted the blooming thing now.

It seems to happen more and more now.

A pile-on. Very unkind.

I don't think it was a pile-on - but yep....am aware that pile-ons do happen even on a site where people should be old enough/mature enough not to do things like that. Maybe some people wander in from Mumsnet looking to create a pile-on?

Fallingstar

Thanks Tuliptree and AGAA4, will post again, but will have to think hard about what I say because some posters seem to see me as someone I am not. Maybe that is their problem but it isn’t a nice feeling to see myself described in a way that nobody who knows me would recognise.
Anyway it is what it is.

I think the problem here was some posters were tone deaf as to what you really wanted/ needed. The music behind the words. Some threads clearly require some kindness, sympathy and understanding. This was one of them imo. Suggestions like booking or asking people to move, fine. Explaining wfh and economics of running a coffee bar - not so fine.