A local coffee shop is trying to fix the Achilles heel of that business model: loafers who order one cup of Joe and lounge around all day, hogging tables that paying customers might want to use.
It’s a particularly acute problem for most coffee shops during lunch and dinner hours.
Ellwood Thompson’s coffee shop is trying to keep the quasi-freeloaders at bay by shutting off the wireless Internet during certain hours.
The wireless will be off from 4:30 to 9 p.m. It’s possible customers will be able to pull off other wireless signals.
An employee working behind the counter said that the shop is going to try to be more of a restaurant.
I’m curious to see how this works. I’ve been in there a handful of times, and there are indeed a lot of loafers with laptops (I am one of them). But for as long as there have been coffee shops, there have been customers who spend hours with a book, or chatting with friends. This won’t discourage them.
Check back in a few weeks when RBS has a follow-up report.
A local coffee shop is trying to fix the Achilles heel of that business model: loafers who order one cup of Joe and lounge around all day, hogging tables that paying customers might want to use.
It’s a particularly acute problem for most coffee shops during lunch and dinner hours.
Ellwood Thompson’s coffee shop is trying to keep the quasi-freeloaders at bay by shutting off the wireless Internet during certain hours.
The wireless will be off from 4:30 to 9 p.m. It’s possible customers will be able to pull off other wireless signals.
An employee working behind the counter said that the shop is going to try to be more of a restaurant.
I’m curious to see how this works. I’ve been in there a handful of times, and there are indeed a lot of loafers with laptops (I am one of them). But for as long as there have been coffee shops, there have been customers who spend hours with a book, or chatting with friends. This won’t discourage them.
Check back in a few weeks when RBS has a follow-up report.
Just when I was planning to try that new coffee shop, now I have a reason not to.
Panera has the same problem at all 3 locations on Broad (Short Pump, Innsbrook, and Willow Lawn). I think sales people who work out of their home are using the Panera space as a virtual office. I would do the same thing if I didn’t have an office. It is nice to get out of the house and go to a well lighted space with other people and good coffee. This is more of a lunch problem for Panera. It doesn’t exist at night. I have asked Panera management to turn off the Wifi from 11:30 to 1:30 without resolve.… Read more »
Seems “counter” productive. I’m afraid their restriction will tick-off some of their customer base. My perception is that the “campers” tend to have their friends meet them at those spots they are comfortable in. Perhaps a more customer-friendly approach would be to designate a section of the seating for laptop use and the rest as a “short term” parking area.
We are honored that Ellwood’s Coffee and Tea has become a community space that our guests want to linger. However due to our limited seating we made the decision to limit our WiFi hours to outside of our busiest times in hopes of addressing the numerous concerns we have received from our customers about their inability to find seating during these times. Ellwood’s Coffee is committed to providing our guest with the best coffee and tea, fresh, local menu items, excellent wine and beers and live music. We hope that this decision will enable all of our customers have a… Read more »
My girlfriend and I tried to get food at ET’s coffee shop last weekend and there was nowhere to sit so we left. They’re definitely making the right move!
ET is a business not a public library or office space. Your laptops are killing you softly!! Get away from them and enjoy a cup of Joe with interesting people, not machines!
I would have tried restricted amount of access like Panaera does.
You only have wi-fi access for 30-60 min then the router blocks your access.
It takes a $60 router that has that capabilities.
Starbucks (there’s one just a few blocks from Elwood Thompson) allows two hours a day free if you have a card and Baker’s Crust (again, right up the street) has free WiFi.
Elwood’s should try their hand and fixing the real (long standing) problem at this establishment: the abysmal customer service.
i super approve of this. i for one hate not being able to sit down and TALK to someone because they’re too busy online, and taking up seating when they could just go home and ignore the world from there.