The folks at Gawker have been writing recently about anecdotal reports that some customers in New York City are being politely asked by Starbucks employees, or police, to either buy something or leave.
One of the articles describes the languid customers as "loitering laptop hobos." It includes an (initials only) account of a man who was pretty peeved when an officer told him he had outstayed his welcome at a Manhattan Starbucks.
At this point, no one from Starbucks headquarters has returned my call for comment. This story will be updated the second a reply comes in. See update below.
So, for now, all I have are more anecdotal, er, facts -- if local ones. I've spent many a caffeinated and productive morning at my local Starbucks and no one there has given me so much as an exasperated glance from behind the cappuccino machine. On Tuesday, employees at both Starbucks within the boundaries of Fairlawn-Bath Patch told me that they have never been told to tell anyone to pay up or be gone.
Still, the story has me questioning my own coffee house etiquette: What defines a loitering laptop hobo? Am I one?
In my pre-laptop waitressing days, we used to call these customers "campers." You didn't want a camper in your section because a 20 percent tip on a $5 tab (from a table that sits occupied for three hours) is a poor payment for anyone's effort.
My campers staked their claims in a restaurant where tables turned over, at minimum, every hour. I'll admit that I sometimes expedited their exits by clearing the table of placemats...then silverware...then water glasses... You get the idea: more tables, more money.
This seems different. Maybe. Coffee shops have created a marketing culture that encourages customers to sip and sit a spell. So, is it rude to change that course, or just a good business practice in tough economic times?
Sure, I have camped in my share of Starbucks, but never without a purchase -- or two.
Is that enough? I'm pretty torn now. How much table time are a few cups of coffee and bagel worth?
Excuse me while I go pay for a refill.
Update: 10/5/2011 Starbucks spokesman Alan Hilowitz said Wednesday: "There is no national policy whatsoever on how long someone can stay at a table in Starbucks -- whether or not they buy anything. As you know our locations are community gathering places where people can use the Internet or do business, and we want to keep it that way."
Kymberli Hagelberg
10:14 am on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Do you hang out in coffee shops? How long should you be able to keep a table for the price of a cup of coffee?
mary
6:31 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I work at the same type of business. After an hour or two I would think some of these people would be a little embarrassed, but NO. I ask them about every twenty minutes if I can get them something, anything......you'd think they'd take the hint. Nope. I feel that we have raised a generation of young people with an entitled attitude. These table hobo's tend to be 35 and under. No wonder they can't find jobs ....they aren't looking.
Susan Ruiz Patton
8:38 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I spend a good deal of time in coffee shops and I am grateful for a place where I can sit and work quietly (aside from the whirr of the coffee machines). So I probably buy more coffee than I should to support the business. I want them to be there when I need a place to go next week.
Catherine
9:30 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011
I think it depends on the nature of the coffee shop and the employees. If the employees work behind a counter, a "loitering" customer should not effect them. However, if the coffee shop is set up more like a restaurant with waitresses who earn their living through tips, then customers have an obligation to either pay up (in purchases and/or tips, or to leave. When an establishment offers free wi-fi, they have to know that they are inviting people to stay for an extended period, but the customers should be cognizant of those employed there.
Kymberli Hagelberg
11:09 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011
I spend a lot of time working in coffee shops -- including all the area Starbucks (I'm the one behind the computer with the giant green Patch sticker, so say hello if you see me). I have to admit I worry a little about whether the folks behind the counter make a decent living, so I tip, and I order throughout the day. Maybe the raise in minimum wage will help too. Either way, I have always loved the atmosphere, so I hope nothing changes.
mary
6:44 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011
These places are businesses and for any of you that know how to run one you should know that in order for the place to survive they have to SELL COFFEE to stay open. If you don't buy the product they won't be able to stay open for you to loiter in even places as big as Starbucks. They closed 500 last year and it will continue if they don't support themselves.
Cris
3:45 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Yes, Mary, but just because someone has a laptop open does not mean that they're a "laptop hobo". I, like the author, have gone into various Starbucks' on many occasions with my laptop, always being mindful that, yes, Starbucks is a business and needs to make a profit in order to remain in business. I also think that
Kymberli's question (How much table time are a few cups of coffee and bagel worth?) is a very valid one that Starbucks should answer.
Yes, there's the argument that people should have "common courtesy", but let's face it, "common courtesy" is a very subjective term. What's "common" to me may not be so "common" to you. The other day I walked into a grocery store in the upper west side (on 110th and Broadway...can't remember the name of it) and there was a sign by the wheeled shopping baskets that said something along the lines of "baskets are for store products only". This store obviously doesn't assume that everybody's on the same page as far as courtesy is concerned. To me, it's common knowledge that you don't put your 2 year old in a basket and lug them around while you shop. Starbucks needs to be taking this approach and not assume that it's common knowledge that one must always have a hot beverage on their table in order to sit down.
Lumping everybody with a laptop into the same category of "hobo" is unfair for those of us who actually spend a good chunk of money at the establishment and understand the business model.
Derek Arnold
7:34 pm on Monday, November 14, 2011
While I did vote no on the poll, I do believe in rewarding the venue for use of their environment. Even if you don't feel up to ordering another drink, it never hurts to toss in a little something in the tip jar to say "Thanks for letting me use your resources".