Two more thoughts.
If they want to accomodate the moochers. Put in some tables that are just large enough for a laptop and a cup of coffee and a single chair. Or maybe a bar along one wall. But still no outside food or drinks.
Second. It wouldn’t take much effort to identify the moochers and the MAC addresses of their laptops. Throttle their connections to 128k or so. Enough for job searches, but absolute suck for WoW or torrent downloads.
They’re not unreasonable, but they will drive away customers.
Definitely Maxie. I hate moochers. I also hate looking into a place I might want a cup of coffee and never seeing any place to sit. I’d just never go in there, if the crowd didn’t have turnover.
No outside food or drink, or something like a plate charge to cover it. Maxie and Amy have to find a compromise requiring some minimum purchase to get or stay connected. Otherwise they have become an unfunded public library. If Amy refuses to reach a reasonable compromise, Maxie should cut the purse strings.
Or not. It’s not like it’s that easy to win back customers once you’ve turned them off.
Another question is whether the moochers are turning people off or actually attracting people to a busy coffee shop.
Another possibility forcing people to create a web account in order to connect to the wifi (it’s free and it only takes a moment!). That way you can track usage and tie it to promotions and whatnot. Maybe make wifi free for like an hour a day, but after that it will prompt you for a “suggested donation” like every 5 minutes.
Really both Maxie and Amy are right. You want to create at least the illusion of this hipster beatnick hippie hangout. But you still want to make money doing it.
Because of the cost and bother of implementing access codes and/or throttling back on bandwidth for individual users, I’d make it Plan B.
First, I’d do like usedtobe said - put some folksy signs up saying that due to health regulations/ickiness/prioritizing customers, outside food and drink are not allowed, and then train Amy and anyone else working on how ask moochers in a polite and friendly manner to stop mooching. Polite, after all, does not mean wimpy, and I have no doubt that Miss Manners would come up with a turn of phrase that would strip flesh from bone without ever losing her gentle smile.
Give that a month to six weeks, and if it doesn’t work, then look at the codes/bandwidth.
ETA: on the agreement page that comes up whenever someone logs into the wifi and agrees to the TOS, make sure there’s a notice there.
Those are the magic questions.
Some customers are experts at costing more than they pay. These are the customers you want to send to the competition. The other option you may wish to pursue of you have regulars playing this game is to offer a monthly “Coffee Club” that costs $20 a month but gets them a small discount on coffee and food (say 10%), and unlimited wifi. I don’t see it as unreasonable to have 3-4 hour limits on the wifi session and outside food or drink should be prohibited.
The fun thing is, as the business owners, you have time to play the game back.
For example, limit the sessions to 8 hours, and see if anyone complains. You can always issue them another code.
No complaints, dial it down another 30 min every week until you get a good read on how many moochers you have and are they occupying space when its busy. Eventually you will figure out exactly who the moochers are and how much time they are really occupying.
The simple fact that they may have to wait in line to get a new code may serve to discourage them. You can also have a charge for a new code, say $1 or include it with any paid food/drink item. You may also find that you make more money on the $1 per 3 hours wifi users than you do on the coffee.
One other way is simply to not have any power plugs for charging at which point many will probably be forced to wander off when batteries die.
If people are sneaking in food and drink like that, then they’re not ever going to be good customers, and there’s nothing wrong with driving them away. There should be signs on the door emphasizing no outside food or drink allowed, and the workers should be trained on how to spot the sneaking and how to politely ask them to stop or leave.
And people do tend to have friends like themselves to some extent. It’s possible that the moochers tell non-mooching friends about the great coffee that they nurse one drink of all day. But it’s more likely they tell other mooching friends about how nice and comfortable the place is and how you camp out all day with no problem.
I agree. If I went to a cafe a few times and it was always really crowded with no place to sit, I’d probably avoid going back. It’s different than with restaurants. If I go to a burger place and see there’s no place to sit, I know I can just wait a little while and eventually some people will finish their meals and leave. But with a cafe, there’s no telling how long people will be staying.
If they’re really worried about driving off customers, maybe they could do a survey and ask a few questions like what do you like best/least about the cafe, what’s your favorite menu item, how could we improve, how did you hear about this place, would you tell others about it, etc. Maybe the moochers would order more food if there were different pastries or something available. Or maybe others would say they wish there was more space, and it would make it more obvious to the owners that they need to clear out the moochers.
Agreed. Just how hard have they tried to encourage the moochers to buy stuff? Like asking cheerfully if they wanted to order anything else? There’s nothing hostile about that and only the worst moochers will repeatedly say no, openly admitting that they’re mooching.
Maxie and Amy really do need to look into whether allowing people to bring their own food violates health codes, though. I’d be amazed if it doesn’t - how can any health code inspector check that a cafe’s food is safe and healthy if the food being eaten in the cafe was brought in from some unknown place and the staff don’t even know what’s being eaten?
They could then put up signs notifying people that, due to the cafe’s obligations to keep its patrons safe and healthy, only food and drink prepared on the premises may be consumed there. If they want to make the occasional exception for baby milk or food, they can do that just like most of the chainstores do.
I’ll pretty much agree with Maxie. However, I would try one thing before going to the access code solution.
Set up a contribution jar. “Our internet costs money to operate. If you would kindly contribute, we would appreciate it.” Get folks to dump their change in the jar. Use the contents of the tip jar to defray the cost of the internet and if there’s anything left over, give it out as extra tips to the staff.
If it doesn’t cover the cost, then it’s time to go to the access code.
So am I the only one, as a customer, who would find this irritating? I have only once been to a cafe that played this receipt code game, and I thought it was irritating, especially considering there was no one in the freaking cafe! I stayed there for a few hours, one of which was during what would have been a lunch rush anywhere else (and NO, I did not order a small tea and then hang out forever). Would never go there again. Thankfully I don’t live in that town, so I don’t have to worry about it.
In these parts, just for the record, there are a godzillion coffee shops around, ALL of which I’ve ever come across offer free wifi that anyone there can connect to, no fuss, no muss. If I went to a place that made me do anything other than plop down my laptop and surf, I’d never go back. Some of the options offered up hear seem okay, I guess, on paper, but don’t account for how people actually behave. Remember, folks, nobody fills out surveys; nobody tells you why they’re not coming back, they just never come back; and nobody likes going to an empty cafe.
And obviously, implementing a no outside food or drink policy is okay.
Maxie’s position is reasonable, but I do not know how workable it is. Changing the key? Password? This will irritate customers.
People with ethics will not sit and mooch all day. Those without ethics will not pay heed to any warnings. She should post a sign “Assholes will ejected without warning”.
This is a courtesy extended to customers. Customers by stuff. Freeloaders should beaten savagely.
HATE those guys.
That’s a BINGO.
There’s your friend’s answer.
Sure, requiring a code is annoying. I’m in favor of the code because obviously the moochers are taking the place over. Having to enter a code is less irritating to me, as a customer, than not being able to find a seat, or having the place shut down because it was not making enough money.
I find most anti-theft measures to be annoying. I don’t like the tags that have to be removed from clothes, I don’t like having to show how many garments I’m taking into the dressing room, I don’t like taking a tag to the counter to get my copy of the game, I don’t like those damn clamshells around every consumer good that I buy. Unfortunately, the thieves and moochers will abuse stores if there are no measures in place.
And, by the way, the people who are bringing outside food and drink should be told ONCE that they can’t do this. If they do it again, they get trespassed from the cafe.
Thing is I would return to a cafe that was too crowded for a seat. I wouldn’t return to a cafe that made me bother with a code. You can’t throw a dart in this town without hitting a cafe with easy, free wifi, so why would I pay to go to one that’s going to give me shit?
This option wouldn’t likely alienate anybody:
Free wifi which doesn’t require a code, but is limited to an hour (or 90 minutes).
Codes printed on receipts (or given out without purchase, if the server wants to be compassionate and support someone) which allows for more time.
The limit Maxie suggests is more than generous, I’d have no problem with it. In the unlikely event that you’re right that the code system will be cheap and low hassle, I would vote for it. And if I’m supposed to accept that on trust, I’d accept it.
However, it seems more likely it will be more complicated than they expect. And even if it works, it will be a hassle for customers: having to keep a receipt even if they only buy a coffee, worrying about whether someone can use the same code on a smart phone and laptop or not (and if so, whether moochers will share), whether it will annoy people who have fingers/devices where typing in a code is a hassle.
Basically, there’s a trade off between two effects. One is, sucking people in, and assuming they spend more money when they become regulars. The other is, encouraging freeloaders. And it’s really hard to tell the difference without measuring. There are many businesses which have won my custom by being generous, and then kept it because I like them – I hope that was worth it for them, and suspect it probably was in some cases, but not all.
I’d give another vote for looking for the actual problem. Are they too full at lunchtime? Set aside a small area for laptops and reserve the rest for people eating. (Let people buy lunch with a laptop if they prefer, or if they’re regulars you like.) Are people persistently sneaking in food? Politely ask them to buy something. Many people will. Some will be embarrassed and genuinely not sure if they can afford it – feel free to cut them some slack. Throw out anyone obstreperous. Put up some cheeky signs if you feel it backs you up, but don’t be mean about it because moochers are probably MORE resistant to sarcasm than customers.
How about a combination plan? WiFi is free for the first two hours but you need a code from the receipt to have access beyond that.
My question would be is there any shortage of seating during the day? If so the moochers should be given the codes. If not, I think butts in the seats are better than no butts in the seats. The WiFi and electricity cost is likely negligible.