Since the pandemic started, Starbucks and other shops with cozy seating + WiFi have become essentially “work from home” quasi-third-spaces. I haven’t been everywhere but I noticed it was extreme when I passed through Texas and throughout the Midwest. I am pretty sure it’s an everywhere thing

Faced with this, these cafes have two choices. One is to double down on laptop-free rules, either permanent or on weekends only. This can piss off customers and lose business. The other option is to double down on being an office space with a coffee bar. Starbucks and others have been moving this latter direction for years now. Drive-thru was always a ripoff, but now it is truly beyond the pale to order from these places if you aren’t planning to spend a few hours using the amenities.

[–] Coolkidbozzy@hexbear.net 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This has been a thing since wifi became free in cafes. In my experience it's a thing around the world in cafes with dedicated seating. Especially cafes with electrical outlets. I don't think anything will make it go away. There's a demand for third spaces that has nowhere else to replace it right now

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/coffee-shops-limit-wi-fi-to-discourage-laptop-hobos/

[–] quarrk@hexbear.net 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

The magnitude of it is on a different level since 2020. Dialectics quantitative change producing qualitative change yada yada

There have always been people on laptops in cafes but WFH introduced a new and mainstream reason to do it on a large scale. Combined with economic challenges in the coffee industry, it’s a no brainer to rebrand as a workspace instead of a specialty coffee shop

This might be somewhat region dependent. In many cities, if you go in any coffee shop on a weekday, it will have 100% of seats occupied by people on Zoom calls

[–] miz@hexbear.net 5 points 1 week ago

it sounds like the cafés need to install call booths and charge half-hourly for those