01/26/2012
by Lindsay Dianne
0 comments
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating; I’m a person who spends a lot of time at cafes and coffee shops. I find the ambience of anonymity easy to focus within, like a nice hug of white noise. One of my favourite places is one that I’ve recently found, Caffe Divano in Port Moody, British Columbia. This cafe can be found on Facebook and Twitter, it’s centrally located right by Rocky Point Park for those of us who love to go for an adventurous walk along the Salish Sea. Cafe Divano offers a unique ideal along with their amazing food and coffee in that everything sold here is homemade, in store. They produce amazing baked goods, sandwiches and soups… and I find their coffee divine. Divano serves locally roasted coffee that sees a better percentage of profit to bean farmers than fair trade coffee does. All of these things combine to make Divano one of my regular working haunts.
I was checking out the stream for Divano’s Twitter account when I noticed a really interesting topic being discussed on local radio. It was a matter of “Laptop Hobos”; people who come into cafes and use the WiFi for extended periods of time without making purchases, or alternately who overstay their purchases.
I wanted to talk a bit about this, because I would have thought that Cafe etiquette was all pretty standard common sense stuff. And yet, the more time I spend at coffee shops, the more that I’m finding people lack certain social skills to note what to do and not to do to ensure the enjoyment of all who frequent the cafe

1. Purchases Are Mandatory
Perhaps the most important thing about working, studying or even just hanging out in a cafe is that you NEED to make a purchase. Back in my original coffee shop days in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the rule was fairly standard that you spent a minimum of $2 for a stay ranging from an hour to two hours. Signs were posted with this written on them on walls in almost all downtown cafes. And this was, indeed, before WiFi became a pretty standard addiction across the board. When we went to cafes to socialize and meet new people. Now that many establishments offer WiFi, it’s easier to make excuses for just hopping on and sharing the bandwidth. If you plan on using the internet at a coffee shop or restaurant, you need to make a purchase. Most fancy coffees now cost around $5, so I’m comfortable with making a purchase like that and staying for an hour and a half to two hours; however long it takes me to finish my coffee. If I want to stay longer, generally I make a point to purchase either a second latte (I know, bad bad), or a pastry… Something to contribute to the cost of me taking up a table or a spot on the couch.
2. You’re Not Actually The Centre Of The Universe
This seems to be a epidemic in the first world. Entitled people are everywhere, and they;re waiting to find out what the world is going to hand them today. This behaviour ranges from talking about personal issues loudly on a cellular phone for any length of time, conducting business at a high volume, holding your fifteen person meeting in a public space without notice or purchases… Or setting up your outside office as though you owned the joint. When you’re at a coffee shop, keep your manners in check. Conduct your business quietly, without taking up oodles of space. Be courteous to the staff and clean up after yourself where applicable. Always thank your wait-staff where they exist, and remember that a bad day is just an opportunity to challenge yourself in the face of adversity. Being polite doesn’t always come easy to us, but it is nearly always worth the effort.
3. Tip, Tweet, Talk.
One of the strongest ways to help your favourite cafe gain credibility and customers is to tell others about it. If you use Social Media, write a recommendation for them. Tell your friends why you like it, how to get to it, what your favourite food or drink is. When you are at your favourite cafe and one of the staff members goes out of their way to please you, mention it to them or their superior. Fill out a comment card, send an email. If something pleases you, share it with the world. And don’t be too shy to tip your staff, either. Lend yourself to others by being genuine, understanding and patient, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a favourite regular visitor. Alternately, if you feel that the service was less than at it’s best, do everyone a favour and try and resolve your grievances quietly and without incident. Most of the time, a concerned customer complaint is received a lot better than a public degrading tweet or other unpleasant scene. Give the staff a chance to fix any mistakes they make, and then reflect on how the situation was handled before making any harsh decisions.
And that’s it. I mean, there are things to be said about public behaviour more in depth than that, but for the most part these three basic ideas could mean a lot of awkward confrontations are avoided. The staff don’t want to have to ask you to leave because you’ve been camping out for hours. No one wants to ask you to pipe down when you’re on your phone. No one wants to listen to the intricate issues that you face at work above a normal talking volume. It’s, like I said, mostly common sense.
What kinds of things do you do to make the life of your barista or brewer better? What practices are you employing to make your impact on your favourite place a positive one? I’d love to also hear your suggestions!