A Coffeeshop's Weekends Without Wi-Fi

Glenn Fleishman writes "Victrola Cafe and Art in Seattle is a popular coffeeshop that offers free Wi-Fi--except on the weekends. In an experiment, the cafe started shutting down its Wi-Fi network on Saturdays and Sundays after watching their culture erode: the shop became full (and was turning away customers) with six-to-eight hour Wi-Fi squatters, many of whom didn't even purchase anything. Their second Sunday without Wi-Fi was one of their best revenue days in some time. I don't propose a Wi-Fi (or free Wi-Fi) backlash, but it's interesting how with some time under their belt, the clash of inward facing technology and outward facing culture hit these particular entrepreneurs' limit."

Re:Solution?

[KarmaMB84]

It sounds like they were giving up business when they were running wifi on the weekends. The low-lives were coming in with their gear and taking up space and not buying a damn thing. When you're turning away paying customers because the place is full of sponges due to the wifi, the wifi goes off. "Their second Sunday without Wi-Fi was one of their best revenue days in some time." sums it up nicely.

Re:Their own fault..

[soft_guy]

I use WiFi, I buy coffee when I am at the coffee shop on the weekend. Lots of coffee and also food. If they do not have WiFi, I leave and go somewhere else. And I'm only going to buy a finite amount of coffee and I am going to buy it where they have WiFi.

So, a rule like this would screw some "ethical" WiFi users.

Re:Finding a soluable median

[Valar]

It is easier than that. You don't need two and three. The POS device prints a password on the receit. The customer pulls out his laptop and opens a browser-- his MAC is not authorized and he gets redirected to a page that lets him type in his password. He types in the password, and it authorizes his MAC address for a certain amount of time.

I Live down the street & it isn't the wi-fi ..

[psuedo_samurai]

That is the problem but the way the place is laid out. It has hard back chairs (libary style) with hardtop slate tables which each seat between 2-4 people. Reminds me of a restaurant evey time I walk in there. Perfect for studying, but no "community" feeling about it. Can you imagine walking up to another person's table at a restaurant and striking up a conversation? It would be a bit awkward.

The owners lament about the erosion of culture being the cause is pure BS. Make no mistake, this is simply about $$$$, nothing else.

Just up the street though is the non-profit Cafe Perkatory [perkatory.org] which is laid out like a living room with soft chairs, nice rug on the floor, and great Wi-Fi. And there is no complaints about erosion of culture there. Almost every time I walk into the place I am gauranteed to strike up a conversation with a new and interesting person.

However, if Perkatory isn't your "Cup 'O Tea" then you can always try one of the hundreds of other weekend Wi-Fi enabled coffee shops in seattle which are conveinently listed here [wifimug.org].

Re:I Live down the street & it isn't the wi-fi

[Anonymous Coward]

Hah. I can tell you right now, it has very little to do with the $$$$.

I'm friends with both Kyle, head barista trainer there, and Tony, head roaster there. Victrola Coffee is a place that is unbelievably dedicated to coffee. They are not in the business for making $$$, because the margins in Specialty Coffee are quite frankly absolute crap. They're in the business to make the best possible espresso period. Which is why they get consistently reviewed as one of the top if not the top cafe in seattle in terms of quality.

They care about community and they care about coffee. If they were in it for the $$$$ they would be serving crap starbucks coffee and paying their Baristas minimum wage.

WiFi Do's and Don'ts Poster for Free Wifi Hotspots

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's something the Boston Wireless Advocacy Group has done to try to help address that issue as per http://www.bostonwag.org/projects/etiquette.html [bostonwag.org]:

WiFi Do's and Don'ts

BostonWAG created a set of guidelines for users of open wireless networks at venues such as cafes and restaurants

The poster is being distributed to Boston area restaurants and cafes who provide complimentary WiFi. If your establishment provides complimentary WiFi and you'd like to display the poster, please email us at [e-mail]

Two sizes are available as a low res PDF:
8 1/2" x 11" (standard size) [bostonwag.org]
11" x 17" (tabloid size) [bostonwag.org]

If you have etiquette tips and suggestions for a future poster or if you have a story about WiFi etiquette that you'd like to share, please email us at [e-mail].

dude...

[Cryptnotic]

I never understood sitting in a coffee shop with a laptop for an hour, much less several.

It's all about checking out the cute high/college/grad school girls hanging out there doing their reading.

Free limited access

[JungleBoy]

One of the cafes I spend time at has a really nice way of limiting WiFi use. They have a little tape printer with three buttons, one for 30, 60, & 90 minutes. When you make a purchase, you ask for some wifi time, they hit a button and hand you a recipt. It has a randomly generated username and password that lasts for just the requested time. I rarely need more than 90 minutes (I usually hook up there before heading to the office). It's nice becuase it's still free, but they can still keep it reasonable with their business needs (only with a purchase, for limited time). This is by far the best setup I've found. Totally free and unlimited is nice, but if it's only on DSL and there are a bunch of WiFi campers, the throughput totally slows down. On the other hand some places charge hourly for wifi, even with a purchase, this just pisses me off.