Coffee shop owners in some major cities are waging war on the “laptop squatter,” but in Gainesville, it’s the least of business owners’ worries.
Shops in cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco are sealing power outlets, implementing passive-aggressive signage and segregating laptop users to restricted areas. But Gainesville business owners are more focused on economic development.
“We’re just happy if people are even buying stuff,” said Roth Conrad, a barista at Maude’s Classic Cafe.
Issues associated with customers who fit the description of a laptop squatter differ considerably from the surrounding actual squatters who make no purchases.
“It’s mostly the homeless dudes who fall asleep in the B-room [back room of the café],” said Simon Nash, who has worked as a Maude’s barista for a year. “But it’s also annoying when people leave their trash behind from Mochi and Starbucks.”
Gainesville establishments like Maude’s have few policies regarding Wi-Fi usage that are actually enforced.
“It should be understood that if you’re a coffee shop, a huge amount of your business is centered around people using Wi-Fi,” Nash said. “There’s jokes about whether we’re actually a coffee shop at all. We’re more of a venue for chain-smoking and people watching.”
Some local establishments are slightly more restrictive.
At Coffee Culture, the Wi-Fi password changes daily and can only be obtained with a receipt after purchase.
When connecting to the Wi-Fi provided at Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate, users are greeted with a message on their laptop screens reading “Don’t be a camper.”
“Camping is way different when customers actually make a purchase,” said Volta barista Meghan Marvin. “We have customers who come in every day, order like a pot of coffee and sit for hours.”
Keeping this long-staying clientele is both essential to the business and pleasant to work around, she said.
“I actually really appreciate being able to be a part of all of the work happening around me,” said Marvin.
Gainesville resident Jan Zamojski said he spends about six to eight hours in coffee shops on an average weekend.
“The coffee is almost a formality,” Zamojski said. “It’s more of a ceremonial rite of passage than the reason I am here.”
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/3/2013 under the headline "We-Fi: Using cafes’ Internet OK"
