Comments on: Coffeehouses Are No Place for Conversation http://stateofthereunion.com/coffeehouses-are-no-place-for-conversation State of the Re:Union is a new Public Radio show that examines what makes a community and the resonating themes that unite us as a country. Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:24:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Jon Dagle http://stateofthereunion.com/coffeehouses-are-no-place-for-conversation/comment-page-1#comment-6844 Jon Dagle Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:06:00 +0000 http://stateofthereunion.com/?p=5021#comment-6844 "Buzz" is a local coffee house that limits the number of tables where people can use laptops and electronic devices. They've taken a middle ground with a partial restrictions. I generally support this, but technology is blurring the lines. What if I want to read a book on my Kindle or iPad? Some places restrict all electronic devices. Is that realistic? What If one wants to read a book? Should iPad/Kindle readers be penalized? On the other hand its annoying to find every table occupied by one laptop user with a long finished drink...   Mason has a good point: a shop can afford to be more restrictive if there's a large customer base. Hopefully the shop has done some research before implementing such rules! “Buzz” is a local coffee house that limits the number of tables where people can use laptops and electronic devices. They’ve taken a middle ground with a partial restrictions. I generally support this, but technology is blurring the lines. What if I want to read a book on my Kindle or iPad? Some places restrict all electronic devices. Is that realistic? What If one wants to read a book? Should iPad/Kindle readers be penalized? On the other hand its annoying to find every table occupied by one laptop user with a long finished drink…  

Mason has a good point: a shop can afford to be more restrictive if there’s a large customer base. Hopefully the shop has done some research before implementing such rules!

]]> By: Mason Lowry http://stateofthereunion.com/coffeehouses-are-no-place-for-conversation/comment-page-1#comment-6841 Mason Lowry Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:42:00 +0000 http://stateofthereunion.com/?p=5021#comment-6841 Some places tend to form into nose-in-the-laptop kind of places, some are the social forums of yesteryear and some are an amalgamation of them all. It really is dependent on what kind of atmosphere the owners wish to cultivate in their coffeeshops. However, based on my experience as an employee and customer of several different coffeeshops in different markets, I think it's easier for coffeeshops in large cities to filter out certain types of customers versus small-to-medium sized cities. The markets in some of the smaller cities doesn't give coffeeshop owners the kind of patron leverage that the larger cities offer; i.e., smaller city shops can't afford to say no to certain types of customers. Some places tend to form into nose-in-the-laptop kind of places, some are the social forums of yesteryear and some are an amalgamation of them all. It really is dependent on what kind of atmosphere the owners wish to cultivate in their coffeeshops.

However, based on my experience as an employee and customer of several different coffeeshops in different markets, I think it’s easier for coffeeshops in large cities to filter out certain types of customers versus small-to-medium sized cities. The markets in some of the smaller cities doesn’t give coffeeshop owners the kind of patron leverage that the larger cities offer; i.e., smaller city shops can’t afford to say no to certain types of customers.

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