9.28.2010

wire-free coffeehouse

Starting 10/10/10, we will make the move to an almost wire-free coffeehouse. This means that, if you are planning on bringing your laptop, fully charge its battery prior to joining us. Internet access through our wireless router will continue to be free of charge for paying customers, and some power outlets will be available to customers sitting at the bar. We hope that this is no great inconvenience: modern laptop batteries, if taken care of properly, should last from three to eight hours (depending on the individual computer). Thank you, and, as always, we welcome your comments.

8 comments:

  1. Heartbroken.

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  2. Thank you for balancing the needs of starving bookstore customers (when we eat, we stay longer and spend more!)and laptop workers. You have lost my business several times when there was no place to sit.

    Now, if you could only find that sweet potato cake that your predecessors sold......

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  3. Good business decision. Who needs to tiptoe around laptop cords, anyway?

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  4. SO happy!

    We agree with Commenter #2. Hopefully, your customers who want to sit just long enough to sip some coffee and chat with friends about their latest goodies from upstairs can do so without manic law students who intend to write all day crowding the tables.

    Thank you for thinking about all of us!

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  5. I typically pop in once or twice a week to spend the early morning working - y'all have great doughnuts and are near my woman's house. I'd been out of town for a few weeks and hadn't been in since mid September.

    I drove in from my place this morning, looking for a Boston Creme and the chance to get a little work done.

    45 minutes wasted. Double that for the round trip... That's a lot of carbon burned sitting in the car for no purpose whatsoever.

    I didn't charge my battery last night and just grabbed the cord on my way out, never expecting to find that there was no power.

    I'm not opposed to the no outlet policy. It keeps the place from becoming too cluttered and, though I drink and consume in vast quantities, I realize that many laptop users just occupy a seat for hours without purchasing much. I'm fine with the new policy.

    I am dramatically NOT fine with the limited time notice. I was last in the shop in mid September and there was no sign about the upcoming change.

    I only noticed it when I couldn't find an outlet, crawling over the damn floor wondering where they had gone. Then I saw the little sign by the outlet saying that the outlets had gone away.

    I'm even more annoyed to find out that you have outlets at the bar. I was quite obviously looking for an outlet and when I asked for my doughnut to go, I did so with a laptop cord clearly in hand.

    What... the barista couldn't have mentioned that the place is not entirely useless to those who need outlets to work? I typically over tip; glad I didn't today.

    This was a very poorly executed change. People work in your shop. I am sure you are well aware of this. The change is fine and reasonable. Two weeks notice is not.

    I am not saying I am never coming back in. My battery holds a long charge and you are the only coffeeshop I know of that serves Heller's doughnuts.

    But, it is going to be a while before I get over this and y'all owe me a doughnut for wasting my morning this way.

    A poorly planned and poorly executed change.

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  6. Ha. two weeks notice isn't reasonable! funny.

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  7. Disappointed with this decision. Understandably executed for the sake of minimizing table time taken up and to energize customer flows. But it nevertheless adds a headache to consider charge time prior to a visit and it places constraints on general work time if computer battery is drained in one place. I write this as I see my own battery dipping in percentage of charge..

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  8. A little late in response, but in regards to the poster of the long winded sob story above, do you want a pacifier with your "free" doughnut when you finally decide to grace the staff with your glorious presence? Grow up.

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