Coffee Shops Start Turning Wifi Off On Weekends   5/28/2005 - 1,128 views, 2 Comments

While the number of customers who stake out and squat at a table as strongly as if it were the last piece of land by the creek during the gold rush, camping at the table with laptop for hours, buying only one drink - if that - and you know who you are, has certainly negatively impacted the bottom line of many a coffee shop, it’s really more about atmosphere and ambiance, says Jen Strongin, co-owner of the Seattle coffee shop, Victrola.

Strongin says that after adding free wifi service at Victrola, “we noticed a significant change in the environment of the cafe,â€? adding that before they had installed the free wifi “people talked to each other, strangers met each other.”

And now? “Over the past year it seems that nobody talks to each other any more,” says Strongin.

Instead, people sit with their faces buried in their laptops for hours on end, not only not buying anything, but precluding new patrons, who would buy something, from having anywhere to sit and enjoy a purchase.

“It’s just really really difficult. We’ve had so many heated debates about it. We want people to linger at the cafe. We’re not a fast-food coffeeshop. We want people to feel comfortable staying here as long as they please,” explained Strongin.

But neither do they want the atmosphere at their shop to be library-quiet, with everyone computer-facing and nobody interacting.

So in an effort to strike a balance, Victrola has started turning off the wifi on the weekends. They have done this now for the past two weekends, and while they have received a couple of snotty complaints by email (come on people, you’re complaining that a service which you probably hogged - in fact you were probably one of the reasons for this new move - a service which Victrola offered out of the goodness of their hearts - and for which you were never charged, is no longer available for you to take advantage of on the weekend? Well boo hoo hoo - cry Aunty a river)…they have also had customers come up to them and thank them.

And they’ve seen the best weekend revenue they’ve seen in months.

So good on ya, Victrola. It’s time to take back the coffee shop!