When Your Cup Is Empty, And You’re Still Using The Coffee Shop’s Wi-Fi [The Question]

The coffee shop has become the unofficial office for people who work remotely, freelance between gigs or simply need to escape the four walls of home. For the price of a coffee drink and maybe a snack, they get free Wi-Fi and distance from piles of laundry and other distractions at home.

This really isn’t a new phenomenon.

Coffeehouses have served as places to conduct business for centuries, dating back to the 1600s when they became gathering places for merchants, stockbrokers, insurers, journalists and writers. In fact, the London Stock Exchange traces part of its history to trading at Jonathan’s Coffee House, while Lloyd’s of London grew from business conducted at Lloyd’s Coffee House — facts easily verified at History while using the neighborhood coffee shop’s internet service.

The laptop-and-Wi-Fi version of the coffee shop office took hold in the early 2000s and expanded with remote work. But fter a few hours, one cup of coffee starts to look less like a purchase and more like rent. Just how long does that cuppa buy? And how long are you entitled to lay claim to the one table near a power outlet?

What’s the line between working comfortably and wearing out your welcome? Does good coffee-shop citizenship mean ordering regularly and clearing out when seats are scarce? Or, once you buy something, is the table yours until closing time?

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About The Question

The Question is an exclusive Patch column on etiquette, everyday ethics and what to do when the rules aren’t quite as clear as everyone pretends they are — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you’d like us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com with “The Question” as the subject line.

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