Should Starbucks Ban Laptops?

9 August, 2009 - 07:00 AM - 4 Comments

I read a CNET Article Should Starbucks Ban Laptops, about how users who spend time browsing the Internet at Starbucks are squatting at tables and seats and not drinking enough or leaving room for customers who want to just sit and drink a cup of coffee. It would seem like this would be an easy enough problem to fix in my opinion.

Delegate certain portions of the establishment as seating for customers with laptops or notebooks and feature a power adapter or outlet they can leverage near them. This is no different than restaurants having bar seating area’s and family seating area’s. Starbucks could even charge an hourly rate or something to equal the amount of money the would get from someone ordering a coffee every fifteen or thirty minutes, like a system that charges per hour but is prorated if you purchase beverages, like 2 beverages includes the cost of one hour of online time.

So the answer is no, I don’t think places should ban people with laptops and notebooks from coming in and spending copious amounts of time at the establishment, but they need to get creative to both entice people to stay and keep them ordering more food and/or drink so that the establishment continues to benefit monetarily from their presence.

-Dragon Blogger

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Written by Justin Germino (1518 Articles Published)

Working in the IT Industry for over 10 years and specializing in web based technologies. Dragon Blogger has unique insights and opinions to how the internet and web technology works. An Avid movie fan, video game fan and fan of trying anything and everything new.

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richard cerio

here in san diego calif. starbucks has already sort of banned laptops.In the eastvillage district, they have moved all the tables away from the ac wall jacks and if you move the table to be close to ac power,you are asked to leave.One starbucks that has an upstairs with about 40 ac plugs completely closed the upstairs and refuses to let anyone use laptops in the store period.Another starbucks covered up all ac jacks with long couches

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Phil

I have not been to Starbucks in a long time, the ones around my area are usualy over-crowded with people, and im not a fan of crowds when im trying to relax or work.

I guess good things and bad things would come out such a ban. Intersting thought though!

Klaus @ TechPatio

I miss Starbuks :( Went to one at least once a day on my trip to California few months ago, there's none in Malta and many other European countries.

But beeing a tech freak, I'd hate to see laptops banned in a place like starbucks, after all, it's one of those places were you *expect* to see laptops.
.-= Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Movie Review: Knowing (2009) â€“ Nicolas Cage =-.

In the Sphere: Hodge-Podge of Blog Posts | BlueFur.com says:

August 14, 2009 at 1:03 pm

[...] Blogger approaches a subject that is very near and dear to the mobile bloggers in the audience: Should Starbucks ban laptops? It’s a well-known fact that notebook users in coffee shops tend to hog up the tables for [...]