Starbucks pulling plug on laptop users?
Starbucks is well-known for coffee, but laptop users love their juice — electrical juice.
After 4 days and only 3 Cafe Americanos, the Starbucks manager had a bad feeling about this guy.
Now, a rumor is floating amongst the Interwebs that New York City Starbucks locations are replacing electrical sockets with blank faceplates, effectively pulling the plug on laptop (ab)users plagued with poor battery performance.
The Seattle-based caffeine pusher did not immediately return a request for comment.
I can see the need to DC AC hogs, but I know a lot of folks, including some of my favorite reporters I never see anymore, use Starbucks as a transient office.
Starbucks Gossip provides the following jolt:
If you are one of those people who uses Starbucks as their office, sits in a store for 8+ hours a day, putting all your files on a table, using a separate chair for your laptop case/ suitcase enjoying unlimited free refills with your Starbucks card, asking for cups of water and refuse to to move until you are good and ready all for the $1.85 you pay as “rent,” then perhaps your actions will answer your questions [about covering the outlets].
An AJC reporter who shall remain nameless tells me she recently lost her connection after 30 minutes at another local coffee shop, so it looks likes Starbucks is not alone in trying to prevent prolonged PC parking.
Starbucks seems to go out of their way to be friendly, so this is a perilous PR path, if true. After all, we can get coffee and electricity at work, if it comes to that.
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211 comments Add your comment
Jim
August 4th, 2011
6:21 pm
I’m tired of going to Starbucks only to have to wade through a plethora of slouching slobs. I applaud Starbucks for cutting the cord… and I encourage them to implement a 30min wifi disconnect. If you need more than 30mins, you need an office.
Atari
August 4th, 2011
8:48 pm
While I’m not one of those *ahem* “fine patrons” who parks himself at S’Bucks for hours on end, eating up several tables with office work, I do happen to kill time at S’Bucks while I work on other projects (like I’m doing now), often for an hour or more. The difference here is that I don’t carry a power supply, plug in, and strew my belongings all over the tables. I use my own power, in my own battery, that I charged at home or at the office. If I’m working on multimedia, I might pull out a small USB mouse, but ONLY if needed. That’s as far as it goes.
There’s got to be a happy medium somewhere. 30-60 min disconnect during peak hours? Cover up the faceplates? How about charging a nominal fee to plug in? I’d be down with that!
Jonny
August 5th, 2011
4:58 am
I used to use Starbucks for work all the time. However, I got sick of that place. They do not have printers and it is so hard to find power!!! It is also distracting to have kids running around you while you are trying to work on your personal finances. I recently signed up for a co-working space in downtown Atlanta called 200 Office. It is great! It is located in the old Macy’s building next to the Peachtree Center Marta station. So now I do not sit in traffic and waste gas all day. Plus I am super excited to be next to all of my downtown clients in such a great area. I think this place will become a hit especially with the Rising Roll Cafe inside .Goodbye Starbucks and Hello 200 Office!!!
bikerron1
August 5th, 2011
5:15 am
They start pulling plug, I pull the plug. Not buy coffee there.
Deb
August 5th, 2011
5:45 am
This is the ever present coffee shop dilemma. What do you do with the folks who live in your shop and do little to generate revenue? This move makes perfect sense and for the 99% of Starbucks customers who don’t use it as an office, we will continue to buy our coffee there. Perhaps there will even be a table where we can sit and enjoy it. If one stops to consider the scale of the issue, then Starbucks is taking a considerable hit to it’s bottom line. I don’t think they will miss the daily $2.00 of revenue from the campers who boycott because they don’t get free unlimited WiFi and table space. Go for it!
ROBERT
August 5th, 2011
5:45 am
It’s a shame when things are offered for customers, then you have the abusers that ruin for others. Stay home and do your work, brew your own coffee. Starbucks wont lose any sllep over these people.
Slovenly
August 5th, 2011
5:48 am
I don’t buy coffee at Starbucks or eat at Panera because you have to slog through a sea of aging hipsters tethered to their laptops that never get up.
Derrick
August 5th, 2011
5:51 am
And why their at it, why not remove the chairs? That would really solve the problem of anyone hanging out too long. After all, a coffee shop is not meant to spend time in.
Justine
August 5th, 2011
6:14 am
I never like starbucks. Felt they exploited poor in foreign countries and tried to cover it up with useless charities which only help a minute few. Personally I use Mickey Ds. And fortunately I do not always have to go inside. I have a power adapter for my vehicle and I use it when on the road. But here is the thing. People spend too much time connected. We are slowly loosing all areas of civility because we no longer have decent conversations. By the way, where have all the walk in and have a [liquor] drink and quick meal bars gone. Are there any more bar and grills left in this country. Wow
An Observer
August 5th, 2011
6:14 am
Hoorah for Starbucks! Caribou, Panera, are you watching? Nothing worse than going into a COFFEE shop and not being able to sit and enjoy your COFFEE, because the place is littered with laptop slugs who take up enough space for four, sitting for hours on end with a long empty cup.