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
rbag
August 5th, 2011
9:55 am
brad
August 5th, 2011
8:02 am
Old Geezer = racist assh*ole
Old Geezer may be a racist, but he’s right. Racism is coming back, because blacks just haven’t become Lords and Ladies after the Trillions of dollars Whites have invested in their improvement.
Whites have earned the Right of Racism.
“Under the circumstances, racism really is the best option.”
When Whites hear themselves called “racist,” they know that they are being good Patriots.
Unknown
August 5th, 2011
9:56 am
Power to the people,
go to China you stupid Commie!! they would love you there!! you can have one car, one kid, you can work and eat government cheese all day! Socialist prick!
DtwnATL
August 5th, 2011
9:59 am
Jonny,
Is 200 office even opened yet? I was in the space 2 weeks ago and it was no where near completion.
sendoff
August 5th, 2011
10:03 am
I worry about what will happen when the power is pulled from the Afro starbucks patrons.
drudgereport.com
‘Mob’ beatings at WI state fair…
‘Hundreds of young black people beating white people’…
Fairgoers ‘pulled out of cars’…
‘They were just going after white people’…
add14jazz
August 5th, 2011
10:03 am
First, the Fat Boys break up, now this!!!!!
Tony
August 5th, 2011
10:04 am
Forget going to the club to meet someone new, when I want to meet someone new I get a cup and head to Starbucks.
Tee H
August 5th, 2011
10:10 am
Chick-fil-A has good coffee, good eats and free power and Wi-fi (in most locations) – they don’t care how long you stay, they just want to serve while you’re there!
craig
August 5th, 2011
10:13 am
I’m surprised it took so long for this to happen ! I do Starbucks to go only, primarily because you can rarely find a seat for the idiots & their gear taking up a 4 top for hours. Dunkin is the same way, can’t find a place to sit down & eat the donut I just bought.( aging hipsters ? ? ? ours are full of 3rd world cab drivers & Emory pukes)
Clay
August 5th, 2011
10:14 am
I don’t drink coffee and I’ve never visited a Starbucks; but, I think this is a wonderful move. They do not owe you a place to hang out in all day in return for buying a cup of coffee.
Those of you who think they do owe you something are the type of folks who caused Borders to close. In the interviews with “customers” they all talked about how they would hang out, use the WiFi and drink coffee–but none of them ever bought any books. Starbucks is being proactive.
Bufanaquishria
August 5th, 2011
10:17 am
Usually when I go into Starbucky’s every table is occupied by people who appear to have camped out there. Kinda like the bums who hang out in the main Atlanta library all day.
If I’m a franchise owner I need to keep people moving along. In addition to covering the electrical outlets I’d also remove the chairs and install standup tables like you see in some food courts.