In between the home office and the office office, there’s a third place, where mobile workers can go to get some work done: laptop-friendly places, like coffee shops, cafes and restaurants.
Some balk at the idea of laptop-warriors taking up space and bandwidth, but there are benefits of appealing to mobile workers and things that laptop-friendly places can do to make the most of the opportunity.
So, why’s it a good idea?
There are lots of reasons why coffee shops and cafes should welcome laptop-warriors. Beyond peak times, mobile workers keep these places busy and more appealing to passersby – as well as a reason to keep the coffee machine running!
Mobile workers are used to the idea of ‘renting’ a table at a cafe with purchases at the counter. So, even if we stay a long time, we pay for it in coffee! And we’re a switched on bunch too. So, if baristas have problems with their networks or computers, we’re likely to be able to help.
Appealing to the mobile work crew
Here are some ways coffee shops and cafes can appeal to mobile workers.
- Offer free wi-fi. Coffee shops aren’t going to get many mobile workers through their doors if they don’t have wi-fi – and they’ll miss a trick if they don’t make that connection free! Free wi-fi will keep mobile workers coming back, and they’ll tell others about their network discovery too.
- Make mobile workers welcome. If your local coffee shop offers free wi-fi it should boast about it, and let passing customers know with a window sticker and a smile (not a grumble!) when laptop-toters ask for the passphrase.
- Empower customers. If there’s one thing that lets down the romance of mobile working it’s the scant availability of a consistent power supply. If you don’t have somewhere to plug in, you’re at the mercy of your laptop’s battery. Coffee shop owners can help by exposing available power outlets or even providing power strips, like my local cafe Lemon Monkey does.
- Make a snug. The word ‘snug’ comes from old English pubs, and it refers to a small area set aside from the main bar that is quiet and discreet. Coffee shop owners that are serious about the mobile working contingent should consider setting aside an area for a ‘snug’. If nothing else, it’s fun to say! (Tinderbox Cafe in London has ‘snug’ booths that are popular with mobile workers.)
- Keep an eye on kit. What do you do with your laptop when you need to use the bathroom in a coffee shop? Do you take it with you? Leave it at your table? If you see mobile workers faced with this kind of dilemma, offer to watch it for them – or, at least, don’t wince when they ask. They’ll stay for another coffee (and inevitably another trip to the bathroom!).
San Sharma (@WorkSnugSan) is community manager at WorkSnug (@WorkSnug), a mobile app and website that helps users find laptop-friendly workspaces, like coffee shops with wi-fi
Photo credit: ahhyeah
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Spot on, San! I’d also add a plea to train all your staff properly so that nervous first-time mobile workers can actually get online and make the most of their visit to your establishment.
Believe me, they will feel so grateful and pleased with themselves they’ll be customers for life and tell all their friends. If, however, they fail to connect, having already bought your coffee and snacks and got themselves settled, and your staff can’t help them, they will feel stupid and resentful and harbour bad feelings about it for just as long.
I speak from experience!
Hi Judy – I agree with your comment about helping customers get online. That would be amazing if they checked on me once just to make sure everything was connected and zippy.
Some of my favorite shops to work in also offer light lunch options. Why ruin a good thing by leaving to get lunch?? If the connection is good and the power plentiful, I want to stay for as long as possible. Lunch options are much appreciated!
Hi Judy and Cora,
Totally agree! It’s great that so many coffee shops do have Wi-Fi, but it’s not much use when it goes down and no-one on the premises can fix it. I’ve been in situations where I’m pretty sure a quick restart of the Wi-Fi router would fix things, but staff have just replied “yeah, it’s down at the moment.” So yes, a bit disappointing when you’ve already bought coffee and snacks and can’t get online. A solution would be to give staff simple training on maintaining the Wi-Fi connection.
Thanks for your comments!
San
I live in Cardiff – near me, the Pear Tree is pretty similar to the Juno Lounge which is about 7 doors down. Lovely tapas food, same prices, nice cosy decor and ambience, wifi of course, lovely staff. But I’ll choose the Pear Tree over Juno every time because when they bring you your hot drink, they put one Minstrel in the spoon. And it’s not even that i’m a big fan of chocolate; it just says something about their attitude to their work and towards delighting customers…
Hi Noreen,
And thanks for your comment! Ah, little touches like that work for me too.
When work was being done on my home, I spent a lot of time in my local Starbucks. Staff there would often bring me little treats – even invite me into their tasting sessions! It made me feel valued as a customer, and that’s so important.
San
I work from home too and during my first few months, I just stayed at home and never really worked outside our house. But later on, I did feel the need to get out and work where I can see many people around. Now, I make it a point to work in a coffee shop twice a week. I love it because there are also other online workers who stay there. Even though we don’t talk that much in the coffee shop, we are very comfortable with each others’ busy presence.