But “hanging out in a coffee shop” while buying little, and honestly even more specifically “going to starbucks to write” are such common activities that they have been the subject of show plots and memes for decades. There’s probably a reasonable argument that this cultural perception of coffee shops drives a certain percentage of business.
I personally don’t find it troublesome to need to buy a coffee if I’m going to hang out at a coffee shop (and I’m not one to do so anyhow), but I’m also skeptical it’s such a widespread problem that they had any reason to do this beyond real-world enshittification.
Yeah. Nobody expects to be able to walk into McDonald’s and sit at a table all day using wifi without buying anything. Same goes for any restaurant or cafe to be honest, except maybe ones in public libraries or on college campuses.
I’m not sure how this is dystopian, to be honest. Pretty much any business expects you to actually buy something if you’re using the facilities.
having nowhere to be where im not expected to pay up sounds pretty dystopian to me.
I mean there are actual public spaces like parks and libraries.
But “hanging out in a coffee shop” while buying little, and honestly even more specifically “going to starbucks to write” are such common activities that they have been the subject of show plots and memes for decades. There’s probably a reasonable argument that this cultural perception of coffee shops drives a certain percentage of business.
I personally don’t find it troublesome to need to buy a coffee if I’m going to hang out at a coffee shop (and I’m not one to do so anyhow), but I’m also skeptical it’s such a widespread problem that they had any reason to do this beyond real-world enshittification.
I agree that people going to a cafe to write is a cliche, but aren’t they typically shown to be buying something while they’re there?
Yeah. Nobody expects to be able to walk into McDonald’s and sit at a table all day using wifi without buying anything. Same goes for any restaurant or cafe to be honest, except maybe ones in public libraries or on college campuses.