Café trauma - when your mobile office isn't welcome

The rise of 'Fourth Spaces' and can remote work save our pubs? [#190]

A mate messaged me the other day: “I was just kicked out of a café and told not to come back with a laptop. The guy was so rude. He literally told me not to come back. As I’m losing them money. I was there 1 hour 15 minutes!”

It’s the second time this has happened to her in the small town she lives in. Some of the cafés aren’t that friendly towards laptops. But she’s not experienced this level of hostility in cafés anywhere else. I just listened to her message again, and I can hear how upset she is.

She looked online to see if she could leave a review, but they’re not on Trip Advisor. Comments on Facebook pages can be hidden and they can block you. A Google Review, maybe? Only those that violate their policies are eligible for removal.

He was having a bad day. Or there’s stuff going on internally that’s triggered him, but there’s no need to be so rude (unless you’re a restaurant that thrives on insulting your diners and people are paying to be abused).

She wasn’t using the leccie either. This really irritates me – I go to cafés all the time, and people are sat there scrolling on their phones. What’s the difference? It’s a smaller screen. Your arse is the same size. But nobody tells you to eff off when you’re on your phone.

It’s given her café trauma – she tried other places but couldn’t relax. Made her cautious about overstaying her welcome, how busy they are, how much she’s spending, etc. She’s mixing it up - WFH (pimped up her home studio), the library, pubs, cafés further afield, and coworking spaces.

I do the same. I like working in different places. Too many distractions at home. If you live/work in one room and your laptop is also your evening entertainment, it’s hard to switch off. I’m really struggling with it. I work from home in the morning and head out for a little adventure in the afternoon.

On the positive side: “I just channelled a lot of that anger into my work. It kind of energised me. I’ve been quite focused and productive today. I’m feeling good about it.” She’s a glass-half-full person - why I love her to bits.

Working at Barnaby’s Bar

I had the opposite experience this week at the Writers’ Café. I was chatting with the bartender (not seen him before) and said I liked the music. “I’ve spent all day curating this playlist for you guys, thinking about songs you might like. That would be good to work to.”

Bless him, how thoughtful. It put a huge smile on my face and made me feel relaxed. I had a productive session - any music with lyrics is too distracting. It’s changed how I feel about the place and I want to carry on hosting events there and creating something for the community.

I like the multimedia mix: rotating art exhibitions, books, jazzy music, live bands - it all feeds your soul. Staff that write and get it are the cherry on top!

As my mate said, “I want to feel welcome with my business.”

Some of the art at Barnaby’s Bar. Quite easy to fall asleep on the sofa.

I can see both sides, though – you can’t take the piss and sit there for hours on your laptop with one coffee. I know some cafés charge by the hour, which makes sense. The Crown pub in the Old Town posted ‘laptops welcome’ on Insta - they’re open from 11am, so I’ve been going there.

Given how many pubs have gone out of business, this could be a way to ‘Save Our Pubs’ - WFP Packages. They need your business during the day and can be more chill than cafés. Dogs, open fires, nice food, a bit of banter… it’s all we need.

We had a chat about ‘working in cafes - how do the business owners feel?’ on the Hastings Creatives e-list. Interesting to hear Barnaby’s view as an entrepreneur and musician.

We welcome the concept 100%. Luckily, we’ve experienced patrons using common sense when working at tables, whether on a laptop, a tablet/smartphone, or writing with pen and paper. If there’s a live event in the downstairs bar, writers and workers either take themselves upstairs or realise that it’s possibly time to stop working.

My mother, for example, very comfortably switches from Americanos, assonance, and alliteration to beer, wine and great live music.

We don’t charge to use our space or wifi; we simply ask that any drinks (or food) are purchased from us. We also don’t ask for a minimum spend or bother people. It appears to be self-policing, with creatives/workers not only purchasing from the bar but spreading the word and helping build our community.

We are, and always will be, a big supporter of all arts and creativity.

Great mindset. I was worried we might not be making enough money for them but he said the Friday night karaoke keeps them going all week. It’s absolutely rammed haha.

Think I need to do a bit of research - see how people feel about it and what might work as it’s getting busier - Hastings & Rother are getting a £40M funding boost. We’re moving towards ‘Fourth Spaces’ - a new report from Eventbrite exploring how the URL to IRL movement is shaping the way people gather and connect.

📍I’m adding work-friendly places to this ‘WorkFrom’ Map – feel free to tag your favourite cafés, hotels, libraries, galleries etc for others to check out.

Better boil the kettle again. I promised Julieta her hottie bottie four hours ago as she just reminded me.

Nika

PS Wanted to share this event: Network + Call Out the BS with Clean Creatives and ESC KEY.co (JD Shadel’s excellent newsletter) on 29 May at Somerset House Exchange. I just joined Clean Creatives. A chance to have a nosy round SH too (such a beautiful building - you can cowork there :)