Are you buying coffee or renting a table? Bengaluru cafe owner faces loss as customers spend ₹150 and overstay | Today’s news
Working from a cafe and drinking your favorite cup of coffee is quite common for many. While customers seem to prefer restaurants that offer free WiFi and desks, a Bengaluru-based cafe owner recently talked about losing customers to squatting at the table.
Problems faced by the coffee shop owner
The problem the owner was facing came online when a user visited X and talked about a friend of his who ran a cafe in Indiranagar. The user said that his friend invested around ₹60-70 thousand in his business. He said the man was facing losses due to customers who would buy coffee ₹150 and occupy tables for hours or more.
“My school friend has opened a brand new coffee shop in Indiranagar, Bangalore with an investment of around 60-70 million. However, his biggest problem is that a few customers order one cup of coffee for Rs 150, open their laptop and sit there for hours (sometimes all day),” the post read.
How desk squatting can hurt business
The user explained what actually went wrong for the business in the scenario. He said that if a customer keeps a table occupied for a long time without spending more than one coffee, the owner ends up making a loss. Shuka said the owner is also losing new customers who walk in, find the cafe full and immediately leave.
According to the user, it is not an easy option for the owner to ask overstaying customers to leave after spending a significant amount of time in the cafe. Since online ratings and reviews play an important role in a business’s reputation, even one negative Google review can potentially affect the bottom line. Cafe owners thus found themselves in a difficult situation.
“Of course he can’t ask customers to leave because one negative Google review can damage the reputation of the place,” the post read.
A user shared his opinion when he shared why chain coffee shops like Starbucks, Café Coffee Day (CCD) and Third Wave Coffee charge relatively high prices for coffee and snacks.
Customers do not only pay for the ordered drink or food, but in a way also for the time and space of the establishments. The costs of providing seating, maintaining the premises and allowing customers to work or socialize for extended periods are likely to be included in the prices.
“Now I understand why coffee shops like Starbucks, CCD and Third Wave Coffee have such terrible prices for coffee and snacks. As a customer, you pay to rent a chair along with your coffee order. If you run a coffee shop, please share what you are doing about this problem,” he concluded.
The Internet is responding
In response, a user wrote in the comments: “Just add the average length of stay to the receipt. Simple.” “One coffee for every hour spent. Make it a polite rule,” added another.
