Starbucks

I'm a little bemused by the availability of WiFi at Starbucks. It doesn't make sense to me for a company to supply a resource which results in having their table space being taken up for long periods of time by people who aren't contributing, proportionately, to the company's income. Milking one coffee for an hour doesn't hack it.

During slack periods, it doesn't matter, of course. And I have to admit that part of my ire is due to the fact that the local Starbucks has two comfortable chairs; the last four times we went (over the course of about two months), the same woman was in one of them with her laptop open. Tonight, the other one had a woman in it, too, and two guys were hunched over laptops, taking up one long table, with a third sitting outside but with his laptop plugged in, inside. That doesn't seem right to me.

I've heard of some places that turn off their WiFi during peak periods, and others that kill the power to sockets near the tables, too. I think that's the right way to go. Or, perhaps, limit long-term use to the less desirable locations in the place. Because otherwise, the message is clear: want the comfy chair? Stay at home.