The demise of communication in coffee shops
Passive aggressive notes plastered on every table declare: ‘maximum stay: one hour’ or ‘no laptops to be used in this cafe’. We’ve all seen it. But is it not worrying that cafes are reduced to incorporating signage into their cafe design to prevent necessary conversations?
There was moral panic earlier this year when a function was added to the Uber app, asking people whether they wanted a ‘silent trip’; i.e. the cab driver to remain silent for the duration of the journey. People were suddenly alarmed that our sense of community and interpersonal connection had deteriorated to such an extent that we could block off any possible interaction with the click of a button.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear such an uproar in reaction to this news story, because I’d found similar signposting to be common practise in cafes across the country. Passive aggressive notes plastered on every table declaring: ‘maximum stay: one hour’ or ‘no laptops to be used in this cafe’. Of course, it must be immensely frustrating for baristas to see people buy one latte at 9am on a busy Saturday morning and occupy the table with their head in their laptops as large groups have nowhere to sit to spend money on platefuls of Eggs Benedict. Scenes from Fleabag of the man ordering tap water and then proceeding to use every single one of the plug sockets on offer spring to mind. But why didn’t Fleabag just tell the chap he had to order something so he could access the wifi and drain the cafe of energy?
As a society we are becoming withdrawn, so these small interactions are vital. We shouldn’t be reliant on blindly obeying signage dictating how long we should stay in a space and what we are allowed to do there. Particularly when that space is a cafe and all that’s at stake is someone finding a seat on which to drink a warm, caffeinated beverage. It’s worrying that cafes are reduced to incorporating signage into their cafe design to prevent necessary conversations. Even if it’s a banal comment about the weather or traffic, surely humanity needs to learn how to navigate interactions with strangers. Baristas are trained in customer service, so I think they could probably handle it. Certainly, overstaying your welcome in a cafe during busy times is a nuisance. But during quiet times, there can’t be a problem with taking up a seat if you’ve bought something. After all, it makes the cafe look busy and popular.
We all need to be much more self-aware. If a table in a cafe is such hot real estate, us customers will catch onto it and realise that perhaps it’s not a great cafe to wile away the hours in, and we will react accordingly. Of course, there are people who may not be this responsive. One message I applauded recently was at Little Victories cafe in Bristol, which has free-to-access wifi, but brings up a little message box when you sign in. It simply tells you that the wifi logs out after an hour, and you’re welcome to log back in but it just gives you a gentle reminder to look around you and see if there are other people who may need the space more than you. This seemed the perfect balance to me. It helps make customers more aware of their surroundings, but gives them the license to make the decision themselves and act accordingly.
Much of this sense of hostility is born out of a growing resentment towards people using laptops in cafes. This is churlish, seeing as the freelance population is growing by the day and more people than ever are finding alternative workspaces, such as coffee shops. We still have quite an old-fashioned view of technology. Why is using a computer while you drink your morning coffee any more of a bugbear than reading a book or flicking through an enormous copy of The Sunday Times?
One of the joys of a cafe is the mix of people you find there and the diversity of reasons why they’ve come. Writers can type up their new short story alongside young parents with crying babies, on the table next to a group of students discussing their final exams. The reason people with laptops have come to a cafe is because they are seeking human interaction. Otherwise they’d have stayed at home. A cafe can be a safe haven for all kinds of people, from freelance workers spending too much time alone, to lonely solo travellers needing respite and the chance to reconnect with people back home on Facebook while they sit back with a mocha frappé. Cafes and pubs have long been the watering holes of the community and a chance for shared experience and idle chitchat in our increasingly isolated lives, so why are we removing all possibilities for communication?
