Many NYC Starbucks Locations About To Put An End To ‘Squatters’

Coffee Giant, Customers Have Had Just About Enough Of You Hogging Seats

August 5, 2011 9:30 PM

Starbucks travel mug (credit: happy d/Flickr)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — They’re called Starbucks “squatters.” You know, those folks with their laptops who take all the seats and never seem to leave.

But, as CBS 2′s Scott Rapoport, reports the coffee house giant has a plan brewing to fix that.

You know how some Starbucks customers and their computers like to make a permanent home in the coffee emporium, hogging up all the seats for hours, mooching off the free Wi-Fi and preventing you from sitting down and enjoying the latte you paid $5 for?

Well, now some Starbucks in New York City are reportedly pulling the plug on that idea, actually covering up their electrical outlets to discourage squatters.

WCBS 880′s Monica Miller Reports From Midtown

“Customers are asking (for it). They just purchased a latte and a pastry and there is nowhere to sit down in some of these high-volume stores,” Starbucks spokesperson Alan Hilowitz said.

“People actually live here. You know what I’m saying?” added Alan Glowko of Astoria.

It is a move that has some Starbucks regulars saying … it’s about time.

“If there’s no more space to sit, they should get up and leave,” said Katie Krug of Burlington, Vt.

“I mean, you can’t use their electricity for like eight hours. I mean honestly,” Glowko added.

Still others say for what they’re paying for coffee they should be able to stay as long as they like.

“If people want to sit there and relax they should be able to,” one person said.

At some other coffee shops in the city, like Doma in the West Village, they let you use your laptop here for as long as you like if the store is not too busy on week days up until 5 p.m. The catch is you have to have your own Wi-Fi.

At Grumpy’s, employees said there are no laptops allowed, period. That’s the policy.

As for Starbucks, the decision to pull the plug is reportedly up to individual stores thought to be only in New York.

It’s an idea brewed much the like the coffee — for customer satisfaction.

Employees at some smaller Starbucks locations told Rapoport privately that electrical outlets will not be blocked in their stores because seating space is not an issue.

Do you like this idea? Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below.

tiger blend

We lost Coffee People in the Portland area when they bought them all and then
changed them to SB, we lost the “tiger blend”, so now I go to Peets coffee.

Fran

that’s an expensive way to get a cup of joe!

daveyjones

Lancaster CA starbucks charges you for the password to borrow their wifi, 2 or 3 hour limit, I forget now. We were on vacation, so it was handy to be able to find a wifi spot to take care of a few things while we ate and drank a cup of coffee.
but to sit there for hours and “work”, like you pay rent for the chair, feeling like “it’s my chair” …. not right. move along Capt. Selfish.
Craig

I wish I had a Starbucks to go to. The ones in my city closed.
Ron Robinson

Just came back from a 1.5 hour sales call at Starbucks (the editor I was talking to prefers that to his office across the street) where we both used the wireless to look at his web site and compare. But we were only there 1.5 hours – we both had other productive economic activity to engage in elsewhere.
Russ

“If people want to sit there and relax, they should be able to.” How very considerate of this person to justify sitting and hogging the place indefinitely. I think a latté spilled into his or her keyboard would be a good thing. If people want to reward selfish and thoughtless behavior in kind, I think they should be able to.

DaddyStarbucks

Except, as I pointed out earlier, Starbucks actively courted this audience for years.

First, they wanted to fill up stores and dominate the market, so they went after these people — and I mean actively courting them with various Wifi plans, plenty of electric outlets, etc.

Starbucks simply got what it wished for, and is now trying to deal with the problem.

LLSinSCV

Yes, definitely ABOUT TIME that Starbucks kick out the MOOCHERS who hog up the tables or chairs for hours on end with their 1 cup of kawwwfee (my accent) or latte purchased… they think it’s their PASS to stay for the entire day. Don’t these people have JOBS like the rest of us??

Mark M.

Moochers don’t pay for their coffee. These people do, and the WIFI is free because the pay model sucked. These are what you call Starbuck’s *Frequent* customers. Don’t they have jobs? Yes, most CHOOSE to work there because they don’t work in cube land where one’s worth is measured by the number of hours one’s ass occupies a seat.

Don’t like that you can’t find a seat? Get there early or hit the road. Or maybe Starbucks could just provide more outlets. After all, we are talking about their REGULAR customers here, the ones who are there all day and buy several drinks throughout the day, not some “Oh let’s go get a latte and sit down for 5 minutes”. Seriously, who do you think spends more money in Starbucks, you or the person who’s there all day?

Fran

You sound like a vagrant
Matt K

“Seriously, who do you think spends more money in Starbucks, you or the person who’s there all day?”

Umm…obviously Starbucks thinks it’s the guy/girl who gets the latte and sits down for 5 minutes, lol. Just common sense Einstein: if 5 different people were to buy a “beverage” and occupy your spot collectively for every hour (and beverage) that you individually take up on your normal all-day-sit-a-thon, the company makes a lot more money. That’s why restaurants try to turn over as many tables as possible and encourage waiters/waitresses to drop off the check soon after you start eating and pick up your plates as soon as you’re done…they want you gone to fill the spot with new paying customers.

But not you, of course…because you’re a “frequent” & “regular” customer. (Good lord, that sounds so elitist.) A little tip for you pal…between YOU & lots of nonfrequent, irregular, and PAYING newcomers, I’m pretty sure Starbucks is gonna go with…well, not you.
jenB

Well Mark, it is appears that the regulars are NOT the ones spending more, as this was a decision made because of complaints of the others. Just because you buy several drinks in a day does not mean that you have spent more than the 20 people who didn’t come in because your butt was in a seat for 6 hours. Nor does it mean that the rest of the squatters such as your self are actually buying several drinks a day.

Selfish people, all about themselves. Never anyone else. don’t like your office environment, take your advice and hit the road to find another place that doesn’t resemble a cube. This is the starbucks, NOT your office.
AmericanMark

Mark, you are the problem: a moocher. Too bad you’re too good for “cube land”. Where will you go when the free electrical access is cut off, the street? Funny that you rag on cube landers worth being based on how much they occupy an office seat when you’re doing the same in a coffee shop where you’re no longer welcome.
Jazz

Holy mother, wow. Just, wow.
Mark M.

Listen to you losers:
Fran: You’re probably a vagrant. -Um no. I guarantee you I live in a far nicer neighborhood than you on probability alone.

Matt K: Who spends more money: the guy all day, or the 5 minute guy.
The 5 minute guy spent $5. The all day guy spent more than 5 bucks, and both did so standing in front of this thing called a “register” for 2 minutes.
–So you can’t do math, and apparently these Starbucks store managers can’t either. Notice this is NYC. Maybe Starbucks should be looking for a little smarter managers in NYC that can, among other things, figure out how to keep their most reliable customers happy, keep the transient (vagrant?) 5 min latte crowd happy, and do math.

Cubeland is great! – Um, sorry, I don’t have to work in a cube anymore because I work for myself, and my work is valuable enough that I can say “no, I’d rather not.”

Alvar the Fool

Well I never go to Starbucks, so they can have my seat!

Fran

LOL!

bruce

i wish they would do that here in San Fernando Valley!!
jonathan f.

I’m one of these squatters. It’s all part of my plan to slowly put them out of business for putting my local coffee shops, that actually had good coffee and a unique atmosphere (and electrical outlets), out of business through predatory business practices. Anybody who thinks there coffee is good- has never drank good coffee.

bruce

you sir, are an idiot!!
vintageport

Would you like a little cheese with your whine? How is a $5.75 cup of coffee predatory…was your awesome coffee shop charging more and therefore couldn’t compete?
Jody

This is your brain on drugs
Kent

When someone yells “lLoser Dork” do you look up instantly?
jeff

So, incredibly bad behavior to everyone else in the coffee shop is justified by the taste of the coffee you have DRUNK? No, I’m not buying that at all. You are simply selfish and the rest is just an excuse.
Miguel

You, sir, are correct. Starbucks is truly a predatory corporation which is dedicated to advancing it’s position, every bit at the expense of all others, including the many really great possibilities from young 0or older entreprenuers all over our great land. Any one who can;t see that is the American sheep that Starbucks Corporation intends you to be.
Billp

where was you done brunged up ignorant young nimrod, can’t spell, can’t write, what good are you? waste of skin…

Nycl Poster

Seems to me most of you are too dumb to understand how life works, This is a private business, they dictate the rules but common sense dictates you buy a coffee, maybe check your email and go after 10 – 15 minutes, you DON’T sit there like a loser for 2 hours hogging up valuable seating space. This is not your homes folks, please get a life, get the heck up and be courteous to the next customer and respect the business.
Car Dude

Excuse me, sit.
William Baranowski

Shark Jumpin’ Time At ‘Bucks.
alpha

Staying more than 45-60 minutes is rude. SB is not in the office rental business.

Mark M.

You understand they offer these things because they want to attract customers, right? We call them customers because they sit there and buy stuff, and most buy stuff all day, which is more than we can say for the in and out crowd.

JenB

Good grief mark. Chill out, you aren’t their favorite or most important client anymore. I think you misunderstood their services. They are not an office rental that serves coffee as a perk. Sorry, but the other customers, who obviously Starbucks value more than you, have spoken. You have worn out your welcome. Its a hard lesson to learn, but it must be learned.
Mark M.

@Jen
When did you first realize you had psychic powers and could read the minds of Starbucks executives? Who the hell are you to decide which customers are important or not? Because if you actually read the story, it sounds like just some particular store managers have decided they don’t like their customers.

I suspect that Starbucks management will be inviting them to leave once someone with some actual authority at Starbucks hears about this brilliant plan to get rid of their most reliable customers.
Dale Auburn

Except that they DON’T attract customers – the moochers DRIVE AWAY the paying customers by hogging all the table space.
Dale Auburn

@Mark M. “Who the hell are you to decide which customers are important or not?”

Starbucks has already decided that the “important” customers are the PAYING customers, the ones who actually SPEND MONEY. People who just walk in, sit down, and type at their computers for 8 hours (using Starbucks’ electricity for free) are NOT paying customers and should NOT be subsidized by anybody.

redfish

Staying when its getting crowded and people need seats is rude. Staying when nobody needs a seat is not rude at all. The management mainly cares if you’re taking something away from other customers.

However, I’m not even sure why anyone who doesn’t want to sit down for work, or some other long activity (like reading) or a conversation with friends wants to take a seat in a Starbucks anyway. If I have nothing to do in Starbucks, I just take the cup and go for a nice walk.
DaddyStarbucks

Ummm…just an aside: Starbucks ACTIVELY COURTED this audience for years. Why do you think they have stores with electric sockets every 4-6 feet?

10 years ago, someone sat in the offices of Starbucks and said, “You know, there are probably 8 million self-employed, telecommuting, work-from-home people that sit and work and drink coffee all day, and who would love to get out of the house for a few hours. How do we reach out to them?”

Happens all the time: Businesses achieve an objective, and find out that it presents a problem that they hadn’t anticipated. So, you adjust.

But, face it: The people on computers aren’t “losers.” The ones I know are productive, and are fueling the economy by actually doing something, even as we sit at Sbux. If anyone is a “loser,” it’s the 20-something meterosexuales who are sitting around texting each other at 2:30 pm instead of doing something productive.

caroline

LOL I’m so sick of the people too cheap to buy their own internet, so they crowd up the dunkin donuts. I’ll go with my kids, and it’s like study hall there. Starbucks is so packed, I don’t even go. Maybe they should give out individual passwords that give you a 30 minute wifi pass.

Russ

I think it’s time to show up at Dunkin Donuts with your family and a few extra kids, look around at all the spaces taken up by squatters, and announce loudly ‘We’ll have to go someplace else – ther’e noplace to sit here.’ And then leave.
Old_Timer

I think this would be an excellent idea. 30 Minutes exactly.

Jeff

They’re not called squatters they’re called laptop hobos.

vintageport

Nice…may I borrow that moniker?

Phillygal

Wow, yourmom, that Word of the Day Calendar is really working for ya!
http://monitortheflame.wordpress.com ecuamerican

I don’t understand. Aren’t the “regulars” in this piece actually the “squatters” who are also “customers”? Did CBS even interview these “squatters” and get their take? Shoddy piece all around.
Billy Collins

HAHA, leeches.
John

In London last summer, you had to buy a SB “gift card” to get the password. I thought that was common in the big city.
kingfish

Actually if Starbucks’ coffee was drinkable the customer would l drink it and leave instead of having to sit there for hours to get it down..

Jenniver

Ha ha ha. Very funny. Obviously the coffee is more than drinkable given the huge numbers of people who have been going there day in and day out for 40 years.

Taytay

I don’t think selling well is conclusive proof of quality… The White Stripes and Kesha sell records…
DaddyStarbucks

Yes, but quality is usually not they top strength of market leaders. It’s more about supply chain, finance, economies of scale, branding, etc., and meeting other customer needs. McDonalds, Dewars, Microsoft, Coke, Campbell’s,…. you could fill a book about market leaders who are not the “highest quality” at what they do.

Dave Thrush

I’m going there less and less anyway. The coffee is burned, half the time it’s cold, It’s way overpriced and the agenda of their corporation bothers me. I’ve found several better and cheaper coffee shops that don’t burn their beans until it tastes like cold mud.

Michael Smith

You know this is not true. Starbucks throws out the coffee and brews a new pot every half hour. That’s official company policy. Ask any barista.

The Reticulator

Being fresh doesn’t keep the beans from having been burnt way beyond any good roasting stage.

Dan

Simple Solution: Use your Mac Book Pro and surf/work for 7+ hours without an outlet.
Alejandro Gonzalez

If this becomes a policy for all stores, I hope another coffee shop starts to compete with Starbucks. The only reason I even go to Starbucks is to have a quiet space to work for like 4 hours. Although the one I go to isn’t that crowded and has plenty of space.

Melanie

You honestly cant find any other place to work besides mooching off of Starbucks?

symac

I guess some people never heard of the library
Mark M.

Why the hell should he have to find another place? Must everybody work as you do?

David

How about a library? Many have WiFi and computers
Talejandro

….and that’s why nobody likes you. In Spanish Alejandro means “selfish prick”.
Jazz

Oh good God, I’m sure some entrepreneur is just dying to open a store where you can sit for hours for free using their wifi and driving other customers away.

noname

i hate starbucks, i wish they would bankrupt

yourmom

What a puerile thing to say. How is life in the 5th grade? Still plugging along with your paper route?

WillD

Yes indeed, how puerile…(Now where is my monocle…)
Jack Meehoff

PUERILE!?! You just HAVE to be a DEMOCRAT. No one else in the world would use such a pedantic word.

How’s that vote for Obama working out for you, Sucker Mom?

Lain

Really? Do you realize how many people the SB corporation and all their chains employ?
Jody

Again…this is your brain on drugs

Clay

Covering their electrical outlets? What if you buy and drink coffee all day? This is what Starbucks is known for. As soon as they start kicking out the people that made them, it’s downhill from here.

Car Dude

This is going to be a major mistake. Some of their most loyal customers are the ones that set there for a few hours and buy many cups of that sludge. Often, Starbucks does not have enough seating regardless. This is a stupid move.

Mark M.

Absolutely. But I’m sure the “let’s grab a coffee and check our blackberry” dinosaurs that still roam the concrete canyons of NYC will like those emptied out stores until their shuttered. …and the clueless crowd will say: “Oh what a shame, I sure liked getting a latte”.

I’d be willing to bet that anybody that uses the internet to check their email for five minutes is wasting bandwidth. Don’t they have data plans for that?

Jazz

Jesus, you do realize you’re paying double the price for high speed internet in your home or apartment if you’re paying for just one cup of coffee a day at Starbucks so you can sit for hours on your laptop for “free,” right? GO HOME AND SPRING FOR THE DAMN HIGH SPPED INTERNET ALREADY.

Clay

Coffee at Starbucks starts at about $1. If you get the coffee with flavors it goes up. 99% of the time I work from my home office, the 1% of the time I “squat” and I buy stuff. Also, I don’t usually use the WIFI, I tether my smart phone because it is faster than the WIFI. What are you going to do now? No timeout on my internet, and I have backup batteries. Meanwhile, there are 14 people “squatting” reading the latest thriller novel, and drinking coffee.