Stop hogging tables, cafes tell remote workers

Alex Middleton manages The Collective coffee shop in Caversham

Two coffee shops have introduced policies aimed at stopping remote workers from "hogging" tables and limiting turnover.

The Collective, in Caversham, no longer allows the use of laptops between 11:30 and 13:30 BST on weekdays - with the devices completely banned at weekends.

Manager Alex Middleton said the policy was about finding a "balance", where it "doesn't compromise us losing money".

Newbury-based coffee shop Milk and Bean has also implemented similar policies in hope of boosting turnover.

The cafe recently introduced measures capping laptop use to an hour on weekdays, and completely banning their use on weekends.

The Collective's laptop policy is visible on every table

Milk and Bean owner Chris Chaplin told the BBC: "Having [people using] laptops isn't really ideal - it does mean a lower turnover and quite a low spend compared to people that aren't on laptops.

"It also brings the vibe of the place down with people on laptops.

"On one hand, we rely on them for revenue, but on the other hand, they've got to be reasonable and have some self awareness."

Mr Middleton echoed the sentiments: "We are a small independent business, so we need to keep those tables busy and turned around - we can't have people hogging the table and we don't want to disrespect people that come in with laptops either."

The coffee shop is in Caversham, Berkshire

He said that people coming in with laptops often had "quite a low spend", but would sit at tables for "quite a long time".

Since the Covid pandemic, many people who work from home have adopted coffee shops as their second offices - saving them money on energy and wi-fi, while enabling them to work in a social environment.

The reaction from customers to The Collective's laptop policy "really varies", Mr Middleton said.

"We're quite lucky that a lot of our customers are returning customers that come in quite often - so they respect the policy, but then you will get people that get a little bit antsy about it," he said.

Mr Chaplin added that it was "one of those awkward conversations", but added that he often had "no choice" but to tell customers to stop using their laptops.