Bengaluru cafe owner struggles as customers occupy tables for hours over single coffee order
A business owner in Indiranagar faces lost revenue when customers use laptops for long periods after buying one beverage.
A cafe owner in Bengaluru's Indiranagar is facing business challenges due to customers occupying tables for long periods after ordering a single beverage, according to reports by Times of India, News18 and Moneycontrol.
X user Vikramaditya Shukla shared that a school friend, who invested between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 70 lakh to set up the cafe, is struggling with customers who order one Rs 150 coffee and then use laptops for several hours or the entire day.
Shukla noted that when the cafe is full of long-staying customers, new visitors often walk in, see no available seats, and leave without ordering. He said the owner is reluctant to ask customers to leave because a single negative Google review could damage the establishment's reputation.
The situation has prompted Shukla to suggest that the higher prices at chains like Starbucks, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) and Third Wave Coffee may account for customers paying to rent a seat alongside their drinks.
Following the post, internet users suggested various solutions, such as requiring one coffee purchase for every hour spent, charging an hourly fee, or implementing laptop-free periods during evenings and weekends.
Other suggestions included displaying no-laptop signs or linking permitted stay durations to the total amount spent on a bill.