Starbucks has announced that it is reversing its rule that allowed people to hang round in cafés in the United States even if they’d not bought anything. From 27 January, Americans will have to buy something or leave. Some people think that’s a bit harsh but it doesn’t go far enough: there are also plenty of paying customers that should be simply banned from cafés everywhere.
The first to be shown the door should be remote workers who rock up in the morning with their laptops, order a small coffee, grab the best table and jealously hog it all day long, nursing their solitary flat white and treating the place like their own personal office space.
They use the electricity, the wi-fi and the heating. They tap away at their keyboards, update their spreadsheets and then pace up and down as they make loud, self-satisfied work calls about ‘circling back’ and ‘getting our ducks in a row’.
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