The Perils of the Noisy Cafe

So you think you can lounge around in that cafe for three hours sucking on a single coffee and free wifi? Those days may be coming to an end! According to this article posted on 7 News, it appears that in the UK, cafe owners have had enough.

Photo by Caleb Minear on Unsplash

What this new type of cafe does is charge you for the time you are there vs the cost of the food you purchase on arrival.  Not a bad idea for those who simply find working from home too difficult. Does it still solve the problems of working in a co-working space often present though?

Many people interested in SpacetoCo have had it with the culture that comes with sitting at the cafe to get stuff done. Here are a few issues:

1. It is loud. Very loud. In fact, if you have any difficulty concentrating at all while working, a cafe is going to be the opposite of what you need for silence. Your headphones can only cancel out so much, even if they are noise cancelling.
2. Power points (outlets for our American folks are at a premium. Anyone who has awkwardly scoured the walls at a cafe knows that it looks creepy and simply isn’t sustainable for keeping your device juiced up all day long.
3. The coffee isn’t all that good. Often a cafe is really great with ambience, or coffee; but rarely are they good at both. It is a hard swig of coffee for the price of your seat.  Shouldn’t it be perfect if you have paid for it?
4. Free WiFi is slow…  almost always. Want to have a facetime conference? You are muted when not talking because of the noise and choppy because of the speeds.
5. It simply isn’t private enough! You cannot hire, fire or have sensitive phone calls in a public cafe. So what does this mean? Talk loudly and annoy those around you or step outside and leaving your computer to fend for itself on the table until you return. In some neighbourhoods, this is definitely not recommended.  

The simple fact is, if you need a space for working, even a timed cafe environment isn’t ideal for really getting things done properly.  In the news article, you can see small children and a variety of non-business related things happening at this new style of cafe.  

At the end of the day, what you should be doing is searching for a space that is right for you. If you want to collaborate, pick that type of space. If you want to interview, pick the right space. If you want to simply get emailing, pick the right space. SpacetoCo offers you a variety of local solutions that can suit your purpose to a tee.