Working on a laptop in a coffee shop

[Staples]

My brother in law made me listen to a podcast in which they interviewed some NFL player. They asked him whether he thinks someone is a douche if he brings a laptop to a coffee shop to do work. Not that I ever go to coffee shops but I picture these people in there for hours at a time doing who knows what as if they were homeless. I always thought this was yuppie BS and I'd definitely call these yuppies d-bags.

So I want to know, what compels these d-bag yuppies to do this? Are they homeless? Apparently they have enough money to afford a Macbook so I hardly believe they are homeless.

And the interviewee failed and gave the wrong answer to the question.

 

[lxskllr]

Maybe they just like a change of scenery. Watch people, drink coffee, and get some stuff done.

 

[NiceCold]

i go to my local cofffee shop and i can remember 2,3 faces in there all the time with their laptop.

they probly got no job.... fired from work benefit or something. lazy to find new job. hang around in coffee shop browsing internet around while seeing outside world instead of staying at home alone.

 

[zerocool84]

I remember driving down the street at probably 2am and saw a guy sitting outside a closed Starbucks on his computer. Obviously he was using the Internet and he was sitting outside on the concrete.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

My theory is that it's mostly about being seen outside at a cafe with a Macbook. I think it has shit all to do with coffee, and shit all with change of scenery - unless by scenery you mean people willing to admire you and chat you up because you have a Macbook.

 

[lxskllr]

unless by scenery you mean people willing to admire you and chat you up because you have a Macbook.

That wouldn't get much of a response from me. "Oh, a MacBook. That guy doesn't have much to offer. I think I'll go sit in my car" :^D

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

That wouldn't get much of a response from me. "Oh, a MacBook. That guy doesn't have much to offer. I think I'll go sit in my car" :^D

Maybe cause, you know, you're a guy, and he's a guy, and...?

 

[silverpig]

I used to do this in school all the time.

I could sit at home at my desk and do work (which I did), or I could go to a cafe, have lattes and pastries, look out the window, and enjoy the change of scenery.

It's just a different place to work.

 

[wiredspider]

Sometimes the internet is down or not yet setup at home, gotta go some place with free internets to get stuff done.

 

[destrekor]

Some of those type do freelance/creative work, or otherwise work from home, and coffee shops tend to be an office away from the office.

If I had that kind of job, I'd definitely do that every now and then.

 

[Kadarin]

I can do 100% of my job from a laptop at Starbucks if I wanted, and they provide free wifi, so I don't see a problem? My suggestion would be to find better things to complain about.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I remember driving down the street at probably 2am and saw a guy sitting outside a closed Starbucks on his computer. Obviously he was using the Internet and he was sitting outside on the concrete.

Smart.

 

[rh71]

I've considered it a few times as I work from home full time, but never actually got around to doing it. Not even at a McDonald's. Definitely for change of scenery. I'm not sure the VPN (to another VPN) would work though. It didn't at my library. It does at a couple car dealerships. I've worked from there for hours at a time.

 

[sunzt]

I've taken my schoolwork and laptop to coffee shops in college and even now. I mean if i'm working/studying, i don't always wanna be stuck in my home and lonely, without anything to sip on.

 

[Red Storm]

I used to take all my stuff and go to a Panera to study for finals (all the rooms at school were taken over by campers with sleeping bags). Too easy to get distracted at home and the setting helped. Note it never really got crowded at this particular Panera which is why I would go there. I would feel like a prick if I was hogging a four person booth on my own when other people actually needed seats.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I don't have an office, but I'm not always working from home, either. Coffee shops provide comfortable seating areas and free wifi. I can get drinks and snacks. Sometimes there are pretty girls that come and go. Why WOULDN'T I be there?

 

[Platypus]

We call the local coffee shops and big chain coffee shops around here 'the Apple store' because of all the people who sit in the windows with their little light up fruit pretending to be deep and important and wanting to be seen. They all look up in unison at you when you walk by. If you actually go in and look backwards, they're usually on facebook or grindr or some silly bullshit like that.

That isn't to say people don't legitimately work on stuff in a coffee shop, but those douchebags ruin the image for everyone.

 

[HN]

if you keep ordering coffee or whatever the place has, then a-ok. but if you're just sitting there taking up leeching and taking up space? that's douchy

 

[pelov]

Only in my most raggedy clothes and with my most expensive laptop.

 

[bigrash]

Why does it bother you that someone's using a macbook at a starbucks? Are they having sex with your sister while drinking coffee? That would explain it.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

We call the local coffee shops and big chain coffee shops around here 'the Apple store' because of all the people who sit in the windows with their little light up fruit pretending to be deep and important and wanting to be seen. They all look up in unison at you when you walk by. If you actually go in and look backwards, they're usually on facebook or grindr or some silly bullshit like that.

That isn't to say people don't legitimately work on stuff in a coffee shop, but those douchebags ruin the image for everyone.

I can attest that there is significant truth to the stereotype.

 

[Saint Nick]

Why are you all so concerned with what others are doing? I love hanging out in coffee shops

 

[AMDZen]

You sit there and capture CC information, bank account details, and other stuff as useless yupps and their macbooks transmit it all through the air on an unsecured network

 

[Arkitech]

You sit there and capture CC information, bank account details, and other stuff as useless yupps and their macbooks transmit it all through the air on an unsecured network

lol

 

[PowerYoga]

It's a refreshing change of scenery. I do it once every few months just to get out of the home office.