Thursday, July 15, 2010

Rantings:

coffee shops should realize that allowing their customers to indefinitely occupy tables to study, read while only consuming minimally can only lead to lost sales opportunities. they should use revenue per table per hour as a reference indicator. P150 beverage over two tables over 2 hours is only equivalent P37.50 per table-hour. A customer who consumes the same amount of P150 staying in one table for only an hour is P150 per table-hour. table turn-over is critical especially during peak hours.

i sometimes see one customer occupying not just one table and one chair but more. all the while working on their assignments, reading their papers consuming one beverage worth P150. Some of them even have the audacity to actually LEAVE their stuff and go eat somewhere else! all the while, that table or two remains idle, not earning any revenue.

i can not fault customers for doing so. Customers will feel entitled to it. And really, there is an abundance of inconsideration anyway. So it boils down to how coffee shops do something about it.

my suggestion: identify peak hours. inform customers through posters that during peak hours, that they reserve the right to optimize occupancy and seating. ask the guard to monitor utilization and duration. if possible, actively ask customers if they want to order again so they will feel some discomfort at having consumed so little.

oo, naiinis ako. kahapon lang, nasa coffee bean ako. at talaga naman nakakalat ang mga ganyan customers na tig-iisa ang kanilang hawak na kape, mga naka laptop at dalawang tables, apat na chairs ang okyupado. at ako naman, nakatayo naghahanap ng kakainan ng aking salad at muffin, na may kape, walang maupuan. at may tatlong lamesa na walang tao, puro gamit lang ang iniwan. ang isang barista, ginawan niya ng paraan at kinuha ang lamesang isa para ibigay sa akin. inilipat ang mga gamit dahil magkakasama naman raw sila. at nung dumating ang dalawang taong yun na gumamit ng tatlong mesa at 4 na silya, , patapos ng 15 minuto, sila pa ang may ganang magalit sa barista. di na lang ako nakialam. di naman ako ang inaaway nila, yung barista
.

11 comments:

Ming Meows said...

nakakaloka. may krisis pala dyan sa espasyo. samantalang dito sa bohol, halos lahat ng coffee shops parang holiday.

Anonymous said...

di lang sa coffee shop bad trip yan, yung mga tao who occupy spaces much more than what they need - couples sitting on booths good for 4 people, nagiisa pero bag nakaupo rin at paghiningi mo yung chair nakasimangot, sorry, nakisali ako sa rantings mo,

Unknown said...

I'm guilty. Hehe. Pero di naman ako nagsstay pa pag ubos na order ko. At tska pag pansin kong madaming customers, di na ko nagpapatagal pa. Pero pag konti lang, ayun. Hehe.

First timer here sa blog mo. :)

closet case said...

@ming meows thats funny. hahaha

@stepfordboy by all means. join me bitch about these people. haha

@pipo we are all a tad guilty. but you show consideration. im sure they actually welcome people who just hang around during off-hours. thanks for visiting the blog!

Anonymous said...

sadly civility is still lacking in this country. it is disappointing because these are mostly young people in university. what are they learning in school? they really should teach civics to everyone in school.

somelostboy said...

This is funny since I study a lot in coffee shops and I had the same experience a lot of times.

I am not against studying and staying there for hours, but yes, respect. Nakakairita yung mga taong iisa lang ang inoorder, tapos mas matagal pa sayo.

spaquarium said...

You were too nice. I would have given those two an earful (also to backup what the barista did, now the barista might hesitate to help a customer such as you).

I use to just be frustrated about this when this happens to me, but these days I just go up to these people and move their stuff. Library this isn't.

serial said...

hmmm. This is hard to comment on.

If its a full house, i actually search for a spot FIRST before even ordering. This eliminates the "standing there with food on hand moment".

I think the amount spent by one does not dictate the length of stay one is entitled to. I bought my food, you bought yours.... Then we are both customers. If i have to leave coz I can only afford a cup then the scene just became descriminatory.

I am based in the US and theres people who stay in the cafes for a long time and its ok. There is no big deal.

If when you walk in a cafe and theres too many people, why even bother ordering?

JohnM said...

@Serial

Dude, you're talking about it being a "no biggie" in the US, pero we're talking about a coffee shop scenario here in the Philippines. I'm sure all of us were raised by our Filipino parents to be mindful of others esp in situations like this. In other words, we were raised up na matutong mahiya. Weren't you reared this way? Well I was; and so is Sir CC, so are others here. Even if CBTL, Starbucks, etc are very American, that doesn't mean we can throw away our Filipinos values while inside the premises of these stores.
Nakita mo na pala na may taong nakatayo na may food on both hands, vainly searching for a seat, and you had 2 tables and more seats than you need, di mo pa ba i-ooffer yun?
I think someone here needs to get in touch with some very basic Filipino values. And oh, why do I sniff a gust of vile colonial mentality in the air?

ethan h said...

Being from the food service industry, I can add.

For fast food joints, part of the business model is what is called turnover. This is the average times a table is used in one day. How many turnovers did you make today? What is your target turnovers per day? It is a measure of efficiency of store space. If your turnover is low, then it may worth considering downsizing your store and eliminating tables. You lower your overall rent and you need less people to man a smaller space. You make better profit. Of course, they can also work at increasing their sales.

This is also one reason why some fast foods prefer not to make their places too comfortable that people will want to stay. Note too that Jollibee has not installed wifi in their stores while McDo has all their stores wired (this is an observation and not a confirmed fact).

But that is for fast food. In the era of the coffee shop, the opposite is true. Starbucks and others have designed their places for people to stay. The comfortable sofas, the slow or soft music, the dim lighting, the wifi are all intentional to make people stay or hang out. They study, have a meeting, or read a book or newspaper, for what else is paired with drinking coffee but to relax, to read the morning paper or a book, to study, to bond, to electronically connect. I was at a popular coffee shop sometime ago and saw a group of six having bible study. So, the business model for the coffee shop is not the same for fast food. Coffee shop personnel will not make their customers uncomfortable by asking them if they want to order again. Moving the books without asking first is also bad service. Leaving their stuff and going somewhere else is also not right. It is selfish.

What I have done when I find no table available is ask someone I think is alone if I could sit with him/her. Nice if the guy is cute.

If the table has no people but only stuff, I ask the guard if the people who own the stuff have left the store or are just catching up on yosi outside. If they've left, then I take the chair and sit. Okay lang if I just have a frap on hand.

serial said...

@JohnM:

Yes, I was raised with the concept of Hiya. Thank you.

What i'm pointing out is that you would not have been standing with a frap on hand if you assessed the place first. We are makers of our own destiny! LOL
You should ask yourself everytime you enter a cafe: Is there a table with a free seat available? If yes, then by all means grab it or save it! Simple assessment that can free you from getting aggravated and getting mad at the people who just got there first.

Theres a shitload of cafes, do u really have to be in that one? Or is this the Filipino mentality of this cafe is more sosyal?:P

Theres the value of Hiya, theres also a value of tolerance and of Assessment:)