11 hours ago
‘No hogging': Sydney cafe praised after bringing in strict laptop rule
A sign posted in a cafe in Sydney's lower North Shore directed at remote workers has sparked a major debate.
The sign, which was seen in a cafe in Crows Nest and shared by 2GB, states customers cannot conduct Zoom meetings or video calls in the cafe, nor can they 'hog tables' with their laptops.
'For other customers, working with laptop is limited (to) 1 hour from 10am,' the sign read.
2GB's Ben Fordham shared the story on air this morning, speaking to business owner Con Damouras for his take on the situation.
Mr Damouras, who runs Bar Italia in Leichhardt, said it was 'frustrating' when customers take up tables for hours working on their laptops.
'Once we came out of Covid, everyone just comes and sits in the cafe because most of them are working from home, and they take up tables,' he said.
'We've got a very large restaurant so it really doesn't bother us as much but when it starts to get busy and you have to ask them to move on they give you the dirtiest looks.'
Mr Damouras explained people who come into the venue to work also want to sit next to a wall so they can charge their laptop and even move tables around without asking.
The restaurant owner said he has no issue if people come in and spend money while they are there, but he has had cases where people have come in to work and not ordered anything.
'We had a guy, he came in the other day, he was on a two-hour Zoom meeting,' the business owner said, noting that he eventually had to ask him to move out the back.
'Is it wrong for me to do that? I don't really want to be rude to him,' Mr Damouras said.
Fordham immediately took the business owner's side, saying his venue is 'not an extension of their home'.
'They don't live there. It's your business,' the radio host said.
The photo of the sign has also been shared by Fordham on social media, generating a fiery online debate.
The majority of commenters were on the cafe's side and even praised the owner for cracking down on this increasingly common behaviour.
'Cafes rely on a rotation of customers when they eat in. I would make it 45 minutes from the time they get their food and or drink. Enough time to eat and drink. You want to study or work, go to a library or a park and sit for as long as you like,' one person said.
'I agree with owner. It is so annoying to be in a cafe and someone is yelling into their phone or laptop. They are taking up space of other paying customers. People have no boundaries these days,' another wrote.
One person stated that a cafe was 'not a surrogate office' and people who treat it like one were taking up tables other paying customers could be using.
Others claimed if people want to work from home then they should stay home and do just that.
One commenter added: 'I've watched 4 people take up 4 seats for a solid 90 with just 2 drinks ordered! No cafe can support that.'
However, there were still a few people who didn't agree with the cafe's approach.
One person claimed as long as the customer was buying coffee and food, then they should be able to 'stay as long as (they) need'.
'Buying a cup of coffee would cover a days worth of internet,' one person claimed, though others quickly pointed out the issue wasn't about internet usage.
Another person said they 'don't see the problem' and claimed they would lose customers over the stance.
'Soon you'll have to make an appointment for the toilet, talk about rules,' another added.
