Coffee Shop Etiquette Made Easy

What is coffee shop etiquette? Actually, it involves mostly those people who take advantage of the free WiFi in the store. These ideas for etiquette in coffee shops will protect you from being that guy that left the cubicle and set up shop in the local coffee store. 

Coffee Shop Etiquette Tips

There are unwritten rules about how to act in a coffee shop. With all of the people that now telecommute to work, people that attend coffee shops (as their office) are on the rise. Unfortunately, they don't all have the best sense of etiquette and think of others. 

With that idea in mind, there are several principles that you want to keep in mind.

First of all, make sure that you make a purchase at the coffee shop. They are not a non-profit business. They expect to make a money from their patrons. They are not providing you with free WiFi for you to run your business. They do it as a way of attracting customers. If you are not buying anything, then you are not a customer and do not belong there. 

Along with purchasing something, you should also tip the people that work there. These are the people running the establishment. You want them to be excited to see you. It will be a miserable time if you frequent that coffee shop and the staff hates you because you stiffed them on the tip last time. Proper coffee shop manners requires that you treat the employees well. 

Be conscientious about your power cord. If you have to plug your laptop into an outlet and the cord is in the way, you are quickly going to be the store's enemy. Your electronics should not be a potential liability for someone to trip over. Your electronic as a battery for a reason. Use it to show proper coffee shop etiquette and avoid people tripping over it. 

Along that same thought, do not hog the power outlet. If there are other people in the store that need to plug in their electronics, you will make a lot of friends and acquaintances if you are thoughtful about the needs of the others. 

Remember that this is not your personal office. What I mean by that is do not set up shop as if you are in your office. If you bring your printer, scanner, full keyboard, and other peripherals, then you know you have gone too far. Trust me, you do not want to be that guy...

The whole point of coffee shop etiquette is to be thoughtful and polite to the staff, and the other patrons that visit the establishment. If you do this the right way, people will treat you like Norm from the TV show Cheers where they are happy to see you.