
Starbucks creates policy on non-paying guests - bkohlmann
https://www.wsj.com/articles/starbucks-creates-policy-on-nonpaying-guests-1526745600
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yroc92
In my local college town, there was a trendy cafe/restaurant in the middle of
the newest, hottest apartment complex. They were so desperate for customers,
it was almost palpable. They would badger you about their latest deals if you
sat in there. There was tons of space for hanging out, but it was always
vacant.

Fast forward to after a new business moved in (a trendy soda shop). They
encouraged people to hang out there with game nights, open mic, etc. Suddenly
the same location with the same design was the coolest place in town and
always packed with paying customers.

I'm not sure why everyone wouldn't think this is the best route, especially at
an eatery.

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legostormtroopr
This can work the other way though. There was a bar near me that ran weekly
trivia with a different host each week of the month. One host would hold the
“needy trivia” which was fun and always very well attended, to the point the
bar was packed with nerdy folks. Except nerdy folks aren’t the biggest
drinkers, most just had water or nothing at all so despite its popularity it
was bad for business.

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Itaxpica
There’s a bar near an old apartment of mine that started as a steampunk bar
but pivoted in to a more generic sci-fi themed nerd bar (though it kept a lot
of the original steampunk fixtures). I asked the bartender about it once, and
he basically said “it turns out that steampunk people don’t really drink much,
but sci-fi nerds drink like fish, especially if the cocktails are themed”

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JJMcJ
Not SBUX but notice how most fast food outlets are designed so someone can
slip in use the restroom and leave with minimum disruption of the in-store
diners or the ordering lines.

I'm sure this is intentional.

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Canada
I've spent so much money at Starbucks that I feel perfectly entitled to use
any of their stores for whatever at any time. I don't think my Starbucks
spending has been less than a couple hundred bucks annually for 20 years, and
usually it's a lot higher than that. I am a customer, regardless of whether or
not I buy anything at a particular store at a particular time.

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eudora
I assume no one read this since it's behind a pay wall

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Digory
The policy is “everyone is a customer.”

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meesterdude
that's a really great policy and a great communication of priorities.

Something every company should adhere more to. Treat everyone like they're
your customer; customer or not.

