Comment by bombcar
7 months ago
It really depends if it’s “rent seeking” - getting money from people occupying seats that would normally be empty (no revenue loss) or if it’s encouraging people to “pay what’s being lost” - the laptop campers are using seats that are causing other people to NOT buy coffee.
If it’s the latter, it’s not really rent seeking as much as trying to enforce an existing social contract.
I've never mot bought a coffee somewhere because there were people using a laptop. If the seats are full I still buy my coffee and go sit on a bench nearby.
It's not cut and dry, someone using a laptop doesn't reduce the spending of others. It's not a formal restaurant where you need the table to make the sale.