General complaint: people are THE WORST

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Like most of us in the city or populated suburbs, I live near a bunch of Starbucks and every one of them is always full of people on their bulls***. It’s not a place to study or do work anymore. Maybe it used to be but not since at least 2015 if not earlier. It’s full of loud talking people, usually on the phone. Sketchy business meetings for what sounds like MLM’s or sketchy financial services. People asking for cash. I’ve seen the prayer meetings and relatively large meetings of political/civic groups in very small Starbucks locations, taking up nearly every table in the place. That drives me particularly up the wall because I’m in the suburbs and Panera and Wegmans with the tables/seating areas are close by and much larger. And honestly probably quieter. I’d sooner take my laptop to the buffet seating areas at Wegmans or Whole Foods at this point vs. a cramped Starbucks with people on their worst behavior.

Dude - it’s a Starbucks not a library. Try the library or pay for a space if you want a space that is exactly as you want it.

Dude. It’s a public space and nobody wants to hear your shouted phone conversations or your blaring videos without headphones like a spoiled two-year-old. Take that crap and go home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Like most of us in the city or populated suburbs, I live near a bunch of Starbucks and every one of them is always full of people on their bulls***. It’s not a place to study or do work anymore. Maybe it used to be but not since at least 2015 if not earlier. It’s full of loud talking people, usually on the phone. Sketchy business meetings for what sounds like MLM’s or sketchy financial services. People asking for cash. I’ve seen the prayer meetings and relatively large meetings of political/civic groups in very small Starbucks locations, taking up nearly every table in the place. That drives me particularly up the wall because I’m in the suburbs and Panera and Wegmans with the tables/seating areas are close by and much larger. And honestly probably quieter. I’d sooner take my laptop to the buffet seating areas at Wegmans or Whole Foods at this point vs. a cramped Starbucks with people on their worst behavior.

Dude - it’s a Starbucks not a library. Try the library or pay for a space if you want a space that is exactly as you want it.

OP here and people will do this sort of thing at the library too. I know several public librarians and dealing with rude, entitled, hostile people is like 90% of their job. It sucks.

DP here. People of all types need to stop taking up tables for lengthy, unreasonable periods, point blank.

This. One drink at Starbucks should get you a table for an hour, tops. 30 minutes if it’s busy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see what the problem is. It's a coffee shop, not your personal work space.

Found the rude person! (well, one of them)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Like most of us in the city or populated suburbs, I live near a bunch of Starbucks and every one of them is always full of people on their bulls***. It’s not a place to study or do work anymore. Maybe it used to be but not since at least 2015 if not earlier. It’s full of loud talking people, usually on the phone. Sketchy business meetings for what sounds like MLM’s or sketchy financial services. People asking for cash. I’ve seen the prayer meetings and relatively large meetings of political/civic groups in very small Starbucks locations, taking up nearly every table in the place. That drives me particularly up the wall because I’m in the suburbs and Panera and Wegmans with the tables/seating areas are close by and much larger. And honestly probably quieter. I’d sooner take my laptop to the buffet seating areas at Wegmans or Whole Foods at this point vs. a cramped Starbucks with people on their worst behavior.

Dude - it’s a Starbucks not a library. Try the library or pay for a space if you want a space that is exactly as you want it.

OP here and people will do this sort of thing at the library too. I know several public librarians and dealing with rude, entitled, hostile people is like 90% of their job. It sucks.

DP here. People of all types need to stop taking up tables for lengthy, unreasonable periods, point blank.

"Loitering" laws and rules used to be enforced against things like this, but they can't anymore.

Some of it really is wokeness run amok. Ten years ago there was not this expectation that you could just walk into a coffee shop and sit at a table and not buy anything and be rude to other people. I mean, people still did it, but there wasn't an expectation. Now, it is Starbucks stated policy that anyone can do that, and use their bathroom and wifi, and they won't kick you out. Which actually sucks for everyone who works there and all the paying customers, but we've collectively decided anything else is morally wrong. It's... weird.

Define “wokeness”.

I'm specifically talking about "wokeness run amok" which I would define as eliminating rules or boundaries that serve a social good because of the *perception* of unfairness to marginalized groups, even when that unfairness doesn't actually exist or can be better addressed another way. In this case, we've basically ruined what used to be a third space shared by many people and made it a space that serves one purpose, poorly. That doesn't make sense.

Look, I think Bari Weiss is a hack grifter too, but that doesn't mean that we can't call out stupidity when it happens.

Like gun control?

Like gun control in what way? Yes, I think getting rid of gun control because of a perceived unfairness to, uh, people who love guns is a bad idea. I'm a big fan of gun control and a big hater of guns. But I wouldn't call that "wokeness run amok" because the people who oppose gun control don't describe themselves as woke. So it's a weird analogy to make.

I think it's interesting that you keep responding to me with the assumption that I'm some conservative troll, when I'm actually a progressive. I'm "woke" so to speak. But that doesn't mean I can't criticize when fellow progressive do things that actively make the world worse, in the name of progressive values. Doing so doesn't magically make me MAGA. I'm a person with a brain and a thoughtful approach to politics and social issues, and I'm not just going to parrot a party line on anything without thinking it through. So it's weird that your talking to me like I'm a dumb conservative you can trick or expose, and to be honest it makes you seem kind of dumb.

Because intelligent progressives don’t use the word “woke.” That’s RW propaganda nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see what the problem is. It's a coffee shop, not your personal work space.

It's also not a personal jam space for someone to blast their music or a personal meeting space for someone to have their prayer group conference call.

Working quietly on your computer in a coffee shop bothers exactly no one. If you purchase coffee or food from the shop, it even benefits the shop, which is why coffee shops provide seating and wifi for people to work.

Whereas playing your music loudly in a place that likely already has music on, or taking a conference call without headphones near multiple other people, and then asking one of those people to buy your coffee, is rude and inconvenient, likely bothers multiple customers as well as people who work there, and if you aren't even purchasing anything, has zero benefit to the business.

If you don't understand the difference between these activities, I don't know what to tell you.

I'm sure the coffee shop's owners would prefer you bought coffee for the woman, which would increase their business. You just want to take their wifi and not give anything back. That's the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see what the problem is. It's a coffee shop, not your personal work space.

I mean under that logic who cares if people watch porn, pick their nose, beg for money, etc. because it’s not a private space.

Exactly. I don't care.

Some of us care and we think people like you are awful, though.

But - those people who act like animals do it because they are trying to get a rise out of you. BIL is one of those. I pretend I don't see most of the sh*t he pulls.

Exactly. It’s immature attention seeking. They hate it when they don’t get the reactions they’re trolling for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's just because it's Monday, maybe it's because I went to work at a coffee shop this morning and within five minutes a guy came down to sit next to me who was playing house music on an iPhone without headphones, and then a woman came to sit on my other side and joined an evangelical prayer circle on speaker phone and then paused to to ask me if I'd buy her a coffee because she forgot her wallet.

Hell, truly, is other people.

Feel free to explain how terrible people are here. I will validate ALL your complaints.

Maybe you need a new job? Being a barista means having to deal with all sorts of customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Like most of us in the city or populated suburbs, I live near a bunch of Starbucks and every one of them is always full of people on their bulls***. It’s not a place to study or do work anymore. Maybe it used to be but not since at least 2015 if not earlier. It’s full of loud talking people, usually on the phone. Sketchy business meetings for what sounds like MLM’s or sketchy financial services. People asking for cash. I’ve seen the prayer meetings and relatively large meetings of political/civic groups in very small Starbucks locations, taking up nearly every table in the place. That drives me particularly up the wall because I’m in the suburbs and Panera and Wegmans with the tables/seating areas are close by and much larger. And honestly probably quieter. I’d sooner take my laptop to the buffet seating areas at Wegmans or Whole Foods at this point vs. a cramped Starbucks with people on their worst behavior.

Dude - it’s a Starbucks not a library. Try the library or pay for a space if you want a space that is exactly as you want it.

Dude. It’s a public space and nobody wants to hear your shouted phone conversations or your blaring videos without headphones like a spoiled two-year-old. Take that crap and go home.

You can only speak for yourself. You don't know what other people need or don't need, and it's pretty rude of you to rob them of their agency to determine that for themselves. I don't normally play videos out loud in a public space, but if I see a funny one, I'll share it. You never know who needs cheering up.