Hanging out at Starbucks will cost you as company reverses its open-door policy
2 years ago by HellsBelle to c/news
If you want to hang out or use the restroom at Starbucks, you’re going to have to buy something.
Starbucks on Monday said it was reversing a policy that invited everyone into its stores. A new code of conduct – which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores – also bans discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping, drug use and panhandling.
Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the new rules are designed to help prioritize paying customers. Anderson said most other retailers already have similar rules.
And libraries are not just about books. This is a thread I made about the new library branch my wife oversaw the design of opening:
https://lemmy.world/post/21386043
The reason conservatives hate libraries is because everything in them is free. Many (like my wife's library system) do not even charge late fees anymore.
Many modern libraries also offer a ton of digital lending including ebooks, audiobooks and even streaming movies and TV.
Nice! Having the free 3D printer access has been really useful for us on more than one occasion. We have no need to purchase one, but maybe once every six months, we might need to replace a part to something we can just 3D print and it's been great.
You just have to slowly start printing all the pieces for your own Von Neumann probe printer
They do. But basically it triggers a series of nagging emails which eventually result in a final one saying that you either return the book or pay for the book if you wish to continue using library services. If I remember correctly, that takes about nine months. And they don't charge some outrageous price for the book either, they just charge what it would cost to replace it. They might not even do that because they might not actually want to replace it, but my wife has never actually told me that. I imagine that's the case though because they're constantly weeding out books that no one has taken a look at in 20 years in order to make room for new books.
I think they get annoyed when certain libraries get political and have displays featuring gender identity crises related books. I've seen it at my local library, and it's a bit much when I'm in there with my little 1st grader.
Better that they know about it at 6 than grow up feeling like they're broken inside and end up taking their own life at 16.
Hopefully they have better parents that actually parent. If you ever get a chance to parent, then do you.
Bro, the books aren't going to reach out and grab your kid. Your kids are probably not interested in it anyway. I'm more honestly worried that my kids are going to wander into the cringe fox news host books section, because the school has started programming their little brains about patriotism and such.
How does it harm your child in any way to see book covers about gender topics?
Also, never, ever take them into a bookstore if that sort of thing is too damaging for them. They might see something like this and be immediately corrupted! They put them right there out in the open on display!

The ones I've seen are designed like kids cereal boxes. This topic is so vogue and I'm not saying ban them. Just not have them displayed as a hot item. Mental illness affects more people than anything, I never see those books promoted as a hot item.
Romance love novels are hilarious, I'm sorry they affend you. I think they are kinda ridiculous. I never see those displayed as the hot item.
My wife and I are very affectionate and hold each other similar to this, so my kids see what love looks like.
That's a great idea!
💯! This will also improve society as a whole if people went to library more than coffee shops. We take are kids all the time, and they love books and excel in school.
Support
Local
Coffee
Shops
thanks.
I did a support call for a local coffee shop about a decade ago.
They had a separate WiFi router for guests. When they got a squatter they unplugged the guest WiFi if when they wanted him out.
They were in a very high traffic area and had minimal seating.
That requires you to be able to log into the router first. Most of the people working there don’t even know how to do that. (Even if it’s printed on the bottom)
my local coffee shops are not only cheaper, but better than the Starbucks, at least the ones downtown
better vibes and nicer staff too
Exactly. Fascism was here but all the billionaires are putting out their flags now.
Why would it possibly be on Starbucks to provide places for homeless people to hang out for hours. This should be a public function.
Yeah! Why should a business within a community do things that help support that community!
I know you're just circlejerking here so discussion is probably pointless, but there are many ways to serve the community and providing a quiet, nicely ambient place (aspirational goals, only met sometimes in reality) to sit or work for a few hours, for the price of a $3 coffee is one. I live in New York and for just over the price of a subway ride I can get wifi, a desk to work, outlets and a decently comfortable chair, and a restroom, and I can hang out there a while.
Serving the homeless in public places is notoriously difficult to get right, as most state and local governments experience demonstrates. Why we'd expect a cafe company to do a good job as well as meet its other goals is confusing.
If seating isn't at capacity, it doesn't cost them anything additional to let someone sit down a bit to warm up.
So before this rule homeless people in the US could sit in a starbucks all day everyday without ordering anything?
Sure, if you like burned coffee.
Just put ten parts milk in there with some sugar and you'll never know.
It's the consumption of an idea. There's very little in the way of substance at Starbucks. I achieved more than any Starbucks order by grinding my folgers classic roast just now while using an unbleached compostable coffee filter and having cleaned the coffee maker with all natural biodegradeable dish soap. Can't afford good coffee grounds right now, but recently I had 'Punk Goes The Bunny', Billie Joe Armstrong's (from Green Day) coffee brand.
But here I am wondering if I'm just consuming a bunch of ideas myself. Consuming the idea of Punk Rock for instance, or eco-friendliness, or health. But then I catch myself and say "Those are tangible benefits." Anything more likely to make me listen to The Clash is a positive, anything that's not gonna put bleach in my body, anything that's gonna be clean for making coffee but without such a residue of dangerous chemicals as is typical with cleaners, and anything to add to my compost.
I didn't follow all that, but the Clash is the only band that matters.
Hanging out in Libraries is free! I've gone in just for the AC.
"Hey, look at us--we're the new public hangout, everyone's invited"
Expands into an empire dotting the entire country
"Sorry poors--paying customers only, please."
Embrace, extend, extinguish all over again 🎉
If I remember correctly, this policy was introduced after they got flack because some employee called the cops on a black person who was just hanging out inside the store.
Turns out money is more important to them than the appearance of inclusion surprised pikachu face
Past: Person goes to Starbucks to hang out, ends up ordering coffee.
Present: Person isn't allowed to hang out in Starbucks, goes somewhere else.
Future: Starbucks backpedals in desperate attempt to win back customers.
Starbucks reverses its open-door policy, requiring people to make a purchase if they want to stay
The best thing I've seen in a coffee shop was a "Please no laptops" sign.
Its ridiculous how everyone just goes and works in coffee shops all day.
I understand buying a coffee, and working while you enjoy it. But once you're done, and your work is saved gtfo.
We need more third spaces.
People are also desperately lonely and isolated. They hang out in coffee shops just to have other living humans around them- even if they're not actively interacting.
We are all alone, together.
I troubleshoot a VPN connection for a man who does his work from a Dunkin at least once a week. He doesn't even drink coffee or eat donuts. He just hangs out there and works until his VPN breaks.
Starbucks coffee isn't even good anyway. But without more coworking spaces or some other alternative people like me will occasionally be forced to work from one for one reason or another. In the towns around military bases especially you frequently see spouses of those who work on base in Starbucks doing their remote work since it's the only possible place they can work from if they were staying in a hotel the night before.
meh, this one can die.
[flat] No, wait, come back.
Starbucks seems intent on showing itself the door. Hopefully when they're done, better, smaller coffee shops with no shareholder obligations will take their place
Well this gives me a good excuse to never go to Starbucks ever again (even though people shouldn’t be going to Starbucks anyway)
Most people near a Starbucks are near a better coffee shop or cafe that's independently owned.
Like russian nesting dolls. Just starbucks all the way down.
pushing my peepee into the miniature starbucks and peeing on the doll baristas 🤤🤤
u nasteh
Meh, the last time I've been in one was 2011. Too expensive for what it is, and plenty of other options in my city.
Yeah starbucks is a coffee shop for soccer moms and affluent suburbanites. There are a dozen better coffee shops that serve actual coffee for less AND you don't have to deal with Starbucks entitled customer base.
So what I'm hearing is people need to start pissing and shitting on the building itself.
I can piss and shit on Starbucks management by not going there - all doing it for real does is force some underpaid barista to have to go clean shit up, and management learns nothing.
You can do both. I never go to Starbucks but will gladly make a detour just to piss on the flowerbeds.
the employee having to clean up after you is most likely just trying to unionize and provide for their family.
My fiancee got a Starbucks gift card from work, so we stopped by the one nearest us. The drive-through wrapped all the way around the building, so we went inside. Inside, there was only one huge table, with only one spot with an electrical outlet, and the music and cafe atmosphere were so loud... I can't imagine anybody trying to bring a laptop and "work" there.
But if I did, I guess I'd buy a coffee? That seems fair. I definitely prefer my local library for remote working outside of the house, though.
It's been awhile since I went to a library, but are there places for taking remote meetings to avoid disturbing others?
Oftentimes, yes. Mine has a series of little rooms. They are often used by teens working on homework together.
Other than meeting rooms, I've seen some with the little privacy pods too.
My local one has 10 or so small rooms for maybe 3-4 people max, and 2 larger conference rooms that could easily hold 30+ people each. It's not even one of the bigger city libraries either. The ones down town have even more facilities.
I hope they can make their drinks even more expensive.
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@lemmy.world
Welcome to the News community!
Rules:
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Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.
Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.
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Quick reminder that your local library probably does not follow those rules. Go hang out at your local library instead! Depending on location/country they might have a café too.
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