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.

  • Etterra@discuss.online
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    14 hours ago

    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.

  • bitwolf@sh.itjust.works
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    23 hours ago

    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.

    • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
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      4 hours ago

      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.

    • LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      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.

    • COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
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      15 hours ago

      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.

    • Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 day ago

      Yeah. But now they don’t have any advantages over other cafés. Except the fact that their coffees basically double as a rich snack I guess.

      • Fisherman75@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        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.

  • ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 day ago

    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.

    • Papacito8400@lemmy.today
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      14 hours ago

      💯! 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.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      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.

      • Screamium@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        My local library also offers a thermal camera rental! I’ve borrowed one several times, it’s very useful!

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          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.

            • mipadaitu@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              There are several designs for (partially) 3d printed printers.

              The original RepRap was one, and Prusa printers have quite a few 3d printed components. Aside from the electronics, hot end, motors, screws, and aluminum frame, that’s entirely possible.

              Obviously that’s still a lot you need to buy, but probably over half the actual parts are printable.

              • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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                1 day ago

                As someone with only a casual interest in 3d printing, are the open source 3d printers worth the effort it takes to make them vs buying one?

                • mipadaitu@lemmy.world
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                  1 day ago

                  It’s like anything else. There are super high quality mass produced printers for like $200, so if you want to make some prints for the lowest cost possible, that’s the way to go.

                  If you want a hobby about learning and tweaking the printer itself, then yup, the open source printers are really good and fun to work with.

                  If you want to make super strong, high quality prints for prototyping, or industrial applications, then you’re probably going to need to get a serious, real manufactured printer.

                  The nice thing about 3d printing, is that there’s options for anyone’s interest level.

      • Papacito8400@lemmy.today
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        14 hours ago

        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.

        • CharmOffensive@lemm.ee
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          9 hours ago

          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.

          • Papacito8400@lemmy.today
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            2 hours ago

            Hopefully they have better parents that actually parent. If you ever get a chance to parent, then do you.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          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!

          • Papacito8400@lemmy.today
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            2 hours ago

            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.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          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.

          • Willy@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            Seems like a cool system but if your waiting for a copy of a new release they only have w5 copies of I can see not getting to read it for a very long time.

            • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              If I recall correctly (i.e., I’m talking out my ass), when people have late fees that continue to stack up, some percentage of people will decide to just stop using the library. This results in them keeping the books, and also removes them as customers. This ultimately costs the library more than they gain by having fees.

              Also, there’s the saying “a fine is a price”. The idea is that by having a late fee, people are okay paying the late fee. Shame is often stronger than modest fees.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              Most people are honest people. Especially people who use libraries. It’s just not a big problem as far as I know.

              Also, if you’re going to a library to get a book, you probably don’t want to keep the book.

              • Willy@sh.itjust.works
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                1 day ago

                Makes sense. I guess I’m one of the few who can never finish a book by the due date so I end up buying instead. Maybe I should just start returning those to the library cause I never read em again.

                Edit: huh. My library got rid of fees a few years ago. TIL.

            • expr@programming.dev
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              1 day ago

              We use the library a lot and honestly it’s just not an issue. People respect libraries and generally return books by the due date.

    • workerONE@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I love going to the library to panhandle and smoke. Librarians don’t mind, I always leave them a good tip.

    • Destide
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      1 day ago

      But I can’t talk about how cool my macbook is and the bootstrap code I just copy and pasted

  • foggy@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Targeting the growing homeless population. Don’t let it confuse you for anything else.

    • dutchkimble@lemy.lol
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      14 hours ago

      So before this rule homeless people in the US could sit in a starbucks all day everyday without ordering anything?

    • BothsidesistFraud@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Why would it possibly be on Starbucks to provide places for homeless people to hang out for hours. This should be a public function.

        • BothsidesistFraud@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          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.

          • BradleyUffner@lemmy.world
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            22 hours ago

            If seating isn’t at capacity, it doesn’t cost them anything additional to let someone sit down a bit to warm up.

            • BothsidesistFraud@lemmy.world
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              21 hours ago

              That’s true only if homeless people make zero noise, do not act or behave eccentrically, do not bother other customers, do not have offensive odors, immediately cede their seat to a customer who arrives, somehow don’t make through their presence prospective customers believe the shop is too crowded, etc. Do you think even actual customers who are not mentally disturbed or addicted can fulfill this bar you’ve set by saying “costs nothing”?

              Warming is a canard, every street homeless person can get warm at a church or shelter. In NYC you can 311 a city department and they’ll go offer the person a ride to a shelter anywhere in the city in a van. Their average time is <1 hour. They can walk into any library in the city.

              I encounter homeless every day and resent dumb online joke, these are individuals who have serious problems and, as stated, there is a reason even public services find it hard to serve these populations.

              There’s also a reason neither you nor I regularly invite street homeless into our homes.

              If you don’t like megacorp there are 1000 better ways you can argue it than saying “they should let homeless in to hang out”. Choosing the argument that you have chosen, just sounds ridiculous.

  • frunch@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    “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 🎉

    • BmeBenji@lemm.ee
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      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

    • ArtVandelay@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      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.

  • kirbowo808@kbin.melroy.org
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    1 day ago

    Well this gives me a good excuse to never go to Starbucks ever again (even though people shouldn’t be going to Starbucks anyway)

    • nomy@lemmy.zip
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      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.

  • bcgm3@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    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.

    • AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      It’s been awhile since I went to a library, but are there places for taking remote meetings to avoid disturbing others?

      • bcgm3@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        To add on to the other replies here, both of the two closest libraries to me have several small rooms for this as well.

      • BradleyUffner@lemmy.world
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        23 hours ago

        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.

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      I don’t work in coffee shops or even drink coffee. But I don’t believe that the star bucks that people work in are the road side ones. Surely those most be the ones that are in town.