At a breakfast meeting a few days back I took some time out to ask myself what this coffee shop was actually selling (which is a question I ask myself of other entities as well). With this particular shop were they selling coffee or a meeting place? A quiet contemplation space? A relaxing place to hangout? A tribal space with which people wanted to associate? How did it differ to a convenient coffee hit such as that offered by a coffee cart?
Depending on where operators see themselves would depend on the look, feel and experience they offer. Hard seats if a meeting place or comfy couches if a chill out relaxing place? And if comfy couches how will they increase the spend of people who will be taking up space for extended periods of time? Ahh .. gotta love questions that we ask of our environment … one of the many ways we can increase the value offered by the everyday.
A cafe in London has started charging by the minute to be there instead of for the food, coffee, or wifi: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25733143. They’ve certainly asked what people are actually paying for, but I’m not sure their solution is right. I see the coffees I buy in a cafe as a kind of table-rent, in return for thinking time away from my desk. The moment the time itself is being charged, that pressure cuts right through my thinking.
I’m the same with cafe’s in that apart from the social aspect when I’m with others, i also enjoy cafes alone as my relaxing zone … to observe the happenings and goings on and engage in some thinking and doodling time. I just checked out the website and it’s around $3AUD/hr which is not bad as an average coffee in Australia is around $3.50 and you usually drink it within the hour. And with this cafe you get the drinks and food for free in lieu of paying for being there … if you were a fast eater and drinker you’d get some value from the place (but then you probably couldn’t get up from the seat). Some places work on the subconscious ambience to make the place less desirable for extended periods – would be interested to see how this goes as they try this business model in London after being quite popular in Russia. You mention that they’ve asked people what they’re paying for so assuming this better business model is not just for the business but also the customer such as yourself.