Читать книгу Start & Run a Coffee Bar - Tom Matzen - Страница 46

In today’s competitive marketplace, we believe it is important to have free wireless internet. If you are not offering it, you may lose customers to the coffee bar down the street that is. Free Wi-Fi also encourages longer visits with an associated increased average expenditure per customer (in theory). The argument against encouraging longer visits is that a table is being taken up by say, a single individual who slowly sips on a single cup of $3 gourmet coffee versus that same table generating more income with a party of four who is interested in lunches and specialty coffees at $13 per person.

Generally though, a busy establishment attracts more customers and more customers generally mean more sales. Think of the last time you ate at a busy restaurant, maybe even waiting in line to get in. Isn’t the hidden message along these lines: “if the place is this busy, the food must be really good!” Now think of a time when you have been the only guest at a very quiet restaurant. Did you not wonder if maybe everyone knew something you didn’t? That maybe the food was bad or the restaurant had had some bad press? Same thing with a coffee bar. If people walk by and see lots of customers, they assume that it must be a great place!