Ok, perhaps I wasn't clear enough. We were constantly going up to the counter and getting more coffee and drinks. I had just finished a huge cup and was ready to get another, my friend had just sat down not 5-10 minutes prior with a fresh cup as well. This wasnt a case of go in, order one small black coffee and never get anything else. We were buying the higher priced coffees and one of us got food.

I can see both sides of the situation, and I understand others were looking for a seat apparently. But I was just surpirsed they came and asked us, whose table was full of cups and a plate and not one of the other tables of people who had purchased little or nothing. We were constantly buying and tipping. It was a Borders coffee shop as well, if that makes a difference in anyone's opinion.

We have a 24/7 coffee shop in the small town where I live. Before it was pretty much, as much coffee as you want, for however long as you wanted. I've spend all night in there many atimes drinking countless amounts of coffee and having some of the best talks i've ever had with people.

Recently they've cut it to 30 minutes for coffee drinkers. I don't know what to do with myself anymore.

I've heard of getting kicked out of an all you can eat buffet but never anyone being kicked out coffee shop. I think if they have a policy that says no all day squatting then you are S.O.L. I can see their side of it ... I mean come on!! If there is a crowd and you are taking up a whole table then jeeeeze oh you rude rotten bastard move along! Move along there Mussolini ... they're not selling Italian coffee there now are they :D:D:D

It was Borders? :eek: I see people studying in there...for quite a long time...ALL the time. Yeesh.

When I go to Denny's and know that I'll be there awhile, I ALWAYS ask first and I've never been told 'no'. Usually they set me off somewhere away from the busy areas, but that's just fine for me.

I also TIP WELL, because these people are there to make a living, not to serve me coffee for 5 hours to get a dollar tip.

At McDonalds, I will stay as long as it looks like I'm not taking away a table from other customers, and likewise, I've never been asked to leave.

So some common sense goes a long ways.

If you're still buying food there's no reason you should get kicked out. I haven't ever been kicked out. I have however left when things got busy. If it was so busy that people were waiting for tables were you really able to study well?? Myself - I'm too distracted. A busy shop meant that I wasn't able to study.

I think it was rude that they told you to leave.

IF you still have your receipts I would make copies of all of them and then go speak personally to a manager. Explain the situation and then ask him how he would like you to handle things in the future as you enjoy the shop. Ask him if he really thinks that 4 hours, while STILL buying products, is unreasonable. I have a feeling you might make a friend if you go to the manager in that way and you won't get kicked out again. If he gets upset with you - I personally would find a different place to study and get my coffee.

I've never been asked to leave but I don't recall ever sitting around in a coffee shop,cafe, book store or any place other than a library for hours at a time. Maybe I have more stuff to do than other folks....wait...I take that back...there was one time I was on a first date about 2-3 years back my date and I went to this little hole in the wall burger joint and stayed in there for like 2 hours talking but it looked like they were happy just to have customers.

But can you folks explain something to me...why do college students loiter at coffee houses to study anyway? I mean serious studying and not grab ass "Hey look at us we are college kids studying and drinking coffee...well mostly drinking coffee and reliving our own episode of Friends." Are the libraries on campus always full or something?

I personally think it is wrong to assume that a place of business should provide you with a place to study. Go to the library if you do not like the way coffee shops treat you.

I would have kicked you out as well if I needed the table & you were not still buying food/coffee.

I would have told him to go get me another cup of hot chocolate (i dont drink coffee heh) and put a rush on it!!!

For me, it could go either way I guess. I can see both of your sides of the story.

The general rule I use is this...
If the coffee shop is not busy, I stay as long as I like.. sometimes as much as 3 hours. If they are busy, I usually will not stay longer than 30-45 minutes.

There is a local coffee and bagel shop with a wireless internet connection that I visit quite frequently. I am there a lot, and the employees know me from being there, so they usually don't give me much hassle. I try to stay away during busy times so that I can come in, give them some business, and stay as long as I want. If I've been there more than 30 or 40 minutes and they get busy, I leave...

i work in a coffee shop and i have only asked one specific group of people to leave and i have done so repetatively. were right next to a grade school so we get little kids who come in and break sturers and lick the windows (disgusting). my GM hates that i make them leave but they don't buy anything and cost us money, they shouldn't be there. we actually really encourage college students to come and study in the afternoons when it is pretty dead. we have a "family room" with extremely comfertable couches and a fireplace. it doesn'y bother me in the least if student are studying in there because odds are i know them or get to know them and they will buy more than the kids who drive our afternoon customers away.

I'll repeat again. We WERE still buying coffee. We had never stopped. I agree that it's rude to take a table from custumers who have just bought something if I haven't for awhile, and thats 1/2 the reason I continually buy shit. The other half being I need the caffeine.

which is why college students buy coffee at places that let them stay for a long time. honestly, it's in their rights to kick someone out. i'd just never spend another dime there. if places get bitchy about that, students will migrate en masse to other places. for the hell the stores have to put up with in finals, they make back double in the loyalty they earn.

it's not customer rights, it's customer service.

Just get yourself a high quality coffee maker and some good quality coffee beans and coffee grinder. You'll save money and be able to study wherever and however long you want.

I never studied in a coffee shop only because the library had what I needed,.. ie computers,reference material, etc,...

I have been one of those people waiting for a seat in diners, coffee shops, breakfast places while people take their sweet time reading books, newspapers, magazines,etc and honestly it used to piss me right off. Now when I see people loafing around because it is their God given right to do so according to them, I politely turn around and go elsewhere. I know what it takes to run a business and how important client turnover is to the bottom line. Like I said, there is always somewhere else I can take my money.

I see. Well then if I were you I would definately never return.

why the hell were you sitting in a coffee shop in the first place? get your coffee and go home. shiftless layabouts.

Back when I was going to college, long ago, the Denny's next to the campus had an all-night deal for students: pay (I dunno how much, the equivalent of 2-3 cups of coffee) and you got to study from evening 'till dawn if you wanted. That Denny's was practically a campus institution.

When you're studying in university, sometimes you need a quiet place away from distractions, music, girlfriends, loud roommates, surly sleeping roommates, and so on. It's also good to have bright lights and a big table to spread your stuff out on. Some universities have late-night study halls that offer all these things -- but they don't serve coffee :-).

I'm aware of at least one coffee shop that become the trendy place for high school students to hang out. The place wasn't that big and became crowded every Friday and Saturday night, full of rowdy teenagers running around (those damn hormones ;) ) It was so packed that most people stopped buying coffee there since there was nowhere to sit and drink it.

Unlike the original poster, most spent hours in the shop without purchasing coffee. They eventually had to hire police officers to stand by the door and the moment you finished your coffee you either had to get in line to buy another cup or free up the table for other people. After a summer of that, the kids found someplace else to hang out (they always do....) and the regular paying customers returned.