Cup of Courtesy
If the coffeehouse is your office, order up some manners.
By Kelly Barron • Aug 1, 2005
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In the Dilbertesque world of corporate etiquette, most peopleknow it's rude to leave meatloaf decomposing in the officerefrigerator. But for the swarms of entrepreneurs whose offices arelocal coffeehouses, what makes for good manners is often as murkyas a mocha latte: "Coffeehouse-based" entrepreneurs withlaptops hog tables near coveted outlets for hours at a time. Theychide baristas to turn the shop's music down and bark into cellphones while ordering grande cappuccinos.
"It's just plain rude," complains Paige Kayner,owner of Aurafice Internet & Coffee Bar in Seattle, wherefreelance graphic designers and computer entrepreneurs work. Kaynerwas so irritated by her customers' noisy calls, she stuck amagnet on her espresso machine reading: "Your cell phone onlymakes you more annoying." Then someone stole it.
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