Working remotely from a café: since the pandemic, the practice seems to have become more popular. Moreover, from now on, it is no longer only at Starbucks that you can see people busy on their laptops, sipping an Espresso at any time of the day. But what seems to have become a habit for some Swiss people, especially in big cities, does not always represent an advantage for the owners. Proof of this is that in Zurich, more and more people are introducing rules to regulate the practice, such as prohibiting the use of PCs on certain days or the obligation to order drinks regularly.
In French-speaking Switzerland too, “we notice that many people come to work with us,” confides Diana Ambrus, owner of the Sleepy Bear cafés in Lausanne and Montreux. Same observation for Mikael Melro, server at Loops & Coffee in Geneva and Pierre Linckenheld, co-manager of Café de Grancy. As for the customer profile, they all share the same observation, which Pierre Linckenheld summarizes as follows: “There are those who play the game and consume, and those who come to have a single espresso in exchange for eight hours of internet connection”.
However, the three French-speaking establishments do not intend to introduce rules, at least nothing as strict as in certain Zurich cafés. “At Loops & Coffee, the presence of workers does not bother us at all. We are used to it and we make do with it,” explains Mikael Melro. In the other two establishments, it is admitted that their presence is sometimes “annoying” during peak hours. “We often have to remind ourselves that we are a restaurant and not an internet café,” notes Pierre Linckenheld. But, “we remain happy with these people. It fills the room and gives us good publicity.” A point of view shared by Diana Ambrus.
