[mbrameld]

My experience at DeskHub in Scottsdale, AZ wasn't great. There are a few larger teams that rent portions of the open co-working area. Those teams tend to be much louder than individuals working there, and they have a culture that permits F-bombs in casual conversation. I have a standup every morning and talk to clients briefly throughout the day, so I would have to find a quiet place for that stuff.

They have 6 or so conference rooms of various sizes you can use. The agreement you sign says you get so many units of conference room use per month, but it's not enforced. They tell you verbally it's unlimited as long as you don't abuse it. The practical result of this is that a few people camp out in the conference rooms all day. The staff, instead of confronting the abusers directly, just sends weekly emails to all users reminding them that conference rooms are not private offices. With no incentive to change their behavior, the conference room campers keep on camping.

I lasted almost a year, but now I'm back to the home office with occasional trips to a cafe down the street when I need to get out of the house.

[fibonachos]

It definitely sounds like they had staffing or policy issues. I work from a space similar to how you described DeskHub, including a few small teams in the common area. The noise policy in the common area is very clear and allows for relatively quiet talking among groups and brief phone calls. Longer calls or formal meetings should take place in a phone booth or conference room. The staff does a great job of reining things in if it gets too loud, and the conference rooms have to be scheduled and require a staff member to let you in. It's definitely a less casual space, but I feel like they have struck a nice balance between casual and professional.

[mbrameld]

You're right, that's the policy there, it's just not enforced.

Conference rooms there do have to be scheduled, but there are no locks on the doors or anything. I was 15 minutes into a 30 minute block once and some guy just opened the door and walked in. There are windows on the doors, he just didn't look. Then he looked surprised when he realized I was there. I put my meeting on hold and he told me he had the room at 2pm. I said something like, "I have it until 2, right?" He said he didn't know, turned around and walked out.

[sigi45]

What do you mean by F-bombs?

Do you mean fuck as a word?

Thats an issue? Or are the people the issue?

[xeromal]

He's talking about people like you working at a coworking space. Of course saying the word fuck while on a standup with a client is wrong regardless of their culture. It's unprofessional.

[mbrameld]

Obviously I mean the word "fuck". What other usage of F-bomb are you familiar with?

It is an issue when I'm in a call with a client and somebody in the same room as me yells the word "fuck". Do you struggle to understand why?