I think they also need to worry about the growing popularity of smaller devices like the iPhone and, like you mentioned, netbooks rather than laptops. Someone could sit in the shop for hours and use the wifi to watch a streaming movie on their iPhone/netbook and take up a seat. It is only one seat, but if they aren't buying anything it could hurt business.
It is reasonable to ban laptops and other devices from a store during lunch time because of the huge wave of customers, but they should be allowed once the big wave dies back down. Late night coffee shop studying is really popular, especially in college towns.
"It is reasonable to ban laptops and other devices from a store during lunch time because of the huge wave of customers"
But it's okay for someone to sit there and read the Wall St Journal that a previous customer left behind?
Plus, if we're talking about coffee shops, why lunch time? At all the coffee shops I've ever frequented (granted, not in large metros), the busiest time is between 7:30 and 10am when everyone is getting their coffee ...
Finally, I tend to think places like coffee shops do better and gain popularity when they look busy. If a coffee shop is full or near full, other people notice that ...
Now that you point it out I also consider a "coffee shop" to be like a starbucks or something and might not be as affected by this.
Eateries like Panera Bread and Cosi (who offer free wifi) should be more worried about non-paying users taking up seats during afternoon lunch hours. Also, good point about someone reading the paper. The problem is nonpaying customers spending hours on end, taking up seats that paying customers could use, regardless of what they are doing.
Maybe they could charge you like a coffee an hour or something.
It is reasonable to ban laptops and other devices from a store during lunch time because of the huge wave of customers, but they should be allowed once the big wave dies back down. Late night coffee shop studying is really popular, especially in college towns.