[mandeepj]

Wow! that is a great thought. I would have never thought that.

On the other side, starbucks don't need that type of advertising now and a small\upcoming shop can't afford that kind of advertising.

This idea is also business specific. Can restaurants afford whole day sitting customers? No, I think

[Axsuul]

Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, has openly admitted to wanting customers who stay and work in the store cause of this.

"You walk into a retail store, whatever it is, and if there's a sense of entertainment and excitement and electricity, you wanna be there."

“We’re not in the coffee business — we’re in the experience business”

[tonyarkles]

I've had chats with the manager of one of my favourite locations. It gets pretty slow mid-afternoon, and she made it really clear that she's super happy having some people sitting in there working, even if they're sipping the dregs from a 2-hour-old free-refill coffee. The regulars usually have chatted at least a little bit (maybe that's a Canadian thing), and having conversations or work going on improves the atmosphere.

[epa]

What would be the first thing that runs through your mind if you walked into an empty starbucks? "Are you open?"

[mandeepj]

If there are employees inside that means they are open then I would order and grab my coffee

[annnnd]

Sure, but the feeling is different...

[martin-adams]

The trick with restaurants is to sit customers near the window so it looks like they are more busy than they are. Ever wondered why in a huge mostly empty restaurant you're placed next to existing customers.

[1rae]

Maybe because it's nice sitting next to a window?