Finding Coffee Shop Seating

I love having business meetings or just meeting friends for a good cup of coffee at my local Peet's Coffee & Tea shop. The scent of roasted coffee always smells so great and I think its the best coffee on this planet.


Unfortunately, I am not the only person who likes to take meetings there. Almost every time I visit, I have to be strategic about getting a table. There is actually quite a bit of seating, as compared to most coffee shops, but there are always too many people competing for the real estate. To make matters worse, there is no organized structure for allowing the people to claim tables in a fair an equitable manner. It's a problem very similar to the "line management" issue I raised in my December 22, 2009 post.

I was meeting a friend there, just yesterday, and as usual, there were no tables to be found. I always scope out the situation as soon as I enter the shop. I survey the available tables and take a quick look at the number of people in line to see if there is a match. Then I address the seated patrons again to look for any signs that some are finishing up and may be leaving soon. I know I am not the only person to do this. If necessary, I may even set my personal stuff down at a table to stake my claim before I get in line.

This option was not available yesterday, so I just jumped in line while keeping my eyes stealthily focused on any movement that would indicate a table would soon be available.

After I purchased my cup of coffee, I continued to scour the room while waiting for my friend to show up. I tried walking around and giving eye contact to anyone who would look up. My intentions were very clear. While I wanted to passively send a message out that I was looking for the next available table, I didn't want to be so overt as to interrupt people's conversations. I certainly didn't feel the need to yell out into the room that I would like the next free table when someone left. But then how else are you supposed to get one?

I felt the pressure mounting as more and more people were getting coffee and roaming the shop also looking for seating. Shouldn't I be allowed to sit next? I had waited the longest. I found myself playing a game of musical chairs as each of us were walking throughout the shop waiting for the music to stop. Was I supposed to literally mark my territory and hover over a group of people in order to get there first? Do I need to tackle someone?

I found myself competing with a couple of teenage girls who were also looking for a spot, when suddenly some of their friends who decided to leave, called out to them offering their table as they left. Totally unfair I thought! Why couldn't I have friends who were leaving.

Anyway, I finally scraped together two free chairs and moved them to a spot where we could sit, and as soon as we were ready to sit down, a table opened up and we grabbed it. The next people in line looking for a table were pleased to use our two random chairs instead.

Ah, survival of the fittest.