A sticker placed on all tables alerts you to the rule: teleworking is prohibited between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. It is rush hour for this cafeteria in the center of Valencia, located next to the City Hall, which, given the situation, has decided to limit the use of its establishment as a teleworking space for customers during peak hours.
“We did it because it was already very obvious that people were passing by. There were those who came, ordered a coffee and paid for it immediately and spent the entire morning sitting at the same table,” explains their waitress, while stacking the tables on the terrace inside the establishment, where the rule also applies. She explains that they are not the only ones, that in the bars in the area they have been applying measures of this style in a scenario that they did not know how to control.
For example, in the cafeteria next door, the saleswoman explains that it is very common to see people who arrive with their computer, order lunch or just a drink, and sit down. “It doesn’t bother me, but I understand that my boss doesn’t like that there are people who spend so much time without consuming anything else.” In the adjacent cafeteria, where it is common for customers to enter and leave quickly after purchasing pastries, but where there is also a coffee area, the manager explains that “the owner has removed Wi-Fi to avoid precisely these situations. People sat down and didn’t leave,” details the worker.
This trend is also observed in the area next to Colón Street. On Sorní Street, in one of those establishments that do allow teleworking on a regular basis, they inform the customer that “it is not always possible.” Because? “The place is small and, for example, between ten and eleven thirty in the morning it is impossible, we need all the tables,” they explain. In the afternoon the limitation is also repeated although, they clarify, at noon there are no longer restrictions because “everything is calmer.”
For those who are curious, some lists of cafes called work friendly are circulating on the internet, where it is acceptable to set up your small office next to a steaming cup of coffee and an empanada, for example, but some of the ones that appear in those lists These are businesses that have already limited time access to teleworkers. One of the most popular, also in the central area of ??the Valencian capital, has even limited the areas in which teleworking can be done. It is not possible at any table to open the laptop, use the tablet or read a book, but there are areas specially set up for this. In fact, this policy is criticized by some customers who complain that “if you have a computer, they force you to sit at high tables or at a common table.”
When consulted, the Valencian Hospitality Federation (FEHV) stated that “this is a minority situation” and they point out that they are not aware that “it is occurring regularly in the hospitality industry.” They add that “companies are free to establish the conditions of use of their facilities”, but nevertheless, they appeal to the “common sense of customers” when it comes to enjoying hospitality venues as meeting and recreation venues and their gastronomic offer”.