What’s Not Best: Starbucks Charging for WiFi
I was going to spend the afternoon working at Starbucks today. (I’ve been working remotely from home for the last few months, and sometimes it’s a good change of pace to get out of the house.)
Then I remembered how they charge for WiFi, and decided to stay away.
There are three reasons Starbuck’s decision to charge for WiFi is not best:
First, it slightly diminishes the value of their brand. My esteem for Starbucks is a bit lower because they are unwilling to make the simple customer-oriented choice to make their WiFi free. Especially when even most hotels now offer free WiFi.
Second, it complicates things. The problem is not simply that it costs $10 to get online there (although that’s a big barrier). The problem is also that adding the payment gateway increases complexity. You have to create a username and password, for example. My password list is already 16 pages long (yes, 16 pages). It is not fun to have to add to that list.
Third, it probably costs them sales. They’ve probably done the analysis on this, and so maybe they would say this is made up for by the revenue generated by the WiFi. But speaking as a customer, there is at least one less person buying coffee at Starbucks today because of this WiFi policy.
I don’t want to sound down on Starbucks here. They do great work. But if their value proposition is that they create a “third space” rather than simply selling coffee, they have an opportunity here to do things better and advance their brand.
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9 Responses to “What’s Not Best: Starbucks Charging for WiFi”
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Follower of Christ. Husband of one, father of three. Former director of strategy at Desiring God. This blog exists to help equip Christians in good works, because that's what productivity is really about.
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I wholeheartedly agree.
Even some MOTELS do free wireless internet!
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If you get a starbucks card, it eliminates all but #2, and doesn’t cost you anything.
Even with a card isn’t it limited to 2 hours a day? I guess it would depend on the location of the Starbucks as well. I live in New York City. I would imagine they are hurt in sales here because all other things being equal there is most likely a coffee shop one block away with free WiFi. Although, there are probably free points close enough to use in Starbucks not supported by the shop. This would still cut on revenue though because they aren’t getting any WiFi money.
That is why my friends and I choose Panera Bread Co. They have free wifi.
Mike
I believe they charge to keep people away. Most of the starbucks I go to(at least used to, there aren’t many in Peru) are already crowded. Add 10 to 20 people in there working remotely and there is no seating for the people who are just there for a 30 min-1 hr coffee break.
i work at starbucks. i am SO glad we charge for wifi. the reason is that i’ve seen what happens at panera and other local coffee shops: people come in, don’t buy anything, bring their own food/drink, occupy space in our lobby, use our bathroom, and make messes that i have to clean up. and they are making no contribution to my already measly paycheck. it’s annoying for us as employees, and it’s even more annoying for our regular customers (the ones who support our business with $5-$10/day. AND give us good tips.).
i know it’s a little complicated to get the registered card to get the free internet, but at least we know you bought something.
and for our regular customers, i’ll log on with my username, and since i’m a starbucks partner, my internet is unlimited. but that’s only for the regulars
Rachel: I agree that it is pretty bad for people to come in, use free WiFi, and not buy anything. Whenever I use the WiFi at a coffee shop, I make sure and actually buy something. Even at Starbucks, where the WiFi isn’t free.
There was one time, however, where I had an urgency to deal with online when I was traveling, and needed to get online quickly. I found a Starbucks, only to hit the payment requirement. That time was especially frustrating, because the registration and payment process was really complicated and I was in a hurry.
And I hadn’t kept my username from the last time I used Starbucks WiFi, so it wanted to email it to me–but I couldn’t get the email because it wouldn’t let me online yet. I don’t think I bought anything that time!
I have switched from Fourbucks to a local coffee shop that offers free wifi for the very reasons you have listed in you post.