Make Starbucks Your Office Without Being a Jerk

Expert tips for using free wireless without irritating others
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2010 9:42 AM CDT
Make Starbucks Your Office Without Being a Jerk
An iced drink sits next to a laptop computer at a Starbucks location near the University of Washington in Seattle, Feb. 11, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Now that Starbucks has free WiFi, nothing's keeping you from making the local branch your away-from-home office—except perhaps money and social conventions. Om Malik of GigaOm, a successful startup that incubated at a Starbucks, offers some pointers:

  • Buy something: And not just one tall black coffee per 8-hour shift—"at least three times a day."

  • Pick one store to be "yours:" "It makes it easier for your contacts to drop in for meetings."
  • Suck up to your de facto co-workers: "Tip generously—up to $10 a day."
  • Don't be a jerk: Take phone calls outside, and don't hog tables.
To see the full list and a slew of suggestions from commenters, click here.
(More Starbucks stories.)

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