5 Coffee Shop Etiquette Rules You Might Have Overlooked

More and more people are visiting coffee shops to study and work. Most people already follow the common etiquette rules like buying a drink or item, sharing your outlet and table, and taking up minimal space when the place is crowded. Here are five coffee shop etiquette rules people tend to overlook.

Stay clear of wheelchair accessible tables

Unless you're in a wheelchair and need this table, stay clear of it. It's there for those who need it. Coffee shops do fill up, and tables are on a first come first served basis. If the only space available is at this table, be ready to either share it or give it up.

Use your inside voice

One of the perks of studying or working in a coffee shop is it isn't a library. You can answer your phone and talk with your friends without getting shushed. However, it's not a park either. People actually study and work in coffee shops, and need a level of silence. They don't need to hear the latest gossip about your friend, or hear a one-sided phone call. An inside voice is not necessarily speaking quietly. It is speaking in a volume that contains your conversation to your table.

Use headphones

Even though a coffee shop isn't a library and doesn't always have a quiet atmosphere, nobody wants to hear the music or video on your laptop, or the beeping sounds of instant messaging, or the game sounds from your handheld device. The shop's overhead music is enough and sometimes preferred. Playing your own music, video, or game sounds alongside the overhead music creates a convoluted sound that is distracting and annoying to other coffee shop patrons.

Manage your children

When coffee shops started carrying non-coffee drinks and food, they became more popular with children and parents toting children with them. Children usually have a knack of entertaining themselves wherever they are. A coffee shop isn't a playground. In fact, a little bump on a table can send hot (possibly expensive) beverages flying everywhere. Furthermore, rambunctious children aren't what coffee shop patrons signed up for. So please keep your children seated with you at your table.

Leave a clean table.

This is just common courtesy. You took up space in a coffee shop and probably used their WiFi. Baristas are often times busy and can't always immediately clean up after you. Leave your table clean for the next person to use.

These coffee shop etiquette rules are usually overlooked because they have more to do with other coffee shop patrons than the actual establishment. But following these etiquette rules will ensure a smooth experience for everyone.