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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on January 8, 2010 at 4:41pm

if you're worried about wi-fi squatters, just, uh, communicate with them? letting your customers know what's acceptable and what isn't is probably the best solution. if you're in a down period and you have a couple people nursing coffee and using the wi-fi, that makes people feel more comfortable about coming into your shop - it's not stark and empty. they're doing you a favor. if you're super busy and they're taking up tables, ask them to consolidate, or buy more coffee. don't write them totally off unless you're sure you can afford to.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 8, 2010 at 6:29pm

Agreed. Make policy, communicate policy, apply it to everyone (not just wifi people).

I gathered a little data today, and about 1/4 of our laptop-using customers had mobile broadband cards. That's compared to almost none 2 years ago. How well will a router solution control your laptop campers next year?

The "block the outlet" approach might sound ok, but that really doesn't address the correct issue. Do you care if a road warrior stops in to enjoy a latte while she tops off her laptop battery for half an hour? Again, not the real problem.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Pitts on January 9, 2010 at 5:22am

Unplug the router or modem to interfere with the internet!!!!
I know where you're coming from on this one. It is rather annoying, however if they buy something, the customer will continue to come back. Which is what we want, right?

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Permalink Reply by mo'joe on February 15, 2010 at 8:45pm

wow, $500+ for a router/printer is steep...
so far the solution is adding WEP password to the post-amble (last line of printed receipt) from the POS, plan on changing it weekly or so, though the that unit does have some nice features....
ditto to the idea of communicating policy and etiquette expectations to customers --works well in general, especially for samples, "appropriate behavior" when sitting on sofas with one's "companion."

Sean said:

I've been looking for a similar solution and I came across this today...

ZyXel
Same router with the receipt/access code printer at Amazon

mo'joe said:

Might you know the brand/model of this router?

Cyber Infusion Internet Cafe said:

What I did is I purchased a router that comes with a little printer, it auto creates usernames and you can set each button up on the printer (has 3) for how ever much time you want the login to be good for, I did 15min, 1 hour and forever. You just press the button it prints the ticket with login info on it and you give it to the customer, each sale = 1 hour, stops all that nonsense and has worked perfect, and I always secure the WiFi so people outside cant sit on the curb and suck up all the bandwidth.

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Permalink Reply by sumair ali on February 15, 2010 at 9:46pm

as annoying as it is, as long as your have free wifi its going to happen, but i do believe the patrons that will actually spend some money before or while browsing do will appreciate the luxury of having wifi to use.

I think its worth it, even posting a sign saying "free wi-fi for paying customers only" may help a little?
hope this helps at all

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