Post by NotMeReal world there will be few that use the service and don't buy but again
real world the name of the game is attracting POTENTIAL customer. If no one
comes, no one will buy.
I know of a small coffee shop in rural area that was dying. Set up a open
wifi that was available only the during the times the store was open (9-5).
Improved the bottom line more than the cost of the wifi but not a great
amount.
Somehow the system was left on in the evening. The outdoor seating was full
almost every night to the point where the shop stayed open to 10 pm.
Making out like a bandit and has opens several other locations, all rural
and all open late.
There's a lot of clubs and meet-ups that choose a location based on the
availability of Wi-Fi. It would be considered very rude for everyone to
just sit there and not buy anything, though there will be some in the
group that do that. Clearly the businesses have determined whether it
makes sense to provide wi-fi in terms of the ROI. I know that a few
coffee houses have said that they'll turn off the wi-fi during peak
times to discourage people camping out.
One group I'm in, we tried four different places before we found one
that was ideal. The place we finally chose _advertises_ that the use of
their facility is encouraged for this use on their web site: "We
encourage all bridge clubs, book clubs, study groups, and meet-ups to
use our facility." They sell a lot of high margin coffee and tea drinks
to the people that use the facility. It's quiet, has good food, lots of
parking, and the wi-fi is very fast.