The new rule in coffee shops that will annoy you. Cluj sets the tone. “All freelancers burn five hours on a latte and a flat water”

Cluj has the highest density of cafes and restaurants in the country, an evolution determined by the emergence of a new middle class made up mostly of IT professionals. The administrators of the Cluj cafes introduced a rule against those who helped them develop. It's happening all over the country.

Since the recession of 2008, the number of cafes and restaurants in Romania has grown steadily, and not even the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down this expansion. The worst increase in the country (66%) was registered in Cluj-Napoca, which has the highest density in relation to the population of such premises – 1.32‰ – compared to the average of 0.45‰ in Romania, sociologists show Norbert Petrovici and Vlad Bejinaru.

The evolution of the cafe “industry” in Cluj-Napoca is linked to the emergence of a new middle class made up of professionals and managers. One of the “engines” of the development in this area were IT workers, who became loyal customers of downtown cafes, allowing themselves to pay more for quality products.

Some of the cafe owners in the city have adopted a measure that seems “an abuse” to many customers: they prohibit the use of laptops on weekends or even during the week.

University lecturer Dragoș Vana, who has his laptop with him almost all the time, told on Facebook what happened in the city center.

“The cafes in the center of Cluj are ridiculous. today at Olivo Bistro, where you can't even have a business meeting until recently. If you somehow had the nerve to open your laptop even for a second, immediately an angry waiter comes to you to draw your attention to the monumental mistake you've made“, he said.

What the representatives of the cafe say: “We want to free people from the worries of tasks and email”

The young man is bothered by the fact that while customers are not allowed with laptops, the manager of the cafe is working on a laptop at another table.

“Ok, let me understand that you don't want IT people to come to you and spend 3 hours on a drink, even though you built your business on their back, so you can ask for 20 lei for a coffee, but not be hypocrite with customers”Vana claimed.

Cluj activist Dumitru Cornel Vîlcu harshly criticized the administrators' decision. “Rumor is that you forbid customers from opening their laptops on your precious downtown terrace. Is there a line of shamelessness/abuse that you don't feel ready to cross?”he wrote on the cafe's Facebook page.

The cafe representative replied: “Our intention is to create a place where people can enjoy a meal and a good coffee without constantly worrying about tasks or e-mails, and from our point of view, this is the very opposite of any shamelessness/ abuse I have outgrown.”

“Fair way to excuse a grotesque abuse. I'm glad that I've never been in the situation to drink a coffee at your place and that I've learned everything I need to never there“, retorted Vâlcu.

“It's part of our philosophy”

Another representative of a cafe in the center of Cluj claimed, in a news story for Euronews: “It's part of our philosophy, on the weekends we try to convince people not to use laptops because it's their time and it would be a waste of time for them to fill in their excels.”

Vana's reply was: “Unfortunately, patrons die in the care of another, at least officially. I look forward to the return of the signs: and ”.

What customers are saying: “Prices and in Cluj have become ridiculous”

Most of those who commented on Dragoș Vana's posts are against the laptop ban in cafes.

“Also, the employees of the cafes should stay at home with their families, don't make coffee on the weekend, because it's just a “ – Athena commented.

Aaron Roberts, a photographer from England who lives in Cluj-Napoca, claimed: “Well, these places are obsessed with making as much money as possible. If you're sitting down and enjoying yourself at their place…you're probably not spending as much as they'd like. In general, the prices and the “experience” in Cluj have become ridiculous. I really don't know how long this mentality can continue.”

“Also happened in Bucharest. I had something urgent to do in the site admin, I sat down at the cafe to take out my laptop because it was more efficient. I would have finished quickly, had a quick coffee and left. They asked me to close it after I had already ordered and paid for the coffee. I also solved it on the phone, but it took me 3 times longer, during which time I kept their table busy. Bad luck”, Elena also commented.

“It comes from the belief that all people are the same, that is, they have the same concerns, the same emotions and demands from life. And on the other hand, it is also the (already) Romanian habit of exceeding your professional duties. It's like when you enter the town hall and ask where the registration is, and the porter asks you why you want to get there. What business do they have about how everyone wants to drink their coffee, as long as you serve them and don't disturb their business?!”Nicoleta intervened.

There are also customers who prove that cafe managers are right. Vlad claimed: “I ban them because all the and freelancers use the cafe as an office and burn it for 5 hours on a latte and a flat water. All big businessmen, but you don't have 200 euros a month for a chair at a co-working space”.