"I don't mind if someone sits there for 10+ hours a day if they keep on buying food and coffee regularly"
Isn't this a bit consumerist, consume something or get out? (And didn't that jump out at you when you wrote it?) Perhaps there should be a 3rd way, paying for time at a table. The problem is the pricing (and people taking the piss).
I admit it is, but it's a coffee shop, a business...not your house or an office or a coworking space or your friend's couch. What else were you expecting? Something and somebody does have to pay the rent. Seats and tables and sofas are there for customers to sit down and enjoy what they purchased, not for some person to work for hours on end without buying anything.
I personally don't care how someone goes about supporting the shop though - I'd be fine with someone paying like a couple bucks an hour or even like a $5/hour includes bottomless coffee and a snack plus outlet and wifi kind of deal. But most coffee shops don't have employees that would be comfortable with making a deal like that on-the-spot with a customer, nor is that a really obvious thing for most people to even propose.
So in lieu of paying for a table or offering to do so, someone could just occasionally get up, stretch, and buy a cookie. I didn't say it had to be a large cup of coffee every hour :) Just a little something occasionally to show that you're not just going to make yourself comfortable there without buying anything more.
It's the nearest choice most place have to what you suggest. There are few venues that allow you to pay directly for table time, but you're (ehtically) doing the same thing by regularly purchasing items from them.
I guess my point is, that its probably about time we had different pricing models. I am not trying to be obtuse, and i do get what you are saying, but regularly purchasing items is (in my estimation) a bigger problem than the one it solves.
obesity+consumerism > slightly broken cafe market
I would suggest a nominal rate (after the first hour or two) would make everyone happy. It is quite likely the average stay would increase as people would not have taking up space on their conscience.
Isn't this a bit consumerist, consume something or get out? (And didn't that jump out at you when you wrote it?) Perhaps there should be a 3rd way, paying for time at a table. The problem is the pricing (and people taking the piss).