Seats and the People Who Stay
Sound familiar?
- Pays rent by the square metre but has never read revenue that way.
- Guests sit four hours over one drink, without realising the shop invited that.
- Serves every group at an average level because no group was ever chosen.
- The room sits empty for whole stretches of the day with no plan for it.
After reading, you can
Help a café owner see revenue per square metre and choose their crowd.
Each chapter answers one question
Chapter 1: Is that corner table worth its share of the rent?
How much does each square metre of my shop bring in per month?
Rent is charged per square metre, so revenue should be read per square metre too.
Chapter 2: Did my shop invite the four-hour guest to stay?
Who is my shop inviting to stay for a long time, and is that deliberate?
People who linger are not bad customers; they are the result of a design the shop chose itself.
Chapter 3: Am I choosing my crowd, or is it choosing me?
If I had to choose one customer group to serve best, who would it be?
If the shop does not choose its customers, customers will choose the shop, and usually not the group that spends most.
Chapter 4: Can a sign do what a hard chair does?
What are my chairs telling customers about how long to stay?
These three things decide how long people stay, more strongly than any house-rules sign.
Chapter 5: I pay rent all day, so why use only half?
Outside selling hours, what can my space produce?
The premises cost money twenty-four hours a day; the shop uses them for twelve.