Controversy over 'order' at coffee shops

After two hours of sitting in a coffee shop with friends, Thu Trang was quietly reminded by a few people around her, asking the two children accompanying her to limit running around so they could focus on their work.

The first time, the 35-year-old woman from Dong Da district, Hanoi happily agreed. But when one of the five customers working at the shop hinted that "the parents do not know how to raise their children, so they run around in the shop and make noise", she immediately got angry and stood up to argue.

"You need to work but I need to be entertained," Trang said, affirming that there is no rule that when going to a coffee shop, you have to be quiet so others can work.

A group of four young people (on the right) choose a seat separate from where many people are working, to make it easier to talk, at a coffee shop in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, on the afternoon of April 12. Photo: Quynh Nguyen

Hoang Lan, 28 years old, living in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, often goes to elaborately designed coffee shops with her friends to confide. But in the past two years, as more and more people choose coffee shops to study or work, she has almost given up this habit.

Lan said that whispering there was uncomfortable, and if she spoke a little louder, some people would immediately glare at her, showing their displeasure, implicitly warning her group that they were causing disorder.

"They are giving themselves the right to demand that people follow their personal wishes, which is unreasonable and inconvenient," Lan said.

Not only Trang and Lan, articles and videos complaining about being asked to keep quiet at coffee shops were shared on social media, attracting tens of thousands of likes and comments. Under each post, many people expressed their anger and shared similar experiences.

"They don't go to cafes specifically for working. But they just go to crowded cafes and force customers to be quiet so they can focus on working," commented a netizen named Mai Loan.

A survey by VnExpress found that most coffee shops in the center of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are crowded with customers coming to work, mainly from mid-morning to late afternoon. Customers are mostly students or remote workers.

Vietnamese people's demand for coffee shops is increasing. The 2023 F&B market report in Vietnam, released on March 27, showed that nearly 60% of respondents are willing to spend VND41,000 or more for a coffee trip. The survey showed that 42.6% chose to go 1-2 times a month, 30.4% went 1-2 times a week, an increase of nearly 8% compared to 2022, and 6.1% of respondents went every day.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quy Duc, former deputy director of the Institute of Culture, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said that the culture of going to coffee shops to chat, socialize and connect has existed for a long time in society. The very name "coffee shop" shows that this is a destination for the majority, where people come to socialize and discuss work.

"Therefore, requiring customers to keep quiet so that some people can concentrate on working or studying is unreasonable, unrealistic, and restricts the freedom of other customers," said Mr. Duc.

Associate Professor Dr. Do Minh Cuong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Business Culture, also noticed that more and more people like to go to coffee shops to work. According to him, the demand for a quiet space to work of some people is not wrong but not right. Reminding is only appropriate if this place has a rule that customers speak softly to avoid affecting the surroundings.

Explaining why many people like to go to coffee shops to work, Mr. Cuong said that this corresponds to the trend of working remotely, especially young people who like freedom, comfort and flexibility. Many people want to work in a beautifully decorated space, dress comfortably and talk freely instead of going to the office or working at home which is very cramped and lacks concentration. And finally, a small group of people follow suit, seeing their friends go to coffee shops and learn from them.

A group of young people go to a coffee shop in Dong Da district to work, early 2024. Photo: CF Thu Bao

Five times a week, Thanh An, 25, a freelance web and banner designer in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, goes to a coffee shop to work because it helps him concentrate better. Instead of choosing a co-working shop (a model that provides both food and drink services and a private working space), he goes to a place that sells cheap drinks because he doesn't have to pay for his seat by the hour. The only downside of the shop, according to An, is that it's crowded and noisy.

Regarding the controversy of "when working at a shop, you cannot ask people around you to keep quiet", An said that everyone can talk but needs to keep the volume low enough to be heard. "If they laugh and talk too loudly, or let children run around everywhere, it will make everyone uncomfortable", An said.

Admitting that everyone has their own reasons, Associate Professor Dr. Do Minh warned that if conflicts are not thoroughly resolved, unpleasant and frustrating situations can easily arise from both sides. Even the restaurant owner and staff will have difficulty resolving the situation.

Thu Ha, 20 years old, an employee at a coffee shop in Dong Da district, Hanoi, said that more than 50% of customers who come to the shop are working, with each customer sitting for an average of 2-3 hours.

According to the female employee, the purpose of opening the shop is to create a space for people to interact, share and listen to old music, but many times she was asked to lower the volume of the music and remind the surrounding tables to speak softly so that customers could concentrate on their work. Ha said she could turn off the music but could not tell people to keep quiet because the shop's rules did not specify it, and hoped customers would understand.

As for Thu Trang, being reminded many times that she was making noise made her feel bad for people who came to work at the coffee shop. The 35-year-old woman affirmed that she would reason if anyone asked her to keep quiet because she had already spent money to buy drinks and a seat, so there was no need to be patient.

Afraid of conflict, Hoang Lan planned to go to coffee shops far from school and residential areas, accepting the distance to talk freely and avoid disturbing people around.

"If I were in the city center, I would have to go to a sidewalk tea shop or a park to be able to talk and laugh freely," said the 28-year-old girl.

Many young people choose to go to a coffee shop on Nguyen Khang Street, Cau Giay District as a place to study and work for many hours, June 2023. Photo: Quynh Nguyen

To avoid awkward situations and unnecessary conflicts, Associate Professor Dr. Le Quy Duc advises those who want to work outside to find quiet places such as book cafes, workspace cafes... to increase concentration and avoid being disturbed.

In addition, coffee shops also need to clearly identify the main target group to serve in order to come up with appropriate regulations. In case they want to harmonize both working and entertaining customers, the shop can create separate spaces, suitable for each requirement.

"But after all, if you choose to work in a public place, you have to accept the common environment. If people around you agree to speak softly, that is a polite act, otherwise you have to accept it because it is not wrong for them to come to chat and confide in the coffee shop," the expert said.

Quynh Nguyen

Source: https://vnexpress.net/tranh-cai-chuyen-phai-trat-tu-tai-quan-ca-phe-4735591.html