If you've ever gone into a Starbucks, you've no doubt seen all kinds of nonsense. Maybe there's a homeless dude catching some Zs, a belligerent customer yelling about their latte not being hot enough, or — perhaps worst of all — someone trying to work on their screenplay but in a way so that everyone else in the store can see that they're working on their screenplay.
But over in South Korea (before you ask, yes, that's the good one), they've got another problem, and that's people showing up with an entire office setup and camping out at Starbucks for hours and hours.
According to UPI, all locations in the country posted notices that customers may no longer bring desktop computers, printers, and multi-outlet power into the stores. They're also not allowed to leave their belongings unattended, or — and I can't believe this was ever a thing — set up partitions inside the store.
These changes are aimed at a group of folks known as "cagongjok," which combines the Korean words for "cafe," "study," and "tribe." They spend hours in the stores and bring all kinds of equipment with them. They're also sometimes referred to as "cafe squatters."
I don't understand this lifestyle. Like, at all.
First of all, I don't think I've ever worked in a Starbucks by choice, and I want to do it for as short a time as possible. It usually means that the power is out at my house or the internet is down.
That means I have to throw everything in a backpack, drive to Starbucks, buy an expensive coffee so they don't kick me out, and then sit there and try to work while people around me talk all kinds of Jabberwocky nonsense.
That's better than my office at home, how?!
Also, who carries around a printer? I don't think I've ever moved a printer. I get one, set it down, and it stays where it is until time stops. I think one time I even moved and just left the printer behind.
I want to salute South Korea for not letting this lunacy fly. If this happened in the US, you'd have a bunch of ambulance-chasing civil rights attorneys holding press conferences outside of stores, yelling about how customers have a right to set up their own Office Depot in the store.
from The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick https://ift.tt/N9lFazs