What Free WiFi Freeloader Problem?
A quick look at how a variety of restaurants and cafes that offer free WiFi deal with the patron who just won’t leave. A pattern seems to be emerging: while the paid-WiFi guys always use this as an argument why no one should offer free WiFi, it seems like just about every place that offer free WiFi says it’s never actually been a problem. Most people come in, use the WiFi for a bit and leave. They also tend to come during off-peak hours, bringing in more business at that time for the establishment. In some cases, places try to cut back on the possibility of free-loading by doing things like turning off the WiFi at peak times – but there’s no evidence that’s needed. As people have said in the past, it’s no fun to be surfing the net if the place is overcrowded with people waiting to get a seat.
