Coffee meetings | Hacker News Reader

Coffee meetings

medium.com

51 pointsrastasheep18 comments

oh dear, I started ranting and could not stop - sorry

1. The meeting does have a natural end - when you have finished coffee. Today my accountant gulped half his down in seconds. I took it as a sign.

2. the wifi issue - In the UK Costa is taking on Starbucks but... I have to ask at the till for a unique 30 minute token that I cannot read and has more entropy than a mathematicians kettle. Really guys, I spend a f&!%ing fortune at your place, please just let me google for the three minutes I am standing in line.

3. You cannot do more than say 2 coffee meetings in a day.

4. Food. Look, by 11.30 I am a bit snackish. A biscotti ain't gonna cut it. So that means the poor bugger opposite me needs to watch me feeding my fat face and explaining how Persona will change Identity on line with mozzarella and spinach hanging out between my coffee stained teeth. Not sure where to go with that, just feeling a little self conscious.

5. Going back in. Now that we have finished the coffee, and meandered to the door, how to handle the "well, actually I am going to go and buy a sandwich I was too embarrassed to buy when sitting with you". It just looks weird,

6. stop calling it a loyalty card!!!!

7. I like the baristas. I chat meaninglessly to them. Except when the owner pops in. Suddenly they correctly ask if I want a pastry with that? Do I have a loyalty card. Stop it !

8. Your laptop did not pay for a coffee. Your laptop does not get a table space all to itself. Thats why there are chairs in front of the table - for people to sit at.

what bugs me the most is when the barista asks for your name, but then doesn't use your name to call out your coffee. Or when they ask for my name and my credit card is in their hand.

> Or when they ask for my name and my credit card is in their hand.

This is useful for a number of reasons, one of the biggest is trans individuals.

I had a situation where I was at a table where the check was split. The waitress decided to hand ours back individually, so she started calling out names... leading to embarrassment for basically everyone involved, and possibly out-ing someone who may not want their sex known. Luckily, we were all friends, so no harm to that individual... but you just don't know.

Good (if rare) example of why it is not appropriate to take information provided for one purpose (payment authorization) and use it for another purpose (general communication).

The same restraint should apply to dumping my payment information into spam marketing databases.

I generally tell them "Titus" as my name, so when they call out "Titus", there's only one of me, not multiple "Mike"s going up to grab my coffee. Such first world problems we have. And I'm surprised how many people can't spell the name Titus.

Today my accountant gulped half his down in seconds. I took it as a sign.

It's early April. In the U.S., this is about 1.5 weeks before the largest tax deadline of the year. An accountant here with spare time for a leisurely coffee is a sign that I better start looking for a new accountant.

Thanks for posting my article.

Sorry, it's really great, and i didn't saw it here.

I don't think that Len was being sarcastic. I think what he really meant was, "Thanks for posting my article."

Handy tip: If you want to appear sincere on the internet, use an exclamation point.

"Thanks for posting my article!" doesn't come off sarcastic, even if it overstates your exuberance.

I sort of hate to continue this thread, but that is definitely my rule for email. I decided a few years ago that, if it came down to it, I'd rather come across as an over-exuberant (can't think of a polite word for 'idiot') than come across as an asshole. Most of the time, at least.

The upside is that if you add an exclamation point, you can get away with much shorter messages!

A smiley works as well :)

THANKS FOR POSTING MY ARTICLE! :) <3

(But seriously, I was sincere in my appreciation and not being a dick. I think the above syntax tips are all great suggestions.)

No no no no. Take people seriously on the Internet, at face value, and eventually people will realize that sarcasm doesn't work and will stop using it.

Oh, gehar, you're always being so sarcastic! ;)

Want to get coffee?

What a timing. Going out to meet someone over coffee. Although I tend to buy coffee for the other person by invitation, "I would love to buy you coffee and chat about xyz".

Could not read it, for some reason the article refused to scroll on my Android browser (the standard one on Android 2.3.x).

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