I met with a friend recently in the local village coffee shop. At the next table were three people discussing a proposed gift store. They were so excited by the ideas they were coming up with that they seemed to forget that everyone else within earshot could hear them. It was a meeting that should have been taking place in a private meeting room somewhere, not in a public setting like a bustling coffee shop.
This immediately reminded me of an article I read a few years ago that is worth mentioning here because the message is timeless. It was about meeting in coffee shops for business discussions and how it has become an everyday occurrence. Even if you haven’t done it yourself, you’ve probably seen other people do it and noticed how you can’t help but hear what they’re talking about even if they keep their voices fairly low. And therein lies the problem, they share business details with at least the adjoining tables.
If you meet to discuss business in a coffee shop how do you know who is listening? It could easily be someone such as a competitor or an employee’s friend who shouldn’t hear what you’re discussing. Do you really want to share your concerns about an employee or your idea for an exciting new idea for your business with strangers?
In addition to this, a lot of people frequent coffee shops for some private time with their laptop or a book—a loud, animated business discussion can be inconsiderate and annoying. And if you annoy the quiet laptop user at the next table badly enough, who knows what they can do to mess with your business using the information they’ve overheard?
I’ve been telling people for years to be careful about the business they discuss in public places like coffee shops. Now, thanks to that article, I have a classic example to illustrate my point. A patron was having his coffee shop experience ruined by a group of people loudly discussing a new business venture. His 26-word tweet from the coffee shop tells the story:
“Coffee shop.
People next to me are loud and rude. They just found the perfect name for their new business.
I just bought the domain name.“
There! You’ve been warned.. Don’t discuss business matters in public places like coffee shops.
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