A new plague is hitting bistro furniture around the world as the cost of high-speed internet for an afternoon drops to the price of a single cup of coffee.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of California at Irvine have been looking at the habits of 'rent-in-perpetuity' customers - those who buy a single cup of coffee, and then settle in for an afternoon of surfing the internet.
They have found that many individuals stake a territorial claim that renders large amounts of bistro furniture unusable until they leave - with items like smartphones, laptops, rucksacks, briefcases, jackets and so on used to reserve multiple chairs and table space, even though they are alone.
Writing in the Journal of Service Research, the pair observe: "Conflict arises when consumers who believe that cafe space should be reserved for customers to consume cafe products encounter first-come, first-priority or 'rent-in-perpetuity' occupants."
One possible way to resolve this is through the careful positioning of cafe furniture so that one-person tables are located close to electrical outlets, and family-sized seating is away from any mains supply.
Individuals who need to plug in their laptop or smartphone in order to remain in place all afternoon can then be pushed towards the single-seater spaces, leaving the larger pieces of cafe furniture for groups to enjoy and socialise at.