Popular Leeds coffee shop Bean & Gone owners ask people not to work on laptops at weekends
The young owners of a Yorkshire coffee shop launched during the lockdown which has proven immensely popular have requested visitors not to work on laptops during the weekend – to be ‘able to accommodate as many people as possible’.
Ella Kiernan-Firth and partner Ryan Wade set up Bean & Gone in Pudsey three years ago.
It has become a huge hit in Pudsey, Leeds with many travelling from across the city to try out the business.
Due to the popularity of the coffee shop, the pair have now implemented a ‘no laptops on weekends’ policy, shared in a social media post.
In the post, they requested visitors not to work on laptops on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, they said they can accommodate people using laptops on weekdays and it is “encouraged”.
They said the policy – which was first implemented in November – was to “try and run our business in the most effective way for us and our customers”.
A Facebook post which disagreed with the policy has led to poor reviews and “nasty” Facebook comments according to the owners.
“Getting angry at our team or comparing us to larger coffee shop chains just isn’t helpful”, the post continued.
"Costa have 14,575 stores UK wide and we are 1… 1 little shop with huge over heads, an extremely hard working team to pay and lots of rising costs to contend with.”
“Times are hard, we are seeing hospitality business closing down every week.. and we really don’t want to be the next. "
Many customers praised the stance of the owners and the communication through the lengthy post.
One person said: “I think this is a very reasonable policy and it’s unfair of people to pile in not knowing or caring about the facts.
“Keep going guys, you’re amazing.”
Another added: “It’s a really well-balanced, pragmatic policy…and you’ve just reminded me to come and work there on a weekday.”
Farsley based brewery Amity also heaped praise on the pair and said: “Sending much love guys. You are doing an amazing job and your passion shines through.”
The post in full reads: “We would just like to remind every one of our laptop policy at the shop. We politely ask that people do not work on laptops during the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) This does not include week days - we encourage laptops on a week day.. the shop is quieter and it makes for a lovely working environment. We understand that not everyone works Monday - Friday (we also work weekends too!) but unfortunately it is just not something we can accommodate at a weekend.
“We are not doing this to be awkward or difficult, we are doing this to try and run our business in the most effective way for us and our customers. Since we first implemented this policy back in November we have found it has made a huge difference to our weekends. Thank you so much to everyone who has understood this.
"We are a small coffee shop and get really busy on a weekend and we are so grateful for this. We want to be able to accommodate as many people visiting us as possible with the 9 tables that we have in our space.
“Unfortunately, a Facebook post disagreeing with our policy has been put up and from this we are receiving bad reviews and nasty Facebook comments from people who have never been in our little shop or experienced what we have to offer. Social media is a wonderful tool for businesses and can have a really positive impact on them, but when it is used in a way that people can comment on a situation that they were not part of it can be hugely upsetting but also really damaging for a business.
“Getting angry at our team or comparing us to larger coffee shop chains just isn’t helpful. Costa have 14,575 stores UK wide and we are 1… 1 little shop with huge over heads, an extremely hard working team to pay and lots of rising costs to contend with. So every person, every coffee and every bagel counts. When we have 1 person taking up a table for 4 during our busiest period unfortunately we have to say something.
“Times are hard, we are seeing hospitality business closing down every week.. and we really don’t want to be the next. We love what we do, we love being in Pudsey and we love all our customers that support us and we really do hope that this one small request doesn’t discourage people from visiting us! We’re just trying our best.
“Thank you so much for your continued support as always,
“Ella & Ryan”