Marking their territory: Professor studies how customers stake out coffeehouses and cafes
Tuesday, June 12, 2012 - 08:01
in Mathematics & Economics
Anyone who frequents a Starbucks at UC Irvine has seen them: customers who camp out at coveted tables. They mark their territory with papers, backpacks, computers and coffee cups. They wear ear buds to discourage conversation and toss their jackets over empty chairs to keep interlopers from invading their space. Some hunker down with their laptops for hours, long after their last drop of latte.