How has your life changed now that wi-fi is free (but slower) at Starbucks?

For me, it's business as usual. (I had free wi-fi through my rewards card.) Read "Starbucks turns on free wi-fi for customers on July 1"

Comments

[Scott]

It hasn't - I never went over my 2 "free" hours with my Gold card...

But I understand that some people have had issues creating accounts with the old system, etc.

At least Starbucks is now equal with most other coffee shops...

[coffee junkie]

It's about bloody time.
I refused to jump through all of Starbucks hoops when I could just use the signal from next door. I think that it's pathetic that Denny's had free wi-fi years before Starbucks.

[ViaYum]

Welcome to the year 2010, Starbucks.

[Sense]

Now you can leech off of Starbucks even more now JR

[sbuxdrama]

Starbucks baristas - have customers complained that the free WiFi is slower than the old paid WiFi?

I used the Starbucks Wifi at least four to five times a week - and the speed is noticeably slower today - either from surrounding people grabbing the signal or other reasons.

Any official reaction from the stores or customer complaints?

[Jim Romenesko]

Sorry, Sense, but you make no sense.

[Jim Romenesko]

>>> have customers complained that the free WiFi is slower than the old paid WiFi?

sbuxdrama -- That's the first thing I noticed when I logged on this afternoon. I was the only one using a computer in the store, so it's not a case of "the system being overloaded."

So SBUX's attitude was: We'll give you free, but it's not going to be very good.

[sbuxdrama]

@Romenesko I've been the only one here using a laptop since 3 p.m. I've been knocked the Internet once and the speed is mind-numbingly slow.

I checked in iStumbler - not the most sophisticated thing - but the signal strength wavers in the mid 50s to low 60% range. I never saw it get above 65%. I could detect a 30% signal from the cafe halfway down the block.

I can't guess where the routers are - I'd guess in the offices - but I was probably about 25 feet (tops).

That's one way to discourage loitering and downloading - make the WiFi unusable for anything but the most basic surfing.

[Legendary or bust]

I get 130k a second for the same download that would be going at 700k a second at home. It's slower but good enough for reading the web and low-duty downloads... By the way, it's always been like this at this store, I don't see it being slower.

By the way, on the iPhone, iPod, or iPad it will STILL not log you need automatically -- you will be prompted to check the box on the home page every time you turn your device back on. Granted, it's less hassled than the whole log-in procedure before. You can use an app from the app store that will log you in each time though, but you still need to run that app each time.

[Legendary or bust]

I don't have an Apple device but on my Android phone it connects the same as any Apple device it seems. Where I live, Androids seem to be rare and iPhone are everywhere...

[Naidra]

I think that it sucks that Starbucks has been swindling people out of money for wi-fi that other coffee shops have been offering for so long. BUT it's good that they now have the service. As much as I hate their prices, the ability to sip a White Chocolate Mocha and surf the net is a pretty valuable experience. Check my Starbucks blog here: http://paragonlifeblog.com/2010/06/30/and-starbucks-pulls-in-the-rear/

[Karl Dahlquist]

I ran DSL reports on my Droid phone....it said between 400 and 600k....I repeated it five times and there was only one person on a laptop....

The first time I tried to log in it failed, because it had an old cookie I guess from the old process.

I did notice they grab your MAC address as part of the log-in. This, of course, allows Starbucks and other advertisers to track your movements across a variety of sites. If you "like" Facebook, then they will already have your names, friends, etc.

[whoknows?]

Our cafe was full all day. Unfortunately, about 5 of the 20 people there didn't buy anything. They did bring in McDonalds or Wendys though and left the stuff for baristas to clean up. Not nearly as bad as it could have been.

[Ninja]

I totally forgot that free wi-fi started today!

So, how have the treat receipts been going for everybody? Have you guys been instructed to Just Say Yes?

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I noticed that downloads were slower than usual. About 75% the normal speed.

[Cafe Nervosa]

I didn't have to answer a single question about the Wifi all. Day.

And although nobody called to ask "DO YOU HAVE FREE WIFI" I would have been able to simply say, "Yes" instead of, "Well..."

It's glorious!

[javajohn]

You hardly have to run a test to tell the wifi is slower - and dramatically so. What's the point? Now the people who used the card-accessed Starbucks wifi are ticked off [and presumably looking for faster wifi]? Now something I was getting 'free' and enjoyed is now still 'free' and less enjoyable. I think watered-downed wifi is the same as water-downed coffee: weak.

[me, myself and I]

I guess Starbucks can't win here.
But if it is true and Starbucks now deliberately offers slower service, I have to admit I think it is a bit lame, too.

[I.Heart.Spirit.]

@whoknows?

Our lobby has been filled the past 2 days with 'customers' on their laptops that are only drinking free waters.

The very reason I would actually defend Starbucks for not having free Wi-Fi when 'customers' would be so outraged to find out you actually have to be a customer to reap the benefits of being in a store.

[A Non eMoose]

Since when are businesses supposed to be charities? Good god, if you don't expect to pay for something then don't expect high quality.

[javajohn]

So if something is 'free' it gives the company license to make it crappy? Starbucks is supposedly all about 'high quality' coffee, service, products, etc... why wouldn't their free wifi be of equal quality? Just wondering....

[otterinthewater]

@whoknows? and I.Heart.Spirit

I know that I'm not entirely sure of your whole store situation, but I know that you should, per policy, be able to ask anyone who is disturbing or otherwise impeding the Third Place experience of customers to leave. Politely, of course.

This includes seating space. I work at a store down the street from a methadone clinic, and we enforce this policy. Have you not bougt something? Please, sir/ma'm/miss, we need this space for customers. If it works swimmingly well with addicts, it should be fine at any other store. Those that object are perfectly free to call and complain. If you feel they will, call before they do and explain the situation. It is then no longer your concern.

Please, partners, don't be afraid to use the rights granted by company policy!

[Waltie]

People are going to call me a tool for saying this, but I have used the new wi-fi for the past two days, and thought it was noticeably faster in the two different stores where I worked. Worked great for me and I heard zero complaints.

That isn't to say other area aren't having problems. I dunno. All I know is the internet was fine where I was. No, the company isn't slowing things down to drive people away. That's just stupid.

[Caffeind]

So far no complaints about the wifi being a shift..

Don't get much foot traffic to begin with though.

[Herman M]

It's AT&T, folks. Better yet, if you drag the access point out from among the other electronics on the IT rack, you will see it's got a 3G card stuck in the back of it. So with those bits of info, is it any big shock that as soon as it became "free" AT&T suddenly found the need to throttle the speed to keep their system alive? Snarky, I know, but it's AT&T. I think the deserve a little bit of it.

[A Non eMoose]

javajohn, internet costs money. Fast internet costs more money. Do you really think a company that was on the verge of death just a year ago is gonna gladly hemorrhage money again so people can download their stupid crap faster? All of this "free wifi" at Sbux and McD's and everywhere else is a gimmick to bring in customers, not an attempt to provide quality service.

[javajohn]

Starbucks was not 'on the verge of death' a year ago; not even close. Please. Anyone who follows the company in the financial press knows that Starbucks - while profits were down - was still mighty profitable.

[DoubleShotOnIce]

I have more customers coming in to use free wi-fi, and they ARE paying for drinks! Thank you Starbucks... it only took you 5 years!

[javajohn]

Interesting DoubleShotOnIce because at the suburban Starbucks I was at this morning; two customers [men] came in, sat down, pulled out their laptops and used them for more than an hour and never bought a thing. I really can't understand the mentality of people who do that.

[(former) FLA SM]

You can't understand the mentality of that? What's so hard to understand? You give away something for free and people accept that free service and use it. Wow. What a difficult concept. There is no obligation associated with the use of wi-fi to purchase anything; hence the term "free."

[javajohn]

And this is where ultimately the problems will arise. Paying customers coming in to Starbucks, purchasing drink and/or food products and having no place to consume them because tables are filled with non-paying customers taking advantage of the 'free' no holes barred - no expectation of purchase 'customers'. I think that's a problem and I'll be the first to complain about it when I can't sit down anywhere. Want free wifi? Go to the library.

[usorthem3]

I heard today the network was down so, I guess it did change a bit.

[john]

No change except I don't have to type in a password now. In high traffic stores, where many people are using wifi, it's impossible to get on, rendering free wifi useless. I'd rather pay and get a guaranteed faster connection. That said, I avoid Starbucks whenver I can, free wifi or not. In most branches, the music is too loud and the people too noisy. It's rare I find a Starbucks that's quiet.

[sbuxemployee]

I wish I was living in a condo where there's a starbucks store on the mainfloor. My buddy who lives on the 2nd floor of a condominium above a Starbucks get's free internet 24 hours a day!!!! He doesn't need to pay a thing. He's at least saving $25 a month!

[Karl Dahlquist]

Why would Starbucks want to host all those torrent downloaders? AT&T is simply giving the speeds equivalent to their lowest DSl option...which still costs $20/mo for residential customers.

[Managermatt]

All the "quiet" stores were shut down two years ago. There was a reason they were so quiet. I agree that no matter what Sbux does, they will lose. We all gripe when they don't do something we think they should be doing, then gripe more when they didn't do it the way we think they should have. It's all a bit silly to me.

[bethany]

With free WiFi, my world has changed. I am now able to surf the net, visit strange worlds, meet new people and voice my opinions over the minute details of politics for hours and hours - all while drinking my iced water.

[trace-cakes]

MY LIFE IS SOO MUCH EASIER. No more having to explain you have register the card on sbux .com and att .com while the line is to the door and the customer having a million question and tech difficulties during a rush. All i have to say is that is free makes the customers happy and the barista. Back to basics the way sbux should be

[jrklein]

I pay for AT&T WIFI access because I could use the access at Starbucks. I always had high speed wifi at any Starbucks store. I wish they offered the option of a premium login or similar because the FREE wifi speeds are horrible everywhere. I've toured at least 8-10 stores in 4-5 states over the past 2 weeks and the ping times are bad everywhere, even if the store is busy. I used to see 30-50 ms pings. I now see 700-2000 ms pings. What gives?

I've started going elsewhere for my afternoon java + work on wifi fix. :(

Jason

[jrklein]

EDIT: In my previous post, I meant ping times are bad everywhere, even if the store is NOT busy.

Several of the stores had no other wireless devices in sight. I don't believe this is purely a contention issue, because I'd have no problems at local stores even with 8-12 other users.

I believe this throttling is being enforced/controlled by AT&T. I've contacted them for assistance, but tech support handling their front lines was less than helpful. They weren't able to do any more than ensure I was connected to their network (attwifi) and confirm that it was slow.

Jason Klein

BIO: I own a network consulting company and provide network consulting (including wireless consulting) for larger, more complex network environments. Think mid-sized universities (500+ nodes) and mid-sized companies (500+ nodes).

[STARBUCKS GOSSIP WEBMASTER]

jrklein -- I also continue to notice the slower speeds of the free wi-fi. I recently signed up with Clear for the $25/month unlimited 4G wimax plan and now use that. It's considerably faster than Starbucks' wifi. (Also Peet's free wifi is faster than Starbucks'.)

[photographer55]

With the free wifi I grow a beard waiting for things to upload to facebook. Cripes - If you want to charge me OK. But stop throttling the connection.