i loves me some free wi-fi

wifi.org

If you’ve ever had to travel on biz and you didn’t have a wireless card in your laptop, you’ve no doubt been in search of free wi-fi (like my friend Bob Souer was on his recent trip to Vegas but his was more like an expedition than a search). While there’s money that can be made on almost anything internet, smart restaurateurs and café owners hooked up free wi-fi in their establishments and promoted it. Its not always easy to find either because smaller establishments don’t always think to find free wi-fi directories and submit their information. 

Chains like Panera Bread let people come on in (assuming they’ll spend some money while they are there, as wi-fi patrons should).  I was talking with the manager of my breakfast place, Bagel Jays, and they’re planning on adding wi-fi for customers as well (a little late to the party maybe, but welcome on in!) And unless your some totally ignorant student (and granted, there are a few of them around) you’re unlikely to loiter their all day. 

So I’m in Charlotte last week and I need to get connected and I must have had a brain fart of something because I thought ‘oh I’ll go to Starbucks, they have free wi-fi’. Uh…no they don’t. They also consistently make fairly poor hot chocolate (which is a critical point of difference if you’re not a coffee guy). So since it was lunch time, I left Starbucks and looked around this very nice mall-like set of stores in Sycamore Commons in Matthews, NC and saw a sign that said “deli”. Well when I got closer, I saw it said McAlister’s Deli.  I’d not come across this name (turns out its a chain, nothing wrong with that) but it looked like a fair amount of people were eating there so I walked only to see a sign on the door that said “free wi-fi”. 

Well the food was great, prices were fair, the service was outstanding, I made a couple of business contacts with a few patrons (who also had laptops, I might add), the wi-fi was strong and free and you won’t see me in Starbucks anytime soon.

2 Responses to “i loves me some free wi-fi”

  1. Peter,

    Boy- you just hit upon another of my pet peeves! PAY for wi-fi?? Ugh! It’s what…$40 a month for internet, $100 to set it up? (It’s been a while since we went wireless at home- so I can’t remember the cost) Your telling me THIS is too big an expense for a company like Starbucks? What about hotels- $10 a day to have internet access?? How much are these companies profitting from our need to work? I now try to look for hotels and eateries that are specifically ‘free wi-fi’. I could pay the money…but why?

    On a side note…glad you like McAlister’s-it’s a favorite of ours!

    Kara

  2. Kara:

    The folks at the Sycamore Commons McAllisters couldn’t have been nicer. I hope their great customer service continues and business continues to blossom for them.

    Best always,
    Peter