My Internet Cafe

[pukenerampa]

Just get some fresh, sexy, pretty Japanese ladies to served them. that makes them comeback!

Originally Posted by redqueen

oooo make them have the funny peeping murials on the wall!

that only works in the CR.

[redQueen]

i did say he should mind the rest room facilities.

as long as it's not sleazy, I say beautiful service with beautiful servers work in my book.

[JamieJelly]

when I was living in Madrid was the only real time I used a net café. My biggest gripe was anytime after 3.30pm it would be full of screaming kids playing counterstrike. Sure they are paying customers but it made sure anyone over 16 didn't go in there in the afternoon.

How about no games on the PCs?

[Trapper]

Good point JJ.

[Louis]

That's great John, Good luck with that venture!

Uniform yes, black trouser and white top, is too classic in my opinion.

Kev's suggestion of wifi hotspot is a must!

And Davey, The Tasty Tilde, gotta love it

[JuggoPop]

Games are huge in Japan. You need a couple of dance dance revolution games in the front window.

Actually all the coffee shops around here have WiFi, Some nice quality board games (nice chess sets, etc), the local and national papers, and a couple of old school video game systems setup in the back. Oh and a lot of different seating areas, single tables low to the ground and high with stools, couch groupings, a small bar area for people alone, etc... So that there is a comfy spot for every type of person.

[Julie]

I don't know what its like over there...but I like a selection of newspapers.

[JuggoPop]

Originally Posted by Julie

I don't know what its like over there...but I like a selection of newspapers.

On a big stick like @ libraries?

[chicgeek]

Headphones for each station.

[Julie]

No. I like to read the NY Times, USA Today, and a local paper. I don't read much at work though! I read at home, or when I'm out.

[Ferre]

What I found out at internet cafes China is that every single pc there has a webcam and headset and they sell cold drinks (besides coffee/tea) and warm and cold snacks.

Me too wouldn't go with the black pants/white shirt, way too restaurant-like, I'd rather go with a colored uniform that match the shop interior. I would use light colors though, not 'shouting' colors.

[DuncanM]

Originally Posted by JohnScott

I'll put one of my plasma TV's on the wall, with super soft brown leather sofas. What I'm aiming for is a relaxing atmosphere.

Don't make it TOO relaxing; you don't want a shop filled with people relaxing and watching TV but not buying a product or service.

I am curious: How is the location? Near a university or high-school?

I have a couple Internet cafe's around my neighborhood.
One is always filled with high-school students who travel in packs, and they spend hours online playing games. And they also get pretty loud, swearing at each other back and forth about who shot who and why they were ambushed. For a shop like this, keep lots of Lysol on-hand. The mice and keyboards of Internet cafes are supposed to have more germs than the average family's toilet (especially with people constantly eating and drinking as they surf).

The other cafe is closer to some businesses and seems to have an older crowd. Tourists come in to check their webmail accounts, businessmen come in to print documents, etc. I even saw a guy come in wanting to print some AutoCAD drawings once (he was a ten-hour drive away from his office, in town doing a contract job and needed some drawings e-mailed to him). So if you want to open yourself up to printing possibilities, have a good-quality printer on-hand for the older folks who might just want to print something but not surf.

Myself, I just like a high-speed connection and good-quality software. If I see too much crap software installed, and a lot of gadgets, I start to think the owner/operator might be a gadget freak but otherwise is not very competent. And then I start to wonder about how free his system might be of viruses, spyware, etc. So then I wonder if I really want to log in to a webmail account from his shop. After all, his security might be so lax my passwords might be getting harvested.

A lean, clean, system is what I like. But that's just me.

[chicgeek]

Good call on sanitation. Maybe even hand sanitizer will help reduce some transfer.

[JuggoPop]

I think we need John to define the purpose here. Is it an internet cafe that offers coffee or is it a coffee shop that offers internet. I think that will set the feel more than anything else.

[JamieJelly]

yes a good idea... my friend always tells me he doesnt touch door handles or someone elses keyboard because its been touched by old mens willies

[James Trotta]

In Korea, an internet cafe is really a PC room. My favorites are the ones that seperate kids, smokers, and non-smoking adults. Maybe a separate area for kids with games on the computers and selling soft drinks and noodles. Or just ban kids - that's what I would do. Ban all kids.

[JamieJelly]

yeah, if you let kids near those computers we will all be out of work soon

[JuggoPop]

But isn't kids staying on the computer and not leaving until they die a big money maker in asian countries?