What Is Coffee Shops' Legal Ground on Purchase-to-Sit Rules?

A coffee shop owner who required a purchase to sit was first hit with a negative review, then anonymously reported to the 12315 platform for alleged forced consumption. The report followed an incident in which a visitor used the shop as a photo backdrop, damaged decor and refused to order.

Regulators said that when a clear notice is displayed in the shop, the rule does not amount to forced consumption. The case touches a long-running problem for what is coffee shops, both independent rooms and the chain of coffee shops: seats taken by non-paying guests. The owner posted four notices stating one seat requires one purchase.

In both chain brands and independent coffee shops, the phenomenon of customers occupying seats without ordering has long troubled operators. Recently, a coffee shop owner set a rule requiring a purchase to sit down, only to first receive negative reviews and then be anonymously reported to the 12315 platform, sparking widespread attention. Regulatory authorities have clearly stated that if there is a clear notice in the shop, it does not constitute forced consumption. This article reviews the course of events, combines lawyers' views with the current state of the industry, explores the legal boundaries of consumption-based seating and the survival difficulties of independent coffee shops, while also providing reference and lessons for peers in the same industry.

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Whether large chain brands or small independently run shops, the problem of "occupying seats without spending money" has accompanied food and beverage practitioners for many years. Recently, a coffee shop was anonymously complained about to the 12315 platform because it had established a "purchase to sit" rule.

Previously, a shop owner posted on social media that her coffee shop had always enforced the rule of requiring a purchase to sit down and also adhered to the convention of "one person, one order," but recently, because of this rule, she first received a negative review and was then anonymously reported to 12315, accused of "forced consumption."

The whole incident began when, earlier, a customer entered the shop without buying any drinks, used the shop's furnishings as a backdrop for a long commercial photo shoot, and even damaged the shop's decorative items. Even though staff repeatedly reminded them, the other party ultimately refused to place an order under the pretexts of "I need to go home to eat" and "I really can't choose anything," and left the shop directly. During communication between the two sides, there was also an unpleasant argument.

Not long after the incident, her coffee shop received another negative review on a review platform, accusing it of "forced consumption" and "bad attitude." In order to prevent similar situations from happening again, she posted four more notices in prominent positions at the shop entrance, including a reminder that "one seat requires one purchase."

She thought the storm had already passed, but unexpectedly, several days later, the shop received a call from the market supervision department, informing them that an anonymous person had reported the shop for "forced consumption." In response, the supervision bureau believed that as long as the shop had clear signage informing customers that sitting down required a purchase, it did not constitute forced consumption. This statement from the regulatory authorities also made the shop owner feel more emboldened. She felt that in the face of people who do not spend money but still take up seats, one should bravely speak out, so she posted to issue a "warning" to fellow shop owners.

In fact, in the previously widely discussed online "Starbucks purchase-to-sit" incident, a lawyer already pointed out: "Operators legally enjoy the rights to occupy, use, profit from, and dispose of the premises they invest in and operate. Current laws and regulations do not stipulate that operators are obligated under normal circumstances to provide services free of charge to all members of the public (sitting down is also a kind of service)." In other words, allowing consumers to sit down is itself a way for the operator to dispose of their own rights; and a shop requiring a purchase before seating also does not violate current laws and regulations.

It is not hard to see that compared with well-known chain brands, independent coffee shops are clearly more willing to say no to "seat occupiers who do not spend" when it comes to "purchase-to-sit." These operators often post various notices indoors and outdoors reminding customers that entry requires a per-person purchase, and they also screen their customer base to a certain extent. Perhaps due to being troubled by "freeloaders" for a long time, some shops even write people who "only sit without buying coffee" directly into the menu and charge them separately.

As operators, decoration, rent, labor, water and electricity... every item is a fixed expense, and these costs ultimately have to be covered by the income from a cup of coffee or a meal. Therefore, almost no independent shop can withstand customers occupying seats for long periods without spending anything. After all, running a business is not easy for anyone.

Although requiring a purchase to sit down can stand up legally, many shop owners still face difficulties involving human considerations in actual practice. On social media, every so often shop owners post to "protest their innocence," because cases of occupying seats without spending occur repeatedly, and such posts always trigger two opposing camps of netizens to debate whether "purchase-to-sit is reasonable."

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.