Homeless and Fast-Food locations

It is becoming more common when you go into a fast-food location you will find at least one homeless person taking up either a booth or a large table and sleeping there. It must be difficult to manage this because some homeless can be aggressive while others will just move on without saying anything.

The other issue with homeless and fast-food locations is the homeless use the washrooms as a place to wash themselves, so it isn't such a great location to have to visit if you are needing to go to the washroom yourself. I know that in Niagara Falls especially on Clifton Hill it is an issue at least in the Tim Horton's to find one or two homeless individuals sleeping in booths. Security can only do some much and it might be that Tim Horton's has to request the individuals be removed. I know that when we were there for the Friday for breakfast, security came in and removed one individual but when we were there on Saturday there were two booths occupied by homeless and no security was visible.

I understand that people are homeless for one reason or another however it is difficult to accept that they are being allowed to occupy booths in a fast-food location while there are paying customers looking for a seat so that they can enjoy the food that they just purchased. The Tim Horton's on Clifton Hill is always busy and there is also someone looking for a seat no matter what time of day you go so having a booth or two occupied by someone that isn't purchasing anything from the location, doesn't help either. There needs to be a better way to manage how is sitting in the store and for how long because there are lots of people that want to sit down even a few to just eat their food and then head out carrying their beverage.

So, when you are out and in a fast-food location and you see people that are taking a space of a paying customer, maybe mention it to management and they can do something about it. I totally understand that the homeless need a place to rest but when a location is busy and they are sitting taking up a table or two or even four people that can be difficult especially in the locations that are extremely busy all the time.

Update: When I wrote this blog the Tim Horton's on Clifton Hill was open but it has since been closed. I have not edited this post because this happens in a lot of locations.

Furniture Placement

Why do hotels and restaurants put their furniture in the most unusual places?

We have been looking at this in various locations and have found that with some hotels why have placed either desks or a drawer arrangement over part of an outlet. This means that you cannot plug your devices in to recharge in these plugs. A lot of hotels don’t have a lot of outlets to begin with, and putting furniture that blogs the outlets doesn’t help.  In today’s world, people have more than one device that they want to use while away, and they also need to charge these things. It is always interesting to see the locations of the plugs because sometimes they are behind a piece of furniture, and you can’t reach them or there just aren’t enough outlets around. It would be nice if more hotels ensured that there is an outlet near the bed so that devices can be changed in the evenings.

Restaurants are another place that have very odd placements of furniture. Pictures are placed on the wall and then the furniture is placed, and it ends up that the picture is partly blocks but either part of a booth or by other items in the restaurant. I have also seen that restaurants have placed pictures with writing on them up at a high level, making it nearly impossible for most people to read the words on those pictures. If you are going to be placing pictures with words on them, make sure that people can see the writing and read it.

Some fast-food starts have started to place outlets near booths so that people can charge devices while they are having their meal. This can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. The advantage is you can possibly top up your device while you enjoy a quick bite, but the disadvantage is that people end up spending hours sitting at a table even when the fast-food location is busy. If you are going to be charging your device while at a fast-food location, please try and limit how long you are sitting there because there may be others trying to charge their devices as well.

The placement of furniture is quite often a challenge, but it would be nice if you could enjoy the environment you are in and not have to fight to plug something in or enjoy that artwork that is hanging on the wall.

Fast food restaurants and free wifi

Have you noticed that a lot of fast food restaurants seem to be busier than they were before? Yes there are more people going to the various restaurants but I don’t think they are buying any more than the few people did. What I have noticed is a lot more of the tables have only one person at the table and they are normally on either a tablet or computer doing something. These people normally have a coffee or something to drink but they spend more time than others taking up a table. Quite often these people are also taking up a table for four instead of a table for two.

I think the restaurants figured it would be a good thing as it would help their customers but what it has resulted in is fewer tables being available for those of us that really want to eat there. I know that I have got my little computer out a few times to write out some quickly but I don’t spend hours sitting in that restaurant nursing that one cup.

For me the only times that I will use the wifi at a fast food restaurant is when we are traveling and I am looking up directions to somewhere. I don’t use the restaurant wifi to check my email or do anything secure because I don’t know who else is on the wifi and what they are doing.

I know that even coffee shops with free wifi are getting busier with people that are spending hours sitting there. I have walked into some of these coffee shops and quickly walked out because there were no seats for people wanting to have food.

If you are planning on sitting for quite a while in a fast food restaurant try and be considerate of others. Please don’t go there just before lunch and take up a large table just for yourself and yours computer. If you really need to use the wifi for something make sure you are willing to accept that others may want to sit with you when the restaurant starts to get busy.

Fast food restaurants and wifi are great for those traveling as it gives them a place to check in or do the research that they need. A fast food restaurant shouldn’t be a place where you sit for hours and do your homework or such.

One word of advice when using the wifi at these restaurants remember you are using a free and public wifi and you don’t know who else is on it. Keep your private things for when you are in an area with a private wifi and internet connection because you don’t want others to learn your passwords or credit card information.