Working Anywhere

Retailers-Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Image via Wikipedia

I'll admit, that I love to go to Starbucks as my "get away" from the home office office.  Meeting are easy to arrange at their locations, as most people in the technology world know where one is. So of late, after returning from my exhaustive 6 week European business trip and mini-vacation, I found my Starbucks card in my USA wallet, not my EU/UK version. And guess what, I've yet to switch back.

But after a week of using "cash" I remembered I had the Starbucks Mobile Card app on my iPhone (it also works on the iPad and iPod touch) so between that app, and my drivers license, a headset with mic and an Amex card, who needs more? I mean, you can do just about everything you need to do away from the office on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad that's work related. I can check email, surf the web, make VoIP and Skype calls over the AT&T WiFI  and of course get caffinated to go back to the home office and do more work.

With apps like GoToMeeting, Calliflower and WebEx, even virtual meetings are possible in what I've dubbed Conference Room S for many years.

So while you can only have the Starbucks Mobile Card active on one iOS device, it does mean my wallets a lot thinner. Digital...if you're not.. Wake up and smell the coffee.

This makes me wonder sometime why others like Wal-Mart, BestBuy, Target, Vons and other so called forward thinking retailers haven't gone to the digital bar code app, that ties together the frequent buyer club data, with a digital wallet. Forget the emerging idea of NFC (near field communications) the implementation of the digital bar code by Starbucks inside an iPhone app and it's ties to their loyalty program and balance recharge program is just plain dumb, simple. It works, and it works very well. As a matter of fact between that and the Mobil/Exxon SpeedPass the whole idea of going cashless without a "credit card" seems a lot more personalized.

 

Related articles

• Daily Drive: Pay for Starbucks on your phone (thedailydues.wordpress.com)
• Starbucks to announce that shoppers can pay for coffee with cell phones (venturebeat.com)
• Paying For Starbucks With Your Smartphone - Now in 6800+ Locations! (singularityhub.com)

Hip Work Spot Opens in London-No More Need For Starbucks

Cameron Sinclair pens a piece about a new hipster style work spot called the "Hub Pavilion" that has opened in London this week, over on the Huffington Post.

I think we are seeing the rise of the temporary office, networking "hub" and candidly think Starbucks really missed it.

For many a year I referred to Starbucks as Conference Room "S" to many. You could head over to one, and then organize a meeting. They had chairs, tables you could rearrange, couches, work desks, all that you wanted, and of course, amazing broadband from T-Mobile.

Then somewhere along the way, as their success overcame them, they lost their way. First they turned up the music. Then they turned down the temperature. Next came less and less tables. And then the final blow. Bye Bye T-Mobile and the amazing bandwidth. Hello AT&T and usually a DSL line. A slow DSL line.

These new Hub Spots though are the wave of the future in my book. Already Regus/HQ has opened a similar spot, dubbed the Business Lounge in Cupertino, CA not far from Apple's HQ. While they haven't added all the glitz and "social" components of Hub and Hub Culture, what they have both done is given the road warrior, and the "no need for an office" type of worker, a series of quiet, well decked out and useful locations to get down to work in environments that are serene and very functional.

Plus, they serve better coffee than Starbucks.

What A Global Nomad Wants In A Hotel To Work Anywhere

I admit I'm a bit more towards the side of high maintenance when it comes to what I want in a business grade hotel but as a person who is spending more days a month on the road than in my own house I've pretty much nailed down what I want and need in order to be a road warrior/global nomad beyond a very well informed front desk and a "we'll get it done right concierge."

So here's my list:

1. Real Broadband--1.5 megs or more to my room symmetrically. Anything less and its no fun.

2. Wired and Wireless in Room Access- The ability to plug my travel router in so I can use multiple devices over the Internet connection such as a WiFi phone, dual mode phone, Nokia N800 Internet Tablet or a second PC when traveling with my wife to be.

3. Power Outlets near the bed and extra power outlets in the room to charge things like cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, GPS, etc.

4. Lights Over the Bed I like to read the morning paper in bed with my morning coffee and croissant.

5. In Room Safe-that's big enough for a laptop and more. I really don't like the idea of lugging my Mac everywhere I go and hotels are notorious for where they seem to grow legs. I recently stayed in a $325 a night hotel in Santa Barbara and the in room safe was big enough for a wallet and cigars, but not a laptop. The hotel front desk refused to hold the laptop in the hotel safe or manager's office and a baggage room is about as secure as my room.

6.Relaxing and Inviting Lobbies and Bars with Outlets Honestly, getting out of the room, sipping a Martini and watching some jerk try to pick up on a hottie is still fun now that I'm getting married, but even more so, ideas and inspiration comes from stimulation. But so many bars and lobbies are cold, sterile and just no fun. Maybe that's why I love TabletHotels and Kimpton Hotel properties so much these days.

7. 24 Hour Room Service WITH a 24 hour menu--some of us can be in multiple time zones in the same day and span ten overnight. We need to keep our bodies in tune and that means eating what we need not by what the clock says.

8. A Hot Restaurant With A Killer Chef--okay so I'm a foodie and a wine lover, and a coffee/espresso and tea junkie. I like food from Artisan bakeries, locally grown produce and fruits and farm raised beef, poultry and fresh fish. But why should I have to leave the hotel?

9. Seven Day A Week Laundry-we all don't pack heavy and there are a few things we like to keep fresh and clean.

10. Early Check-In- 11 AM is fine...but come in off a red eye and having to wait until 3 is tough. I know you can reserve the extra night (and I sometimes do if its a weekday and I have an important meeting first thing) but at 250-300 a night for a room I never slept in...I'll gamble and hope they can get something for me by 11 AM.

11. A Fluffy and Warm Bathrobe--yes those of us who work in our rooms don't want to be naked all the time, nor dressed in our go to meeting clothing.

12. Flat Screen Wide Screen TV That's 23" or larger Size Matters. Watching CNN on the small screen we can do on a laptop. Besides, give me a wide screen with HD and I'll but a movie more often.

13. A Larder Hotel De Anza in San Jose lets you raid the larder throughout the day/night. So do other cool hotels. That way, if room service is more than you need, you can find a snack at anytime.

14. High Quality Bottled Water Again, our health on the road is always a challenge. Having better grades of mineral water on hand (at fair prices) keeps us going, and going.

15. Sound Proof Windows Nothing is worse than hearing the trash truck's claxon at 3 AM. As a matter of fact, why is the hotel even thinking that a 3 AM pick up even makes any sense. People stay in hotels to sleep, not to make trash.