A number of Second Cup coffee shops across Canada will now be serving up wireless access to customers, allowing them to surf the Net and sip their lattés at the same time.
At one of its locations in downtown Toronto Tuesday, the coffee retailer announced the rollout of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) service that will operate initially in 50 outlets.
That number is scheduled to increase by another 70 locations by next month. Just like a fireplace we might have in a store, this is just another reason for customers to come to one of our cafés
Chris Sonnen>Text
Patrons with Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as laptops and handhelds will be able to connect by way of hotspot technology deployed within the shops. The infrastructure is being provided by Rogers Wireless Inc. and will help teleworkers keep up with the demands of working away from their offices, according to one Rogers executive.
“There are many people working out on the road, and they have to get [data] back to the mothership, and what better place to do that than here?” said David Neale, vice-president, new product development, Rogers Wireless.
For Second Cup, the technology represents another selling point to help get customers in its stores, amid furious competition from the likes of Starbucks and Tim Horton’s.
“Just like a fireplace we might have in a store, this is just another reason for customers to come to one of our cafés,” said Chris Sonnen, vice-president of operations for Second Cup.
Sonnen added that the Wi-Fi ability will be of use to more people than just business workers.
“It’s also ideal for students, who like to come to our stores and do things such as communicate with their friends and download music,” he said.
For Second Cup, a subsidiary of Canadian restaurant company Cara Operations Ltd., the move to deploy wireless capabilities in their locations is the result of approximately two years of planning.
“Small independent (wireless companies) had been approaching us in different cities across Canada, looking to set up this ability with us,” said Sonnen. In the end, however, the retailer decided to ramp up the service with a more established national provider.
“We’re coffee experts, not technology experts,” Sonnen said, adding that it was easier to be a customer of a company the size of Rogers Wireless than of an ad hoc, startup outfit.
The Wi-Fi service will be offered free until April. After that time, a cost of 15 cents per minute will be charged to Rogers Wireless customers, billed directly to a customer’s invoice. Users can also choose to prepay time allotments to their credit cards at rates of either $15 for 24 hours or $9 per hour. These plans expire at the end of the allotted time regardless of how many minutes were used.