Writing cafe won’t let customers leave unless they finish their work

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

• A Japanese cafe came up with a solution to help those with a deadline to meet.
• There are “mild,” “regular,” or “hard” modes a customer could choose from, and based on these, the staff pressures them to complete their work.
• These modes could go from regular check-ins to someone standing over a customer’s shoulder to monitor their progress. 

“Manuscript Writing Cafe” is helping those with a deadline to meet by having customers pay staff members to pressure them to complete their work.

The cafe is located in the Koenjikita district, Tokyo. It could seat 10 manga artists, writers, and/or editors at a time. This unique service is designed for customers who want unlimited coffee and tea, but there is a catch. The customer is not allowed to leave before completing their work.

This service is made possible using a goal-tracking system that requires customers to write down their targets for the day. Then, the customers decide on how much pressure would be put on them.

There are three options customers could choose from: mild, regular, and hard. Those in mild mode are questioned about their progress at the counter. For the regular mode, a staff member checks in on the customer once per hour. Those who prefer working under intense pressure can choose the “hard” option, wherein a staff member is assigned to stand over their shoulder and watch them work.

The most important rule is that all customers should be able to complete their work before leaving. The cafe pushes its customers a little more by putting up a board and listing down the names of those who left without completing their tasks for the day.

Takuya Kawai, the cafe’s owner, described their provided service as “supporting” his customers. 

“The cafe went viral on social media, and people are saying the rules are scary or that it feels like being watched from behind,” he said. “As a result what they thought would take a day actually was completed in three hours, or tasks that usually take three hours were done in one.” 

Kawai said store hours are customer-dependent. The cafe could remain open past regular closing time upon a request from a customer, he said. For this, the customer needs to pay $1 for the first 30 minutes and $2.34 for each additional hour after that. 

Emiko Sasaki told Reuters how this cafe helped her focus on what she needed to do. She said she managed to finish three articles for her blog in three hours.

“It’s good to be able to concentrate on writing,” she said, explaining that social media often distracts her from working. 

Source: Insider