Some businesses may rue the day they began offering Wi-Fi: At least according to this writer, who thinks that coffee shops and McDonald's restaurants are running into problems with laptop users parking to use the Internet without buying much.
In reality, this doesn't seem to be the case. While Wi-Fi in McDonald's is an unusual fit, it's not unusual because the Wi-Fi may encourage people to camp out, as the author of this piece suggests. I spoke with a McDonald's exec a couple of months ago and in fact McDonald's would like to encourage people to hang out in the restaurants. Apparently most people take their food to go. If they decide to sit and eat, he reasoned, they may end up buying more food.
Many cafes say that Wi-Fi is drawing customers into their shops during the least busy times. I think that customers will self-police themselves during busy times. For example, I went up to my local coffee shop on a Sunday morning toting my laptop. The place was packed and I barely managed to get a seat. Because of the crowds, I left as soon as I was done with my tea to give someone else my seat, rather then hang out over my Wi-Fi connection. I think a lot of people would do the same.