4/9/2012 Mostly Written at Marylou’s in Sandwich, MA - “Best Coffee in Town” - On Free Internet

Marylou’s gave me tremendous service, so that I recommend them for that, but for Coffee Roost who do have WiFi  in the Town of Sandwich, MA, Coffee Roost was the only business that provided me with internet, free internet, no purchase necessary. I was allowed to plug in my laptop at Coffee Roost during business hours.  I was glad that I retried Coffee Roost because they actually have free WiFi, and we all know that on any given day someone can have a bad day.  Since our initial skirmish, the owner has been very nice since, and I am pretty sure that she doesn't remember that incident and/or hold it against me.

So, Coffee Roost gets my highest recommendation for internet in Sandwich, MA.

Though Marylou’s did not have available internet, I spoke with a pretty young lady with the nametag, “Joy.”  Joy  kindly allowed me use the power available at Marylou’s, so I did purchase a coffee for $1.79, after intentionally waiting a long time to see if they would try and give me a bad day.  I received no problems at all for making Marylou’s wait to serve me, a plus.  Coffee is competitively priced at $1.75 at Coffee Roost.  The two stores are within walking distance.  In fact, I walked from Coffee Roost to Marylou’s in order to write this.  I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts along the way, but did not make a purchase there because they had neither power nor free WiFi.  I would probably alternate between Coffee Roost and Marylou’s if they both provided free internet service.  Maybe other people would to.  Generally, I think it is a good idea to walk and depending how far I want to walk, I may change which store I shop at.

 First, I tried Coffee Roost on 6A in Sandwich, MA.  Coffee Roost was not open on a Monday though it is the Easter/Passover season, so that is forgivable.  However, someone who had a key to the store showed up and tried to give me a bad day for connecting to the internet, specifically www.amazon.com.  It is a new business in Sandwich, MA so mercy is probably the best rule of thumb.  If there is any legal dispute over my internet actions at Coffee Roost, www.amazon.com, will most likely be able to inform the investigators of the place, date, and time.  I have nothing to hide about my actions there.

I am a 3rd party.  I do not work for Marylou’s, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Coffee Roost, or Amazon.  I am not affiliated with Marylou’s, the store I am giving my highest recommendation for in Sandwich.

At Marylou’s, Joy asked me my name, learned it, and correctly used it.  It was first class service.  As I am writing this, business at Marylou’s has been modest.  There is a lot of competition in town, and getting free WiFi is one way that Marylou’s might boost their business.  Many businesses, such as McDonald’s are offering free WiFi.  If you use someone’s free WiFi, and are satisfied with it, then I recommend purchasing.  I do.  I try to avoid taking freebies.

My experience with Marylou’s was that Joy knows most customer’s first names.  I have been to Marylou’s before during a different year, but did not make a purchase because they did not have black coffee.  This time, Marylou’s had regular black coffee that was tasty.  I do not like the taste of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee when it is black.

Though Marylou’s did not have free wireless at their coffee shop, Marylou’s, which is a local chain, receives my highest rating for customer service.  Also, I appreciated the complimentary availability of electricity.

Dunkin’ Donuts is 2^nd in Sandwich for customer service.  The people working the register were kind, but there was no available power or WiFi, so I did not make a purchase.  I recommend avoiding making purchases at places that do not have free WiFi.  Also, I have noticed that most people that buy from Dunkin’ Donuts buy there because they can’t control their caffeine addictions.  Dunkin’ Donuts provides high test coffee, while I generally prefer full bodied coffees.

Coffee Roost is 3^rd in Sandwich.  I will probably give them a 2^nd try, as I know that they do have free WiFi, it was just that someone who was probably owner was rude to me for using their WiFi and power when the business was closed.  The lady who was rude to me did not introduce herself, but she did have a key to the store.  I did not break into the store.  There was an outlet on the side of the store that the business next door said I could use.  Assuming that they, a local pizza place and Coffee Roost, were both under the same ownership as they are in the same building, I used the signal.  The power was turned on at the outlet, and so was the wireless internet.  I asked to use an outlet at the pizza place, but since they didn’t have one, one of the men working suggested that I use the outlet, so I did.

The reason I am in search of a wireless internet signal is that I like to promote local business through review.  Review is judgmental, and therefore it would probably be a bad idea to simply float all of their boats.  I am familiar with the WiFi connection at McDonald’s restaurant chain, and have often used it, but seeing as how their store in Sagamore is undergoing new construction, I figured I’d give the local a shot.  Usually, I use the free signal at McDonald’s Restaurant in Sagamore, which is about 5min car ride away from my house.  That McDonald’s which as I am writing this is not open, so I thought that this would be a great time to search out a better connection that the Sandwich Town Library.  Often, when I am at the Sandwich Town Library the connection is choppy, sometimes fast, but sometimes very slow.  McDonald’s provides the fastest connection.  I have informed the librarians at the Sandwich Public Library, and heard others informing the librarians there, that there is problems with the internet connection, but it never seems to get fixed.  That may be due to lack of funding.  However, as a result of the poor internet service, I don’t use it as often as McDonald’s.  Beggars can’t be choosers.  It is entirely up to the Town of Sandwich to see if they want to make a free internet connection available 24/7.  There is no need for me to purchase an internet connection because smart stores make it available for free, as it is generally a smart business move to offer some sort of sample.  The Sagamore McDonald’s is just over “The Bridge,” and is also within walking distance from my house.  Internet at the McDonald’s in Sagamore was 24/7 and I assume that it will return to be being that way once the new store is put in.

When I use free internet at McDonald’s I make a purchase, if I have the money, and I would call myself a McDonald’s customer.  One of the reasons McDonald’s is a preferred business of mine is that they have offered free ways to give to charity that are not religiously affiliated.  The local Stop & Shop also usually provides a few ways to give to charity.

I once worked at the McDonald’s in Bourne, and that is the place I will attempt to make this post at when I am done writing it.  However, McDonald’s has not offered free power, which is not to say that they won’t for things such as laptops in the future.  The store closest to me is currently being constructed and may have outlets.

The order of places that I have visited today in order to find a wireless signal are listed below.  I would have purchased a coffee at Coffee Roost if they had wireless, but that is less important than this blog.  I like to review local businesses, and I like to promote good business and cut down bad business through reviews.  It is good for the economy.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.       <!--[endif]-->Coffee Roost in Sandwich

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.       <!--[endif]-->Town of Sandwich Public Library

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.       <!--[endif]-->Dunkin’ Donuts in Sandwich

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.       <!--[endif]-->Marylou’s Marylou’s in Sandwich

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.       <!--[endif]-->McDonald’s in Bourne (success)

I walked to Coffee Roost a local business in the town of Sandwich to  use their wireless internet down the street from my apartment.  Walking is a great way to get exercise.  I like being healthy, but I am not a health extremist.

According to my computer, the internet connection is called, “Coffee Roost.”  I connected there on Saturday.  Monday,  4/9/2012, I connected to the Coffee Roost using a plug outside that someone behind the desk at the pizza place suggested for me to try using.  It did have power, but it required that I unplug outside lights that were not on.  Someone walked by and may remember seeing me checking to make sure that I was not unplugging anything that seemed important.  The lights were for the sign but they must have all burned out and it was the middle of the day, so they really couldn’t serve a purpose.  To see how much of a loser the person who was rude to me at Coffee Roost was, I asked her if her lights that are plugged in where on, to which I already knew that they were off, but I wanted to see if she would lie to me, and she did.  She said the lights were on, when the lights were off.   Her exact words where when she walked up to me were very rudely saying, “Hey!  You are using my power.”  I am already aware that they provide free power during business hours, as I have used it.  I replied in a kind voice, “I would have bought a coffee if you had allowed me to use your internet.” (Not only that, she may have lost a possible regular customer.)  I had used the power for about 5min in broad daylight on Route 6A.  I informed the lady that I had come to  make a purchase.  There were two outlets available that could be plugged into.  She plugged a cord into an outlet that covered the outlet.  I asked her if she would kindly move her cord over so that I could continue using the outlet, and she basically said, “Scram.”  A little, frazzled, then walked to Dunkin’ Donuts.  I am assuming that she, the lady at Coffee Roost, was the owner or at least representative of the owner because she had the key that was required to open the store.  When I plugged in I assumed that she would have cut the circuit breaker if she didn’t want people to use the outlet, especially since it was near a table outside. 

I walked to the library to check if I could get a signal there.  They have free internet, but I have had problems with the quality, and so I try to avoid using it.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. 

I will try to make contact with Coffee Roost, Marylou’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s after posting this via the internet in an attempt to help improve the quality and customer service of the local businesses.