For a relaxed first conversation, a quiet coffee shop table works well. For anything with numbers, contracts or personal details in it, book a room with a door. We have both under one roof, which saves you guessing which kind of meeting it is going to turn into.
Here is how to choose, and how to make either one go smoothly.
When a table is the right place
A coffee shop is a good place to meet somebody for the first time. It is neutral ground, nobody has to invite anybody into their home or office, and there is something to do with your hands while you get past the small talk.
It works best when the meeting is mostly conversation. Getting to know a new client, a catch-up with an existing one, an informal pitch or a quick decision on a draft all suit a table.
A few things help. Arrive first, so you can pick the table instead of taking what is left. Sit away from the counter, where the grinder is loudest. Buy the client’s coffee. It is a small thing and people remember it.
When a table is the wrong place
Some meetings should not happen in a public room, however pleasant it is. Move to a private room if:
- the client will talk about money, health or anything else they would not want overheard
- you need to share a screen with more than one person
- there are more than three or four of you
- it is an interview, whichever side of the table you are on
- you are recording it
Nobody enjoys leaning in over a small table to read a spreadsheet on a laptop screen, and nobody at the next table wants to hear the numbers either.
Our conference room
The conference room is made for the meetings that should not happen at a cafe table. It seats ten around the table, and there are extra folding chairs in the room for a bigger group. There is a screen on a rolling stand and a mobile whiteboard with markers. The window has blinds. Power outlets are built into the middle of the table, so nobody is running a cable across the floor. The WiFi is the same free, fast connection as the rest of the building.
It suits client meetings and interviews, small workshops and classes, and recording a podcast or a call that matters. Coffee and the full menu are a few steps away, so a long meeting does not have to stop for lunch.
It is booked by the hour through Peerspace. The listing shows the current hourly rate, photographs of the room and what is free, so you can book it in one go without emailing back and forth. If the booking needs food as well, or it is something recurring, get in touch and we will work it out directly. For catered meetings, we take orders through ezCater, and the catering page has the details.
Before the meeting
Send the client our contact page rather than typing the address into a message yourself. It has the map and the directions. We are in the plaza on West Southern Avenue, and there is parking right outside, which is one less thing for a visitor to worry about.
If you have booked the room, arrive ten minutes early to get your laptop onto the screen and check it all works. A meeting that opens with five minutes of fiddling has lost something before it has begun.
After it
If you need to write up notes while the meeting is still fresh, the shared workspace is right there. It is free, with desks, power at nearly every seat and fast WiFi, and a coffee makes a desk yours for the rest of the day. There is more on how that works in free coworking in Mesa.
For meetings that happen on a screen rather than across a table, can you take a video call from a coffee shop? covers where to sit and when to move somewhere quieter. And if you are choosing a regular place to work, our guide to the best coffee shops to work remotely in Mesa compares five.