Got it from a trusted source that the choco-cafe Whisk, which has gotten rave reviews from friends and venerable Shanghai taste-makers alike, has now decided not to allow patrons to wirelessly access the Internet, citing the behavior of visitors to camp inside for hours while purchasing slight amounts of food and drink. Apparently, the broadband and the wireless signal are alive and well, but the staff has been directed to decline offering the magic WiFi password to notebook-toting customers.

Given Shanghai’s hyper-competitive F&B industry, I understand how critical the profit imperative is. Still, Whisk screams out “come lounge in me” to anyone who’s ever been within 15 feet of the place, and it’s a bit of a surprise that the cafe is clamping down on one its species’ biggest draws. Personally, I haven’t visited the place in a while, and maybe turnover has indeed been problematic enough to drive management to such a decision. No mention of any wireless-related activity on their very sparse website, either.

Contrast that to Element Fresh at the K Wah Center, where I learned from the same source that they also have a no-wireless policy, except theirs is only enforced during the mad rush of lunch hour. Seems like a good blend between customer turnover and offering a relaxed, comfortable place to surf. We found ourselves there on Sunday, feigning work on what was supposed to be a business day, doing our annual “wait until the last month to use up all of our EnjoyShanghai coupons” routine. 2 smoothies for the price of 1…and 3 hours later, are butts were still firmly parked on the cushion.

Hmmm, with lousy customers like me, guess Whisk does have a point after all.