免费WiFi服务究竟为星巴克带来了怎样的意外效应？

And the coffee giant is facing uncomfortable questions in Los Angeles, after becoming a go-to spot for the city’s homeless population of 44,000, NPR reports.

美国国家公共电台（NPR）报道，美国洛杉矶的咖啡业巨头星巴克目前面临一个棘手的难题。近来，44000多名无家可归者大批涌入星巴克，使咖啡店俨然成为了这些游民的首选场所。

That’s because homeless people living in the city have turned to Starbucks as a place to sleep, use the bathroom, charge electronic devices, and use Wi-Fi because it is often the least expensive and most convenient option around.

这个城市的许多流浪者都选择去星巴克休息，上洗手间，给电子设备充电，使用店内免费WiFi等。他们都认为星巴克是周边地区相对最便宜，并且最方便的歇脚场所。

Three Starbucks locations in parts of Los Angeles with large homeless populations have recently closed their bathrooms to customers and noncustomers alike in recent months. The company reports the closures are linked to safety concerns, but current and former Starbucks employees told NPR that homeless people’s reliance on the bathrooms has been a struggle for the chain.

由于最近每天都有大批无家可归的人在店里聚集，洛杉矶地区的三家分店不得不暂停使用店内卫生间，无论是对顾客还是非顾客一律禁止开放。公司方面表示这样做是出于安全问题考虑，然而星巴克新老员工在接受NPR采访时透露，关闭卫生间是因为这些游民频繁使用卫生间给日常生意带来了诸多不良影响。

How to best respond to homeless customers, who spend little and at times cause other customers to complain, has been an ongoing challenge for Starbucks.

这些流浪者平常在店内消费少，逗留时间长。星巴克方面为此也遭受了其他顾客的不少抱怨和投诉。如何能够更好地处理这个问题，是星巴克目前所面临的持续性挑战。

In 2007, a woman was thrown out of a Starbucks because management thought she was homeless. The chain has since tried to be more compassionate toward homeless customers, with the company’s legal team contributing to a handbook dedicated to informing homeless youth of their rights.

2007年，一位妇女由于被星巴克员工当做无家可归的流浪者被驱逐出店。自此事件过后，星巴克对待来店里消费的流浪者和之前相比较为宽容。公司的律师团所撰写的手册上面也十分明确地提到了那些青少年流浪者们所具有的相应权利。

Many Starbucks bathrooms, especially busy locations in cities, have solved the issue of homeless customers bathing in bathrooms by adding a lock on the bathroom door, making it only accessible for paying customers.

目前，许多星巴克咖啡店，尤其是那些地处繁华地带的门店都在卫生间门上另设一道锁，使其只能让来店内消费的顾客使用，并以此来解决许多流浪者在店里卫生间内洗澡的问题。

Starbucks’ hours and free Wi-Fi have helped make it a haven for homeless customers. While the chain has long hours, many shelters close early in the morning.

星巴克较长的营业时间以及免费WiFi服务更是令该地成为了那些流浪者心中最佳的避风港。虽然星巴克营业时间较长，但许多收容所却在早晨早早就关门了。

Libraries in Los Angeles, one of the few providers of free public internet access, have been forced to shorten hours due to budget cuts in recent years. However, an increasing number of entry-level job applications require online applications, making wireless access more important for poor and homeless customers than ever before.

洛杉矶的图书馆是当地为数不多的提供免费无线网络的场所之一，但近些年来由于预算削减，图书馆所开放的时长也被迫减少。然而，随着网络申请求职的逐渐普遍，无线网络对于那些经济窘迫以及无家可归的顾客们来说变得愈发重要。

Free Wi-Fi has lead to a number of unexpected consequences across the restaurant industry in recent years.

最近几年，免费Wifi的普及已经在餐饮业产生了许多意想不到的效果。

In March, KFC and McDonald’s in Stoke-on-Trent in the UK banned teenage customers after brawls between teens congregating at the fast-food locations to access free Wi-Fi.

三月份，英国特伦特河畔斯托克市的几个青少年因在快餐店蹭免费WiFi一事发生争吵，并引起骚乱。从此之后，当地的肯德基和麦当劳一律禁止青少年顾客入内。

Other teenagers have used McDonald’s Wi-Fi for more positive causes. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2013 that many students across the US rely on McDonald’s for internet access; the chain’s 12,000 Wi-Fi-enabled locations are often more accessible than the nation’s 15,000 or so Wi-Fi-enabled public libraries.

有一些青少年是出于积极正当的理由在麦当劳使用免费WiFi。2013年，《华尔街日报》报道美国的许多学生纷纷到麦当劳去蹭网。据统计，快餐店产业共有12000家提供WiFi的场所，这些场所比国内15000家提供WiFi的公共图书馆更受欢迎。

Starbucks was a leader in the movement to bring Wi-Fi to coffee and restaurant chains, debuting the service in 2002?when many people still relied on Ethernet cables at home to access the Internet. Wi-Fi played a key role in turning Starbucks into what the company calls a "third place," where people can socialize, work, or relax outside of the home and office.

星巴克是首批在咖啡业和餐饮业提供WiFi服务的企业。2002年，当许多人还在家中通过电缆有线上网时，星巴克则已经开始推出这项服务。星巴克之所以被称为除家和办公室之外的“第三空间”，WiFi在其中发挥了相当重要的作用。有了无线网络，人们可以在星巴克进行社交、工作以及娱乐，多功能于一体，十分方便。

Free Wi-Fi brings new customers to Starbucks, but also new complications. Fourteen years since the chain began rolling out wireless internet, it still seems impossible to have one without the other.

虽然免费WiFi服务为星巴克招揽了顾客，但是也带来了全新的并发问题。自星巴克推出无线网络服务以来，到现在已将近14年的时间。其结果是：星巴克和无线网络已发展到不能独存的地步，两者必须共存，缺一不可。