Xintiandi Coffeebean goes wireless-less ... for now

Shanghaiists aren’t frequent patrons of Xintiandi establishments: With a can of diet Coke going for 38 kuai, we prefer to spend our hard earned Renminbi elsewhere. But, there has always been one notable exception -- we love Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Although the place is hardly budget (26 kuai for a medium ice latte), we like it because it’s close to our gym (no, not Physical -- Megafit, though seemingly just as rainbow friendly), because it’s well air-conditioned and smoke free, and above all ... because it has free wireless internet. That is until today: The wireless service, while still free, isn’t exactly working.

Shanghaiist stopped by around 3 pm, hoping to grab a drink and get a little work done before heading over to the gym. “No or limited connectivity”, our yet-to-be-on-fire Dell told us. Looking around, there were a few other frustrated faces fumbling with their notebooks. Just to be sure, we asked, and yes, none of them could connect. Shanghaiist went up to a staff member and informed him of the issue, and specifically mentioned that this wasn’t an isolated incident. A few seconds later, the young man told us that the network was fine and pointed to a few people who were able to connect (that helps us how exactly?). He added that the signal had been spotty as of late, and suggested that we move around a bit trying to catch a signal. Just to play along, we did, and ... nada!

While it would have been nice if someone told us the wireless were shoddy ahead of the time, at worst, we wasted a few minutes and paid 26 kuai for a glass of milk, with a few drips of coffee and a lot of ice mixed in. But, if you are planning a meeting there with business associates during the next several days, and are counting on WiFi, you might want to reconsider. Other venues in the area that offer free wireless service include Luna(a few doors down), and Zentral on Fuxing Lu

Photo from Jevon_nl.