Three hours to fix a simple outlet near my usual table

I picked a corner spot at Brewline Cafe in Portland last Tuesday, and the outlet next to me was dead. I asked the barista, she shrugged, and I spent 20 minutes hunting for another seat with power. Then I tried the wall outlet by the bathroom, it was loose and my charger kept falling out. I ended up grabbing a cheap extension cord from the hardware store down the street, tucked it behind the bookshelf, and finally got my laptop running. Took three hours total just to get set up, has anyone else dealt with sketchy outlets at their go-to spot?

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1 Comment

laura_allen17d ago

Every spot has that one thing you just accept, like the outlet that only works if you wiggle the plug just right or the table that wobbles unless you wedge a napkin under it. We adapt to broken stuff in public spaces because it's easier than making a fuss, but it adds up to losing an hour of your day for something that should take five minutes. At some point we all just become experts at working around other people's maintenance problems.