Ziferblat – The pay as you go cafe
by Steve Humber
on 03/11/2016
Ziferblat (Russian for Clockface) are shaking up the café culture with a new offer; all the food and drink is free, the only thing that isn’t is your time. When you arrive at Ziferblat you check-in and the clock starts.
Originally founded in 2011 in Moscow as a ‘Tree-House’ for adults to hang out and socialise. The cafés have unlimited Wi-Fi, coffee and cakes and can be used for mingling and meetings alike. With no minimum charge the cafes are designed to be flexible for the customer. The smallest charge they’ve reported is 18p for a 3 minute toilet break and at the other end of the scale 11 hours (£39.60) by an author who found inspiration at their table.
With the clock running and your time counted, customers say that using the space to work makes them more focussed and productive. Will the concept take off? Well with café’s in 14 locations across Europe and 3 locations in England (Shoreditch, Liverpool and Manchester) who knows.
Pictures from ziferblat.co.uk
