Asking a cafe to watch my laptop while I use the bathroom — normal courtesy or naive?
Working from a Colombo cafe, need the bathroom, laptop open on the table. Is it normal to ask the barista or a neighboring laptop person to keep an eye on it for two minutes, or do travelers pack up every time? Not a theft scare story — etiquette and what locals actually expect.
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4 Answers from travellers
A short polite ask to staff is common if the cafe is calm and you are a paying customer — close the lid, take your phone and wallet, and be gone only a couple of minutes. Do not leave it open and unlocked, and do not expect staff to leave the counter to chase anyone. If the place is packed or chaotic, pack the laptop into your bag; thirty seconds of packing beats a bad afternoon. I will not invent a laptop-watch tip as gospel. Courtesy ask or quick pack — both are normal traveler choices.
Neighbor at the next table watched it once. I still took wallet and phone.
Lid closed, barista nodded, two-minute bathroom. Untouched when I returned.
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