A woman in Bengaluru was in for a surprise when a fellow café patron handed her a handwritten note—not with a contact number, but a complaint about her loud Zoom call.

Sujata Yadav, who was attending a virtual office meeting from a café, shared her experience on X, posting a picture of the napkin with the message: “You can be heard all the way here.”

“I was working from a café the other day, speaking on a Zoom call, when a stranger walked by and discreetly dropped a napkin on my table. Not a phone number, just a noise complaint. Humbled,” she captioned the post.

The viral incident ignited an online debate about whether cafés should serve as workspaces. While some criticized remote workers for treating public places as personal offices, others defended them, arguing that casual chatter is part of the café atmosphere.

One user questioned, “Why do people treat cafés like co-working spaces?” Another remarked, “Customers enjoying coffee shouldn’t be forced into someone’s work meeting.”

Many backed the anonymous note-writer, with one saying, “Finally, someone spoke up! The same applies to public transport too.” Another highlighted privacy concerns: “Discussing sensitive office matters in public isn’t wise!”

As discussions on café etiquette continue, opinions remain divided—should remote workers be more considerate, or should patrons accept that background noise is inevitable?