I do most of my shopping at my local coop, Recyclery, in San Rafael. As I am pretty new to wrenching, they have been incredibly informative, kind and fun to talk to. I have tons of newb questions and I'm always treated with respect and I they appreciate that I am open to using used parts and want to support a local non-profit. In terms of hanging out, well, I can spend a half hour to 45 minutes looking, talking to employees and chatting with other customers. I would call that hanging out, no?
I work retail myself, and I can say from personal experience there is a difference between hanging out and malingering. Some customers come in and it's readily apparent that they have the day free and intend to stay a few hours. This can be tiresome for myself and other employees in that you are now not only supposed to help them, but also entertain them! Some do not have good enough social skills to know when they are keeping us from getting work done.