Are you ever irritated when you go into a retail store?

Question

And the 'background' music is so loud or so obnoxious that you can't think. I know I'm dealing with an old brain and - with distractions - it doesn't function well so does it bother anyone else? Sometimes I think the music is there to either amuse the employees or to keep them awake. It doesn't matter if it annoys the customers. Unfortunately my local grocery and drug store do this often.

A certain book store I used to frequent had a corner devoted to music and videos. The music manager would play one type of music and the book manager would play another and each would see who could play the loudest. To customers, it was sheer cacphoney - discordant sound - and not at all conducive to choosing a book. I'll bet someone in an office somewhere wondered why this book store sold so few books that they had to go out of business.

Background music was originally designed to keep large, cavernous buildings from having a 'dead' sound. It was never meant to be intrusive.

Answer 1

Retail establishments hire consultants to design their sound. There are people who spend their whole lives studying this. Different kinds of music, different volume levels attract a different demographic.

But some places, I agree with you, it seems like the employees have picked whatever music -they- like and don't care about the effect on customers. Here in California, apparently we have a law that you can't work in a bookstore or record store without at least two tattoos or piercings on your face.

I used to complain about the noise levels in restaurants. It seemed the 'trendy' new restaurants and bars were the noisiest. Then I read that some restaurants and bars actually pipe crowd noise in deliberately! This is to chase out old f-rts like me and attract younger people who spend more money!

The strange thing is that these places serve as 'meat markets', places for young people to meet each other. But how can they do that in a place where you can't even make conversation? Apparently the way it's done these days is you just -point- to a girl that looks good to you, and she follows you out to your car and you take her home.

These days I carry a set of disposable foam earplugs in the pocket of my jacket. I can hear conversation just fine with them but they drown out some of the general din.

Answer 2

Could be subliminal advertising embedded in the audio. This was done about 30 years ago.

"The first subliminal TV ad was aired just before Christmas in 1973 with the command "Get it" as a pitch for a children's toy called Husker-Du. When the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) learned of it, they issued a public notice calling subliminal advertising "deceptive and contrary to the public interest." " More here:
http://www.braincourse.com/subliminala.html

The FCC cracked down on it, but some are still using it as a deterrent to theft.
http://www.chargedaudio.com/

I think of 70s when I hear music in stores. So far, it hasn't been really loud though. I seldom shop anywhere but grocery stores anyway.

Answer 3

witch hazel: I'm going to say
this as delicately as I can.
Any retail store is put there for one purpose...right? To sell to the general public. We are the customers...WE have the money, so who should the store cater to?
Many times this loud music
has pierced by brain. I put up
with it for awhile until I realized that "heh, this store
actually wants my money."
So I asked for the store manager. I looked him right in the eye and said, "I have
many things to buy in here today, but I have a headache
and that music is so loud I'm just about to leave" Would
you consider lowering the volume or playing a more soothing song?"
Answer,"yes ma'am. We are here to serve our customers."
I have done this in grocery stores, drug stores (altho some are "piped" and cannot
be changed.),dentist's offices,
wherever it starts to interfere
with what I'm doing.
I have also noticed that most
people will bear inconveniences, loud noises,
bad manners, mean salespeople, and whatever
annoys them, but they WILL NOT SPEAK UP. Why is this? When did we just "go
along" why do we act so "beat down"? If it's wrong,
it's wrong, PLEASE SAY SO.

Answer 4

My daughter works at a retail store, for young people, and they play the music so loud. I don't know how she can work, because when I go in I could not shop because it is distracting to me. I remember when I use to blast the music and my mom hated it. I guess we are just getting older (notice I did not say old lol)

Answer 5

I cant stand to be in a store where the music is like that. Sometimes resturants are doing the same thing. I can easily walk out of the retail store without buying but if I eat I have to stay.

Answer 6

Background music that is too loud or the wrong kind. Some of it is just awful. I must be getting old. Even my daughter
who is in her 20's finds it too loud. I won't buy from any store
that does that. I try to tune it out, but that doesn't always work.

Answer 7

Yes. There was a time when the music played was low and very pleasant. It was usually instrumental and more like Henry Mancini or Ray Conniff type music. I would actually hum, it was so pleasant. Now it is just awful. I can't think well either.

Answer 8

I agree, I used to work at a very fancy restaurant that played 'canned tunes' I can remember wanting to cringe as every night at about 6 up would pop A Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch. aaaarrrrggghh, I seldom heard the others.

Answer 9

Totally agree with you!!! it has always annoyed me intensely...many a shop has missed out on a sale from me because of that, I would sooner traipse around looking elsewhere for what I want....and the other great annoyance is when you go to eat somewhere and they decide to turn up the volume.....grrrrr

Answer 10

witch hazel, I work in retail and I can categoricaly state that the music does not amuse us, especially when it's the same old Christmas Carols over and over again. It is sooooo boring, it actually sends us to sleep! Lol!