Ever go to a restaurant and the music is so loud when you order that you can’t hear the cashier? Well this is a common occurrence, and here we will go over the reasons why. Most of the time the music is loud like this because of the same reasons. No matter which restaurants we visited that had loud music, when we worked behind the counter, the reasons were all pretty much the same.
It has to do with the age groups that usually end up working at restaurants more than anything else. Many restaurants have new hires pretty much every month, and many of them are teenagers. Teenagers like to party, and music makes them want to dance. I think you know where this is going…
When the song they like is on, they will ask the managers (the only ones that usually have access and control over the volume) to turn the volume up. The young adults can already hear the music well enough, but they really want to get into it and.. you know.. partaaay.
If there are younger managers, then a lot of times they will feel obliged to do as the other younglings ask and turn up the music. Really though, it is not as if they are being pressured to do it, it is really most of the time because they actually want to do it as well.
A lot of times the managers are actually the reason why the music is so loud to begin with. They are the ones that control the volume, not the crew members when the music is being played through the speakers in the ceiling of the establishment. They often take advantage of this authority and turn the volume up when their favorite station or songs start playing. Once they get started, it will usually continues for the rest of their shift until they go home and a new manager starts the next shift.
The worst case scenario, which unfortunately happens a lot, is when employees play their own music through their own speakers that they bring to the restaurant from home. They now have their own playlist of songs, with a speaker volume that they now have control over. The music can (and does) at this point get so loud that the customers ordering in the drive-thru intercom can hear them.
They turn the volume up in an attempt to drown out the restaurants music so it won’t distract them from their supersonic “artwork” flowing through their speakers. This inevitably leads to upset guests that just want to eat their food in the restaurant and talk to their family, but feel like they’re dining in at a rave or a nightclub.
So who do you talk to to fix the problem?
To fix the problem about the loud music, you will need to talk to the general manager of the store. If the general manager isn’t listening, then go to the owner, then corporate. A customer complaint about it is very effective when they have star ratings.
The star ratings are very important to restaurants, and they thrive on good customer experiences. Try to be as reasonable as possible when making your complaints so you don’t come off as someone that is just “having a bad day”, and don’t get heard.
Usually when loud music is being played, even though it may be the managers on dutys’ fault, it happens when the general manager or the owner isn’t present. They both know that the music at restaurants is for the customers and not the employees.
They often do not tolerate loud music being played, because they know it is bad for business. When the owner does pay a visit to the establishment, the music is rarely loud, because everyone there already knows that the owner won’t tolerate it. The general manager usually follows suit right behind the owner’s opinion since they are getting paid more. The assistant manager and everyone else below them may not care, and will act differently when the owner of the restaurant isn’t around.
Bringing it to the attention of the owner of what is happening when they aren’t present may quickly get the issue resolved. Anything that stops the guests (or makes it hard) for guests to order their food and enjoy their eating experience, may make the owner and corporate passionate about making a change.
How loud should the music be in a restaurant?
As mentioned, the music that restaurants play is intended for their guests to help them have a more comfortable eating experience. The volume that the owners and corporate of the restaurant set is usually set to a point where it can be heard subconsciously in the background. If the music is noticed immediately when a guest enters the restaurant, then this is considered to be too loud.
The volume needs to be set to a point that the guest would notice the music after sitting down at a table to eat once their attention is no longer occupied. This is what is meant by the music being “heard subconsciously”. It helps the guests that are eating alone to feel more at ease.
Restaurants often try to make the eating experience at their establishments as enjoyable as they can by mimicking the common scenarios that one would have while eating at home. They want you to stay, enjoy your dine-in experience, possibly order more, and return again.
They don’t play loud music as a tactic to try to make their guest eat and leave the restaurant as fast as possible. Restaurants love when their guests becomes regulars that eat at the establishment on a weekly or daily basis. This means that they will try to make the guests dining experience as good as they reasonably can make it.
The music in the background is designed just for that reason. That is why it is called background music. It is music for their guests to enjoy while they are dining in. The guests often come inside to order with their kids and families. For some of the guests, this is really the only family time they can get out of their busy schedules. Most of them want to sit down in peace and talk to their family and see how their day was. Restaurants ruin this opportunity when they allow the employees to control the music, and especially the volume of it.
If the guests can’t feel at home at a restaurant, then they may not return again to order for another month, because they don’t feel comfortable because of the loud music.
