View Full Version : Icky.
fidgiegirl
11-30-11, 6:43pm
I was in Menards tonight, a home improvement chain kind of like a Home Depot or Lowes, you know, full of cheap junk for the most part but with some necessary materials for the remodel, too. Anyway, religious Christmas music was playing SO LOUD and it felt horrible!! It was like the subliminal message was "shop to honor Christ's birth. We will worship in this plastic-filled temple of consumerism." Ew.
http://www.terminartors.com/files/artworks/4/2/2/42224/Giordano_Luca-Expulsion_of_the_Moneychangers_from_the_Temple.nor mal.jpg
Wish I had a "like" button for that image.
DH is a regional manager in retail and has taken to wearing ear plugs when he goes into one of his stores. He says the holiday music drives him crazy.
LOL bae. That was perfect.
Can I add that I find most places these days - retail stores, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. - are all playing their music too LOUD?
I always thought that unless you were attending a live concert, music was supposed to be something in the background, a pleasant addition to your experience. What is the purpose of playing the music frantically loud? If you want to actually drive customers away, it's working with me.
fidgiegirl
11-30-11, 9:57pm
I don't get it. :(
iris lily
11-30-11, 10:09pm
Well, I heard Paul Simon music in the shopping palace I attended today. This is after hearing Paul Simon music in the grocery store.
Somewhere along the way, Paul Simon became Muzak.
Simplemind
11-30-11, 10:29pm
I don't know how the employees of shops like Abercrombie don't incur hearing loss. I don't understand how they could pass a safety inspection without providing earplugs. That and the scent they pipe through the air. Couldn't work there if you had any type of respitory issues.
I worked in retail for years and there is nothing that kills the Christmas spirit faster than listening to the same Christmas music over and over at a loud volume. I love Christmas music but I like it soft, peaceful and a large mix of styles.
PS I wish we did have like buttons. Good one BAE.
gimmethesimplelife
12-1-11, 12:43am
I was at a Hispanic supermarket here in Phoenix today and they were blasting Christmas music in English - I'm dreaming of a white Christmas - very surreal as how likely are we in Phoenix AZ to have a white Christmas, and also surreal as that was the first time I have ever heard music in English there.....And yes, it was very loud and quite annoying. Rob
I don't get it. :(
It's Jesus tossing out the money changers. The original OWS ;)
fidgiegirl
12-1-11, 8:55am
Aha.
fiddiegirl,
as I get older and wiser ;) I can not associate the Christmas season with the material cr+p that is out there. I am not a grinch, but see nothing festive or pretty about the stuff. I am finding my inner peace and place I need to be with myself now, perhaps this is why?
shadowmoss
12-1-11, 11:30am
Rob: For surreal, try hearing White Christmas sung in Spanish while in a crowded Honduran supermarket . :)
Well, I heard Paul Simon music in the shopping palace I attended today. This is after hearing Paul Simon music in the grocery store.
Somewhere along the way, Paul Simon became Muzak.
When Led Zepplin becomes muzak then you know you are old :-)!
In the town I live in there is a long old timey main street and they have speakers on every old timey lamp post blaring Christmas music. One time of the year I'm glad I'm almost completely deaf :-)!
gimmethesimplelife
12-1-11, 9:51pm
Rob: For surreal, try hearing White Christmas sung in Spanish while in a crowded Honduran supermarket . :)LOL I love the visual I am getting from this! Definitely sounds surreal to me.....
AustinKat
12-1-11, 10:54pm
Can I add that I find most places these days - retail stores, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. - are all playing their music too LOUD?
Me too. I find it especially infuriating in bookstores. In other kinds of stores I'm just looking for an item, but in a bookstore I'm trying to read, which is nearly impossible if Elvis is braying "Blue Christmas" from the ceiling at top volume.
gimmethesimplelife
12-2-11, 2:13am
Something I just thought of is that I have worked as a server in restaurants where the music was played way loud - imagine how as a server you are juggling all kinds of demands and how much you have going through your head at any one time, and having to tune out the loud music - easier said than done sometimes when you are having a demanding day. So on the other side of the table, or counter, or cash register, this must be annoying to others other than me. I wonder why this is so common now? Rob
I don't get it, either. I'd be perfectly happy alone with my thoughts while shopping or having lunch. One of my local grocery stores plays infomercials in the produce aisle and at checkout--on top of screamingly loud Muzak. Sell, sell, sell. I'm not tempted to linger, so perhaps it defeats its purpose.
Something I just thought of is that I have worked as a server in restaurants where the music was played way loud - .... I wonder why this is so common now? Rob
Rob - have you ever had patrons ask to have the music volume lowered? Whenever I ask, the person seems kind of startled, like no one has ever made this request before. And if you did get a few such requests, would you mention it to management so they might get the hint to keep it at a lower volume?
I confess that I've even gone online to answer those surveys that sometimes come with your receipt (you can tell this is for a chain-type place) and I always mention if the place is just too loud. At least once I've been happy to note that the volume was definitely lower at my next visit, so maybe my one-person crusade is having at least a little success!
I agree that it is too loud, all the time, everywhere. It's as though there is a conspiracy to prevent people from thinking or communicating!
rosarugosa
12-3-11, 9:32am
I am an admitted grinch and I loathe xmas music. It definitely helps keep me out of the stores this time of year, so I guess it's a frugal of sorts, at least for me.
Here's the loud nasty Christmas music at our local "mall" this evening, followed by the lighting of the tree.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lPbtE5jnDoE/TtrVLLGn5vI/AAAAAAAAEZc/5CC-PUJl20M/s576/IMG_0293.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kuGX3uuxOxc/TtrP-vMcDqI/AAAAAAAAEVg/IiPsRckrfR8/s576/IMG_0322.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hCzQoCJdGuU/TtrVb5AtrzI/AAAAAAAAEZs/5PDHw6bBsiE/s576/IMG_0291.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JaNLQjlzhyw/TtrSKaD03YI/AAAAAAAAEW4/Sc_m08VFVrc/s576/IMG_0311.JPG
And cookies, that the band baked.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6T_RmfOH47U/TtrS_sslKzI/AAAAAAAAEXk/xED0gaprVos/s576/IMG_0308.JPG
fidgiegirl
12-4-11, 9:07am
So much more fun than crappy Menards, bae. Looks like a lovely event.
gimmethesimplelife
12-8-11, 11:47pm
Rob - have you ever had patrons ask to have the music volume lowered? Whenever I ask, the person seems kind of startled, like no one has ever made this request before. And if you did get a few such requests, would you mention it to management so they might get the hint to keep it at a lower volume?
I confess that I've even gone online to answer those surveys that sometimes come with your receipt (you can tell this is for a chain-type place) and I always mention if the place is just too loud. At least once I've been happy to note that the volume was definitely lower at my next visit, so maybe my one-person crusade is having at least a little success!Every now and then I have people ask for the music to be turned down BUT I have noticed when this is done I then have others asking for it to be turned back up.....My experience has been that most of the managers I have worked for in this business pretty much are flying by the seat of their pants and are living in constant crisis mode so they are typically not going to note over the long term if there are several complaints about noise. But I sure support you in your one-person crusade! Rob
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