Saturday - November 05, 2011

a rant on music in stores and some other news

Some news from old blighty that strikes me as odd. A few items that frankly defy logic.

As Will Rogers famously said, “I only know what I read in the papers.” Or in my case, the radio too. I happen to hear or read the following.

This fellow’s 4 year old daughter was refused a place at a nearby school.  The article didn’t say why.  It also makes no mention of a wife so we don’t know if he’s just a single dad, a widow, divorced er what. 

The little girl was assigned to a school more then 3 miles away ( no mention of bus) that she doesn’t want to attend.  Also, there’s a problem in that daddy does not drive and so can’t take her there anyway. The article seemed to me to be leaving out things but the one thing that really stood out was the following.

Dad met with his local conservative MP and explained his problem and also doesn’t know why his daughter can’t attend the local school near home.
The advice he got seems weird to me, even as a non parent.
His MP suggested that daddy should buy his girl a bike and let her bike the three miles or so to the other school.

Is it just me because I have no experience as a parent?  Would any of you feel safe letting a four year old bike three plus miles to school?  I wouldn’t feel good about one mile, never mind three.

Finally, the usual statement from the office of his local MP.

“We’re sorry if Mr. Johnson did not find the discussion helpful.”

No they aren’t.

Complaints, complaints and nothin’ new.
In this case it’s a number for the health service (NHS) for non emergency help.

They’ve been testing a pilot scheme and apparently the wait times are running fairly long.  Like as much as 35 minutes for some folks. A report said that 12 percent of 33,000 calls across four areas, went unanswered.
Seems like some work needs to be done.  Gee, and I thought the wait time when calling our local pharmacy was longish at 8 or 9 minutes.  Sometimes they get tired I suppose of the ringing and disconnect us.  Doh, it’s a major pharmacy chain. Boots.
What would it cost them to install a hold on the line?
Of course the downside to that would mean god awful music being pumped down a distorted copper line and being forced to listen to rap or some other equally awful uninspired un musical garbage.

Finally …. an article in today’s Daily Mail proves conclusively that the ppl responsible for forcing loud background music on us in stores, restaurants and even public toilets, don’t listen and don’t care when they do. And the background really isn’t background at all in too many places. But the generation that has grown up with things LOUD, have lost much of their hearing and so now they’ve grown up and are in charge of what we must listen to in public places they control.

How half of us have left a shop because of its muzak

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Presumably, a little background muzak is designed to make you stay in the shop longer so you buy more.

But half of shoppers have become so irritated by it that they have walked out.
A survey found that three-quarters of shoppers notice the songs played in a store.

(of course we notice. how can we not when the level is so high you can’t think.)

When they liked it, 49 per cent said they had stayed longer as a result. But overall, 50 per cent of shoppers had left because they didn’t like what was playing or they found it annoying.
And 23 per cent said they would be less likely to return to a retailer if they didn’t like its choice of soundtrack.

This shows the danger that stores face by not developing a suitable ‘sound’ for their brand, according to Immedia Plc, which carried out the survey of 1,000 shoppers. 

(and why do they think they need a “suitable sound” to begin with? Does Sainsbury or Waitrose or Tesco need a suitable sound? Don’t think so. And thank heaven our local Tesco does not have a music track running.)

Audio is the single most effective way to capture the attention and imagination of people who are on the move inside your shop or restaurant,’ he said.

(Really?  If I’m already in your damn restaurant, I’m there for a meal. Not a loud concert. And what sort of attention does the manager expect of me? I want to see the menu. I’m already there. But restaurants like Palm Desert’s Elephant Bar, which otherwise has an outstanding menu, and they aren’t alone, just simply do not give a damn.  So we took our money on last month’s trip to other places. They got our attention alright.)

‘This is supported by numerous scientific studies that demonstrate how an effective music strategy does everything from improve staff morale to enhance the customer experience, to crucially increase sales.

‘Especially given the challenging economic environment, it is important to optimise every element of a customer’s sensory experience.’

Immedia’s scientific adviser Dr Vicky Williamson added: ‘Music can profoundly affect our mood, emotions and energy levels. Studies have shown that we naturally exploit these effects every day by using music to optimise our state of mind.
‘This survey demonstrates how similarly important “background music” is to our shopping experiences.

TAKE A LOOK THE COMMENTS LEFT BY 218 PPL SO FAR.

Here’s mine among the many.

This article proves without doubt that the folks who force feed us what they say is background music (it isn’t, it’s foreground more like), do not much care what we think as a general rule. I’ve been in places and requested what passes for music be turned down only to be lied to and told that the music volume is controlled by computer in another state. (in the USA) And even here you can’t get away from it. Not even in a public loo in some places. And please tell me why any brand must have any sound at all. This line shows how out of touch they are. ‘This survey demonstrates how similarly important “background music” is to our shopping experiences.’ No it isn’t. It’s always too loud, and because of that it is distracting and annoying. We can’t get out fast enough. And forget impulse buying. Stores lose out on folks like my wife and I who simply walk out as soon as our list is complete. No hanging about to look. But they count on many of you who will put up with the noise.

Posted by peiper     on 11/05/2011 at 02:04 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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