Do you like muzzak in stores, elevators etc.?

I'am sure everybody noticed those songs, jingles, ads, etcetera they play in stores, elevators, public toilets and so on. They are called "muzzak" and sometimes they are played really loud.

Do you like being "sprinkled" (having a constant stream of music/noise in the background) with muzzak?

I myself don't like it. For me it's irritating and also boring. And, imagine the shop assistants, who have to listen to, say, Christmas songs for days and weeks and month on end.... I would go crazy.

How about you?

Greetings from Switzerland

Evelyne

I don't mind them, but if I worked there I know I would.

Very annoying to me

Count me in on the annoyed side. It's supposed to sooth you and instead get my blood pressure up.

Hi Connie, Sue and Ana

Well 1/2 for I like and 3 1/2 for I don't like so far. Thanks for answering

I hope for more opinions on the subject.

Evelyne

Put me solidly in the Annoyed column. In fact, I have walked out of more than one store because I couldn't stand to listen to the muzzak.

I'm all for hummable background muzzak. One local thrift store plays the 'oldies' and I love it. Humming all the way.

Grocery stores usually have some annoying stuff, and departments stores, yikes!

According to a class I took in college, the type of music played in stores is geared towards getting you to shop for certain things or to get you to shop faster or slower. Subliminal? I think so.

I like music, I hate 'seasonal' music. They were playing Christmas music in Wally Mart at 7:30 am today and I could hardly wait to get out. Doesn't put me in the 'mood' at all.

If it's oldie rock and roll, I can maybe stand it but for the most part I prefer to pick what I want to hear and when I want to hear it!! I have been tempted to throw myself on the floor at times and scream, "the voices, the voices, make them stop!!!" as one old repeating email suggested... !

Hi again my friends!

So looney is a perfect "muzzak no-goer".
Sorta is pro but doesn't like every bit of music, only oldies....
and Lotus, well, I put you on the "annoyed" side too.
What have we now? let's see....
5 1/2 for NO and 1 1/2 for Yes....
I'am going to bed now. Maybe one or the other US boomer will come here and vote while I'am sleeping. See you tomorrow

Hi Evie. Good topic.

Elevator muzzack is all instrumental. Emphasis on "mental". Can't stand it "at all", although I'm usually not on the elevator long enough to get really annoyed.

Store music depends on the store that I'm in.

Some stores play a great mix of oldies pop & rock music, and I have lived my life to that sound track, and every song brings nostalgic memories of specific periods in my life. Some good and some not so good, but I still enjoy the music.

Music is my real time machine.

Some stores play unknown artist doing covers of popular pop or rock songs, and I hate every one of those. It's never as good as the original.

NOW!! Some stores, including the one that I work for, play music targeted at specific groups or types of shoppers for marketing ploys. The majority of the music is types of music that I can't stand, and to make matters as bad as possible, meaning I'm ready to go postal on someone, they cycle this music over and over for YEARS!!!!

I've worked at Lowe's over 4 years now, and I'm still hearing the same songs that I hated 4 years ago, and I just want a name, or a phone number of the person who is responsible for programming the torture that we are subjected to day in and day out, so that I can send them a special Christmas gift to show my appreciation.

You asked, I answered.

joe

oh , joe ! that's awful you have to deal with that !

i , too hate the music ,especially when it's played too loud.

i , too have walked out of stores that i really wanted to buy something in ,gritting my teeth to keep from screaming ,because the music was so loud either i couldn't think ,or felt like i needed to raise my voice to the people i was with in order to be heard .

seasonal songs ? worst of all !

one of my previous apartments had a church whose bells rang a song every hour ,every day, - i wanted to do serious damage to them....

I don't have to worry about elevator music, don't use them too often. But what they play is enough to insure the person WILL get off the elevator.

Stores, as some said, depends on the store. I remember going into our late Hastings store and they always had some nauseating music playing. Loudly, too loud really.

Stores like Wally world, nope, nada, zilch, no. I'm not there to listen to someones' idea of music. Same for grocery stories.

I know many stores do play seasonal music, especially around Christmas, and since I don't plan on camping in those stores, I can tolerate the cat screaming long enough to shop and leave.

I dislike it - and especially when it's on a loop !!
If I have to be in the store for any length of time it drives me MAD

Joe, it was Ana's question whether they already play the Christmas tunes at the store you are working that drove me to write this topic. I'am so sorry you have to endure those ear assaults. How about using ear plugs while working, as a kind of strike? Thank you for ranting away in this topic!

Niteowl: "gritting my teeth to keep from sreaming"... yes, that's exctly the feeling I have in our supermarket here. The music is loud and there is always one or the other "singer" yelling and screeching for minutes on end. With no message at all. Thank you for voting.

Homer: thank you for your oppinion. I count you on the YES side. Sure, in a supermarket you are not camping and so you can leave again after a while. But what would you do in a Restaurant, sitting down and ordering the food and after, say, 5 minutes you think: why must I yell to my vis-à-vis. I always ask the waiter to turn the volume off, but often I get the answer: the other clients like the music. And.... I often leave the Restaurant before ordering because I don't like to yell at my husband..... Well, not in a Restaurant anyway...

Mad: you are too funny. And thank you for voting too!

So what do we have now: 8 1/2 for NO and 2 1/2 for YES.... and I ask myself, since this little survey brought more no's than yes': why are the store or restaurant or elevator or whatever owner still think they can get us to like muzzak?

I wonder....

Thank you all for your opinions and votes!

Happy noiseless day

Evelyne

The problem is there are few choices of music for any public place like a store. You cannot legally play any music you like because you have to pay royalties. Muzac does that for you. I don't see that going away anytime soon.

Ana

ana , i agree about it not going away .

however , i think the main problem is the volume - i don't think i'd mind half as much if i didn't feel it was being shoved down my throat. after all ,that's not the reason i'm there .

and when a store or restaurant loses sales because of something they could fix with no effort , i think that's poor management.

would be nice if some of them listened once in a while to what customers wanted , but like you said i don't see it happening any time soon.

Ah, Gimli, I think you misunderstood what I said. I don't care for music when I shop, am in a restaurant, or any other business. I'm not there to listen to their choice of music, some which causes my teeth to grate.

You mentioned at a restaurant. In my experience, restaurants are so noisy that it's often hard to hear if music is playing. Often but not always. I've been into some where you had to shout to the server in order to be heard.

Contrary to what may be a popular belief, music doesn't cause me to linger and shop. It has the opposite effect. I shop faster in order to get out of that store.

As I said above, I can sometimes tolerate what I don't like because I won't be there long. But I can also shop elsewhere as well.

I don't mind music when I shop and once in a great while find myself humming along. It's the darn commercials that I can't stand and, of course, they're always a few decibles louder than the muzzak.

What irritates me so much more is hearing Christmas muzzak beginning right after Halloween until after New Year's Day. I live in a suburb northwest of Chicago and we have a radio station that plays Christmas music during July.

Sorry I've gone off the path of the original question but the Christmas season makes the muzzak situation even worse.

I hate it. One time I was in a grocery store and the power went out except for a few fluorescent lights on the ceiling. This was back when they had cash registers that could be run without electricity, so everyone just kept shopping. I was amazed at how relaxing it was to do the grocery shopping without all that racket over the loudspeakers.