# Have you ever stopped patronizing a business because of the music they play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693 "2013-08-31T21:00:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/21 "2013-09-01T00:30:48Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I wish more businesses would wait UNTIL November 1. I can’t express how weary I am of the retrograde march of the reindeer. I would be okay with an October start if they would expand the repertoire to more than the same 16 songs played in different combinations. Twisted Sister’s version of “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” needs to be played more often. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/22 "2013-09-01T01:16:29Z")
There’s a gas station near where I work that has music blaring from the gas pumps 24/7. Country music interspersed with commercials. It can’t be muted. It’s pretty intrusive. I rarely stop there anymore. There are other stations that sell gas without inflicting loud music on me. [sub]If it’d been classic rock, I might have put up with it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/23 "2013-09-01T01:41:10Z")
The music in the Hobby Lobby here in town in not loud or intrusive, but it is soft pop versions of well known Christian hymns. It’s not the hymns I object to, but the elevator music renditions. The music doesn’t keep me away though if they have something I need. ---
**Author:** ![DeweyDecibel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DeweyDecibel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeweyDecibel)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/24 "2013-09-01T01:44:18Z")
No, but if there are TVs playing Fox News I will leave. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/25 "2013-09-01T01:53:53Z")
No, but I almost stopped going to Five Guys because they don’t alter the volume of their music depending on the patronage. If there’s no one in there it’s so loud that you can’t get away from it even if the classic rock song they’re playing really sucks (and not all of them do.) But this is only really annoying occasionally, when there’s a really bad song on. If it were country, I might not patronize. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/26 "2013-09-01T01:58:58Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > There’s a gas station near where I work that has music blaring from the gas pumps 24/7. Aw, hell yeah. What’s funny is I wrote a novella almost 30 years ago that had gas pumps with annoying AI personalities. The first time a pump started “talking” to me… ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/27 "2013-09-01T02:02:09Z")
I’ve left stores because of that moronic song “Sleigh Ride.” The most annoying song I ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/28 "2013-09-01T02:26:26Z")
I used to work at a grocery store that had over 100 satellite music channels to choose from, and the overnight stockers would sometimes change it to metal or rap. They often forgot that it was indeed a 24-hour store, and when customers heard things like Ted Nugent screaming “If you came here to be mellow, you can just turn around and get the $%^& out of here!” or dirty rap, yeah, they had to change it. One time, someone changed it to country gospel and accidentally bumped the volume up to about 14. Anne Murray DOES NOT sound good at high volume, and I will never heard “He Walks With Me” the same way again, regardless of who’s singing it. Several times, the overnighters put on the progressive channel, and when I heard this while opening the pharmacy at 7:55am, it almost made me want to take acid, something I’ve never done BTW. God knows what the retirees who had their morning kaffeeklatsch in the deli thought of the beeps in the instrumental portion. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlNantlznCA) We later got to hear the 17-minute version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” p.s. That picture is the cover of the album it came from, and is a photograph of a mural in the (I think) L.A. area. IDK if it’s still there, but you can see it in the background in a scene in the classic kitsch movie “Surf Nazis Must Die”. Just a few years ago, the flutist was a founding member of Foreigner. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/29 "2013-09-01T02:43:50Z")
I had to leave a store once when they were playing _Feliz Navidad_. Not the version you hear all the time that a lot of people already don’t like. This version, the tempo was at about 1/2 to 1/3 the original which made it absolutely awful. And of course, that also means the torture will last 2 to 3 times longer. _Shudder_. We complained about the music once at a pizza place we used to go to a lot. Apparently the bartender gets to choose the music. The waitress seemed really happy we complained. I think the waitstaff hated it as well, but it was only when a customer complained that they could say anything. I’ve never stopped going to a store because of the music, but if it was always bad, I would. I can tolerate a lot of music I don’t especially like, but I just can’t stand some music. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/30 "2013-09-01T02:45:39Z")
Many years ago, I dated a man who owned a record store, and he would play classical music if he had customers he thought might be troublesome, or it was almost closing time. Not only did it “work”, he was quite surprised at how much some of these kids knew about it. :eek: 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/31 "2013-09-01T03:43:40Z")
A small corner store was sold and the new owner liked to listen to brimstone preachin’ turned up very loud. I never went back again. Those owners lasted less than a year and store is still vacant three years later. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/32 "2013-09-01T04:26:00Z")
I wonder if some restaurants play objectionable music because they they want you to buy take-out but not eat there, or at least to cycle customers in and out as fast as possible. I’ve never noticed what if any music is played at Chipotle restaurants, but they seem to pick a sterile and uncomfortable ambience deliberately, to discourage dining in or at least to hustle the customers out quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/33 "2013-09-01T04:51:44Z")
I don’t care about the type of music, just the volume. If there is a display model blaring (Best Buy or car audio display at Walmart), I routinely walk over and push the off button. No sales person has ever said anything to me about doing so. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/34 "2013-09-01T05:04:39Z")
Wow. I love music, but I don’t hate it so much that I would avoid a business because of it, so far as I know. And seriously, country? What kind of isolated bubble chamber do you live in that you can avoid country music? And, yes, I live in Chicago like you and it’s all around me. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/35 "2013-09-01T05:19:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > \And yet you spend time posting on the Dope. 🙂 Heh. 🙂 > [@DeweyDecibel](#): > > No, but if there are TVs playing Fox News I will leave. TVs in every restaurant we go to drive me crazy - it’s hard to ignore the tv and just concentrate on your dining partner when there are tvs actively trying to grab your attention constantly. > [@pulykamell](#): > > \ > And seriously, country? What kind of isolated bubble chamber do you live in that you can avoid country music? And, yes, I live in Chicago like you and it’s all around me. I live in a city whose nickname is Cowtown, and I manage to avoid country almost all the time. I was bitching here Friday night because a local lounge we like to go to had the jukebox loaded up with country all night. To answer the OP, yes, I would stop going to a place if it always played music I hate. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/36 "2013-09-01T05:20:19Z")
I’ve quit going to a few places because of the music genre and/or volume. If I don’t like the genre, then the place has to make up for it in other ways. If the volume’s too loud, and the manager can’t or won’t turn it down, then I leave. I only have ONE pair of eardrums, they are already damaged, and I try to take care of them as best I can. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/37 "2013-09-01T05:36:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I live in a city whose nickname is Cowtown, and I manage to avoid country almost all the time. I was bitching here Friday night because a local lounge we like to go to had the jukebox loaded up with country all night. > > To answer the OP, yes, I would stop going to a place if it always played music I hate. Man, I couldn’t even tell you what kind of music my grocery store plays. He’ll, I couldn’t even tell you if it plays music. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/38 "2013-09-01T05:40:08Z")
OK. I can tell you exactly one place of business that annoys me with their music: Menard’s. I’m already in your fucking store. I don’t need to hear your “Save big money at Menard’s” jingle. I’m here! You don’t need to continue advertising to me! Stop it! But even that is not enough to make me avoid it, and my personal musical hell is that jingle on infinite repeat. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/39 "2013-09-01T06:39:46Z")
I did leave a place because one of the employees was singing hymns at the top of her lungs, while restocking shelves. She was a very high soprano, and not a very good one. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693/40 "2013-09-01T07:36:04Z")
The mostly-excellent British bookselling chain, Waterstones, have one trait which irritates me: they tend to play throughout their stores, to-me irritating “torch songs”, and / or songs with foolish and inane lyrics – either whimsical, or supposedly deadly serious. In a bookshop, I would wish to heaven not to be afflicted with background music at all – it’s distracting. I was once in a branch of Waterstones where a song came on with words so cringe-makingly idiotic, that I walked off the premises and came back a few minutes later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-stopped-patronizing-a-business-because-of-the-music-they-play/667693.md?page=3)