Noisy restaurants affect dining choices

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This article was published 01/06/2018 (2964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Noisy restaurants are a source of perennial complaints, but it’s not just diners’ ears that are affected — it’s their waistlines, too. A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences has found that if ambient music played in a restaurant is louder, the customers are more susceptible to choose unhealthful foods.

Dipayan Biswas, a marketing professor at the University of South Florida, conducted the study at a cafe in Stockholm, where various genres of music were played on a loop at 55 decibels and 70 decibels at different times, for several days. When the music was louder, researchers found 20 per cent more customers ordered something that was not good for them, compared to those who dined during the lower-volume times.

Softer music is calming, and louder music gets us amped up. And it impacts our decision-making, as well: In the soothing quiet of some gentle jazz, we have better self-control, and we make better decisions about which foods would be better for us. But in the excitement of some loud rock music, we want meat and cheese on a bun and some french fries on the side. Oh, and a beer… or three.

Though the study is new, it reinforces conventional wisdom that restaurant owners have known for quite some time: Creating the right atmosphere is essential.

Music “creates a vibe. Your body starts tingling,” said Alex McCoy, the chef/owner of Lucky Buns, a burger restaurant in Washington, D.C., McCoy’s burgers and fried chicken have been lauded as some of the best in the city, and his restaurant is, according to Yelp reviewers, “wicked loud,” “but worth it!” He typically plays loud Euro house music or reggae, letting the thumping beat pulse through the restaurant, “a playlist that allows (guests) to get lost in the music.”

“Different songs, mixtures, genres of music, it creates this chaotic setting,” he said. “And to me, those create the best bar vibe, when a song comes on and (diners are) like, ‘Oh yes! That’s the song! Get a round of drinks.’”

— Washington Post