Of Noise and Profits

Not often a topic just drops in my lap right before my bi-weekly blog. You’re probably thinking, “Of course, he’s gonna write about the BP offshore oil well explosion and the dangers of Big Oil.” If that’s what you were thinking, well, you’re mistaken for that’s not the subject this time.

Thanks to Yahoo.com I learned of a recent article titled “How Restaurants Get You Drunk”, posted on the web site The Daily Beast, in which the author of the book “In Pursuit of Silence,” George Prochnik, explored the reasons behind the current trend in restaurants to louder and louder settings.

In his article he noted several recent studies. In one study that was done by Fairfield University it was found that the rate that people chew their food increased as the tempo of the music being played increased. The researchers found that by raising the tempo of the music it increased the rate of chewing from 3.83 bites a minute to 4.4 bites a minute. Corporate restaurant industry certainly took note of the study. According to Prochnik the corporate restaurant chain Dick Clark American Bandstand, “developed computerized sound systems that were preset to raise the tempo and volume of music at hours of the day when corporate wanted to turn tables.”

Prochnik also referenced another study, this time done by French researchers, which found that by raising the sound level of the music being played caused a corresponding increase in the number of drinks ordered. At 72 decibels the average number of drinks was 1 every 14.51 minutes. By cranking up the decibels to 88 the number of drinks went up to 1 every 11.47 minutes.

The goal of all of this should be obvious. Increasing the tempo and beat of the music isn’t done to increase for the enjoyment experienced by the customers. The corporate goal in this is the same as it always is. Manipulating the music played is done with the goal of a corresponding increase in sales. An increase in sales means an increase in profits, which are funneled into the pockets of shareholders in the form of dividends. In addition, profitable businesses usually, though not always, translate into increases in the value of shares.