Monday, November 7, 2011

Speak-up, I Can't Hear You Over All This Dining Noise!

Recent news broadcasts have illustrated issues relating to noisy restaurants. According to the reports, noise is the number two complaint patrons voice after poor service. Restauranteurs explain that the success of their enterprise is partially dependent on a lively, boisterous atmosphere making the diner feel a part of the action.

The hustle-bustle is highly desirable. Noise measurements made in the noisy eateries showed levels around 80dBA with some as high as 100dBA (which can be excruciatingly loud). Loud noise can also impact the surrounding neighborhood, where residences are located nearby, or adjacent tenants.

Many times, the crux of the noise issues coincide with the age of the diner. The youth have no issues with the loud environment but older baby-boomers (who tend to have larger dining budgets) are finding it offensive.

Earlier this year Zagat posted some information relating to this topic for venues in New York City, which is an indication that this topic is gaining serious attention.

Numerous local KC restaurants have contacted ADG over the years with similar issues. All are commonly looking for a solution to maintain a happy balance amongst their clientele.

Interestingly, in our 25 years of consulting, we have never been called to a restaurant because they were fielding complaints due to the space being too "dead" or lacking in liveness or reverberation. With the exception of a few cases where a noisy piece of equipment was causing problems, all of the complaints were because the restaurant space was lacking in sufficient sound absorbing finish materials.

Most restaurant spaces lack sound absorbing finish materials which, if selected and installed properly, will help control reverberant noise levels. Common materials used include: fiberglass wall and ceiling panels or clouds, spray-applied acoustical plaster, or mineral fiber batt insulation concealed behind an acoustically transparent facing such as perforated sheet metal or a woven fabric.

Barriers can impede the transmission of loud sounds in areas where this is desired, shielding banquet rooms or adjacent tenants.

Sound systems for customer paging or background music can also be designed using many high-quality loudspeakers in lieu of a few that must blare to cover the seating areas. Clever zoning can tailor the sound system levels to adapt to the varying occupancy levels.

From a patron's perspective, not much can be done to treat their favorite nightspot to be more acoustically friendly. But these practical solutions can minimize the problems:

- avoid sitting at or near the bar,
- avoid areas where a large party has gathered,
- sit as close as possible to the person you are communicating with,
- sit outside,
- request that management turn down the volume of the music.