Speak up, I can’t hear you!

cent. But residing and working in Asian countries for the past 15 years gives me a different experience and therefore a different perspective on the use of sound in Asian retail. As a Westerner, adapting to “noise” is a real challenge. Loud noise is a way of life here in the Philippines. Filipinos grow up surrounded with lots of noise. “Loud” music is evidenced with rental videoke machines rattling house contents several houses down the street, roads full of horn beeping vehicles, small house size speakers at the entrance to estates promoting “open display days” have sufficient bass to rock your car upon entering the gates… In restaurants (particularly local establishments) your food bounces around the table and engaging in casual conversation is nigh impossible. Nowadays, when it comes to retail stores and malls it seems every outlet is obsessed with delivering a mind numbingly loud ‘disco’ atmosphere. Music in Asian retail stores and malls is used, (or should that be abused), very differently to the way of Australian stores. After reading Stuart’s guidelines, (common sense, legal and council requirements), for controlling sound levels in a public place, I thought I would try to construct what appears to me to be the standard operating rules for the use of sound in Asian stores. The basic rules here for playing music in retail stores could be described as: 1. Use the largest possible size speaker boxes capable of blasting disco mega volume sound. 2. Place them at the store entrance facing into the mall. 3. Support the sound effects with secondary speakers inside the store space to further amplify the sound effects. 4. Play music that the young sales assistants like as this is easier for them to dance to and that is what you will inevitably find them doing. 5. The correct volume is the level at which it is impossible for customers to talk to either each other or the sales assistant unless yelling into each other’s ears at point blank range. Do I hear some of you laughing? Well whilst written with my peculiar sense of humor, none the less this is all true! The key principle when working with retailers here in Asia is to acknowledge that whilst around the world the basic rules of retail remain the same, the journey to success may and usually does take different paths. So the question is: do the rules of noise apply in Asian retail? Fundamentally I am convinced that stores that could control their noise levels as outlined in Stuart’s article would benefit with increased sales as a result of improved customer satisfaction levels. Happy and contented shoppers spend money! There are however challenges to my attempts, working with retailers here in the Philippines, to understand that excessive sound volume is counterproductive to sales. Is the excessive music volume actually wanted and expected in retail stores here? Or is it an example of acceptance because “it has always been that way”. Or is this a case of everyone else does it, so we do it too!? Recently my wife and I were shopping in a well respected fashion store and we were the only customers there. My wife disappeared into the change room to try on clothes whilst I engaged in conversation with the sales assistant. I was gathering retail intelligence and whilst chatting I began to notice the assistant’s mind was wandering elsewhere and he seemed distracted. His body started to move in rhythm to what at that time was comfortable background sound. At the first break in our conversation he spun around and rushed into the back room with the door closing behind him and leaving me (other than the security guard at the entrance) all alone. Almost instantaneously the walls started to vibrate and the retail space flooded with horrendously loud music. It was deafening! The young man re-entered the selling floor but rather than checking on me or my wife, he headed to the large mirrors and commenced to dance with his own reflection. My wife emerged in a rush from the change room as she knows my intense dislike for loud music in retail stores and was in fear that I may have bolted to a quieter haven. She explained the noise issue to the young man and asked him would he have turned up the volume if the store manager was present and his response was “Madam, I am the store manager!” It is interesting to observe the “sound pollution” standards in the international stores in comparison to the local retail brands. The big international players are exactly as Stuart has defined and are a pleasure to enter and shop. My conclusion at this time is that local retail stores lack in – indeed have no understanding of – how to manage sound as an integral part of the overall store environment. The staff are young and music obsessed, stores lack in operating standards and middle management skills and disciplines are missing or not enforced. The end result is shopping in many stores in the philippines is a deafening experience. Based on medical research a “deafening” experience could be true both literally and figuratively. Now I have not mentioned the name of the retailer in my anecdote above, but I have been working with this group and soon will work with the team to conduct pre-opening review on their next new store. The effective control of music volume is on my list of operating standards to be discussed. Let’s see what happens! InsideRetail.Asia columnist Darrell Wisbey has 30 years retail experience, living and working in Australia and Asia. He is based in the Philippines and a member of Impact Retailing. Email Darrell.