How Restaurants Got So Loud
There's an ice cream and bagel place in town.  In the late evening it's consistently packed with people on their laptops or reading books.<p>One day I noticed the music was much louder than usual, and asked the staff to turn it down.  I figured it was a mistake because it was normally much quieter.<p>They told me this was the new company policy.  To set the music uncomfortably loud to make people leave, after finishing their food or drink.<p>(Around the same time they also instigated a 30 minute time limit on Wifi if you bought something.  Even though I was willing to keep buying, I couldn't get through a new tea every 30 minutes!)<p>Theory being it's more profitable to make your customers leave and make room for others, than to make a place people want to go to.<p>I haven't been back.  Even with noise-cancelling headphones(∗), and earbuds under the headphones, it was too loud for me.  And the wifi policy was really annoying.<p>Sadly, I've noticed ultra loud music seems to be the policy at a lot of places these days.  I find Starbucks and Costa ok - but some of my friends won't go with me because they find the music there too loud as well.<p>(∗) I wear noise-cancellers at most places now.  It probably makes me look unsocial or "hipster", but it's to protect my ears from the loud music just about everywhere insists on playing, and helps me concentrate when I'm working in a café.  I enjoy talking with people if they want to.