I just had the miserable experience of hearing that music throughout an otherwise good meal--in our favorite Indian restaurant. They came under new ownership about 6 months ago, and immediately tried to increase sales by suicidal means. First, the name of the place was changed to include Asia, and all references to India cut out; then they removed half the Indian items from the buffet, and threw in standard Chinese fare. Where of course, they were then in competition with hundreds of other local restaurants, because Chinese remains the most frequent foreign food category across the US.Silur wrote:I'm all against the brutal slaughter of millions of pine trees for the sake of an old ritual. That, and the horrific music created for the sole purpose of torturing innocent bystanders. I think there are subliminal messages in it as well to make you shop more.
We quit going for 2 months, and when we came back, they were delighted. (We were regulars for 3 years.) Heard from some of the non-management staff that carried over they'd lost a good half of their regular trade without picking anything up. Then about 6 weeks ago, they started removing pictures and statues of Rama, Ganesha, etc, leaving blank walls, and put up a table display of all the wines they carry. Real class, that.
Yesterday, though, they were playing a tape of the most white, blonde, cornfed choir that has ever existed, lethargically singing "Christmas favorites." But of course, everybody goes to Indian restaurants to be assaulted by Christmas pop hits, right? We all look forward to that music every hour of our waking days. Even my wife, who's used to ignoring stuff she doesn't like around her, was rolling her eyes and making comments.