Saturday, December 24, 2022

any truth to this, John?

Comment just seen on Instapundit:

That's the reason bars have always been boring for me. They are too loud[;] you can never have a good conversation with anybody. You spend more effort trying to figure out what the other person is saying [than] just having fun. I was just at a Christmas party for some business thing, and they held it at a bar. I was bored to tears just because of that.

Or is that just some bitter old fart's opinion?



2 comments:

John Mac said...

My name is John which I assume qualifies me to answer this question. And yes, I've devoted my retirement years to an in-depth and hands-on study of bar operations from a customer's perspective.

No, the vast majority of bars do not play music so loud that having a conversation is difficult. There are lots of options out there, and folks who don't like the noise will choose a different venue. Another tactic I've successfully utilized is politely asking, "can you turn that music down?"

The type of music being played really isn't a deal breaker with me either, provided it is done at a sane volume. Also, many bars take customer requests for preferred songs.

Live bands in bars are pretty popular and can be so loud as to stifle conversation, but if you choose to see live music, you ain't going to the bar to talk anyway. The type of music I have almost zero tolerance for is videoke (karaoke) which is typically played so loud as to actually distort the sound of the off-key singing. Oh, how I miss the norebang!

Charles (aka John with a C) said...

I once went to a bar with some friends and the music they were playing was really, really loud. We asked if they could turn it down a little, but the guy said, "Sorry, that's our 'theme.' We can't turn it down." I have no idea what he meant by this--I guess their "theme" is to have music so loud you can't think properly? Suffice it to say that we never went back.

I've been to other places where they have turned down the music, but then they gradually turn it back up again, like we're not going to notice.