Virtually all grocery stores play “background” music and have frequent “clean up on aisle seven” announcements. I had a particularly egregious experience in June 2018 at a Food Lion store in Durham, North Carolina. When I entered the store, I was greeted with a talking machine at the entrance, boasting of store discounts. Twice there were piercingly loud buzzing sounds inside the store (which my friend on the phone could hear as well). There were frequent announcements on a loud public address system. When I was in the checkout line, a store employee started vacuuming. When I headed outside, I was greeted with several honking horns tied to a keyless entry system. The result of my trip to the Food Lion? A massive headache.
Food Lion brags of its “extra low prices.” Oftentimes, paying more for a quieter environment is well worth it.
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet
PO Box 2754
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515
I also had a bad experience in a Food Lion! They have their floor cleaners cleaning floors with their very loud machines during store hours instead of after the store closes. It’s so noisy, I had to get out of there fast! Earplugs don’t help!
Walmart in Renton Wa has been playing a repetitive announcement I hear 7 blocks away since coronavirus started. 7-9pm or later! Every 5 minutes for 30 seconds . Ding ding ding thankyou for shopping at Walmart. OMG!!
My fiancee and I got our flu shots at CVS today. The loudspeakers playing loud stupid music made it so we had to ask the pharmacist to repeat everything they said at least twice.
We always hear about retreats for various reasons. we should start “QUIET” retreats., Not just for meditation but to bring attention to this epidemic.