The effects of music sound levels on restaurant customer's behavior

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dc.contributor.authorGeerdes, Margareten
dc.contributor.committeechairMarshall-Baker, Annaen
dc.contributor.committeememberLong, Thomas Carlen
dc.contributor.committeememberMcLain-Kark, Joan H.en
dc.contributor.departmentHousing, Interior Design, and Resource Managementen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:32:14Zen
dc.date.adate2009-03-24en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:32:14Zen
dc.date.issued1995-05-05en
dc.date.rdate2009-03-24en
dc.date.sdate2009-03-24en
dc.description.abstractRestaurant attributes influence the perceptions and behaviors of restaurant customers. Among these attributes are music and its sound level. Sound level has been known to affect people's behaviors and judgments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music sound level on customers in a restaurant, specifically, where they sit and how long they stay. The study took place in a restaurant where customers seat themselves and music sound levels vary across tables. A convenience sample of dinner customers were observed for three weeks. Each week, speakers were placed in different locations causing tables that were originally quiet to become loud. A total of 107 table selections were analyzed using Chi Square tests. The effects of sound levels on length of stay were analyzed using an ANOVA with 36 dining parties. The results showed no significant effect regarding table selection except when speakers were in their usual locations. An explanation of this significant effect may be that regular customers were familiar with the speaker locations and the sound levels of restaurant tables, and therefore, chose tables with lower sound levels over tables with high sound levels. Results from the ANOVA show that the length of stay of customers at high volume tables was significantly less than at other tables. Also, there was a negative correlation between length of stay and sound levels, indicating that the louder the music the earlier customers would leave. These findings may indicate that as customers become familiar with a restaurant's sound levels, tables with high sound levels may be avoided. Also, in high music levels customer leave sooner. The implications may be increasing or decreasing table turns or affecting the satisfaction of regular customers.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.extentix, 65 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-03242009-040606en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-03242009-040606/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/41761en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V855_1995.G447.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 34404141en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectbackground musicen
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V855 1995.G447en
dc.titleThe effects of music sound levels on restaurant customer's behavioren
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineHousing, Interior Design, and Resource Managementen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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