Walgreens stores in Chicago decided to play classical music to stop people from loitering.
I wonder if the music will then stop people from robbing stores. From the Sun-Times:
The Sun-Times this week found classical music greeting customers as they approached the entrance of stores in Greektown, the West Side and River North at 641 N. Clark St. It plays from speakers connected to the building that are covered by a protective screen.Customer reaction and the results appeared mixed. Carole Hennessy, who said she’s a regular customer at the 111 S. Halsted St. location, said, “It’s always the same couple of selections. There’s a lot more to sample. I find it a little overbearing.”She added that “if it were up to me, I just might prefer Springsteen.”
Another customer said he enjoyed the music. He wouldn’t mind the store adding some Greek music since the area is Greektown.
A reporter in another Walgreens said the store played “three works: Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Rossini’s William Tell Overture and Strauss’ Radetzky March.”
Kevin Gregg told the Sun-Times that the homeless don’t want to approach people. He has been homeless for two years:
“We don’t want to approach people,” said Kevin Gregg, who said he’s been homeless for two years. “When we go into the store to shop, they make accusations and follow us around.”Gregg said the shelters can’t help because they are full of migrants. “I’m not blaming anybody. There’s just a limit to what the shelters can do,” he said.
Stores in other states have tried the tactic. Many 7-Eleven stores found some success with the music.
Walgreens spokesperson Kris Lathan refused to name which stores use the music. The company has found success using the music in other stores:
Walgreens spokesperson Kris Lathan declined to list Chicago-area locations using the classical feed. She said the chain has used it for more than a year at various locations “to help deter loitering on the premises. We take steps to ensure the music is only loud enough for the immediate area around the store and cannot be heard in surrounding neighborhoods.”Lathan also said classical is the only genre in the auditory arsenal. It has employed the tactic in Reno, Nevada, and Tucson, Arizona. A smattering of retailers in other states have reportedly resorted to grand opera, classical’s louder sibling.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY