Some McDonald’s restaurants are playing Mozart for this reason
A late night McDonald’s snack — or meal, if you’re like us — after bar hopping is a guilty pleasure of many. Those of us who own up to that guilty pleasure are most likely aware of the drunken chaos that can happen inside McDonald’s restaurants after midnight. Yet, some McDonald’s employees have had enough and are now using classical music to ease customer tension during the late night rush.
According to Mashable, select McDonald’s restaurants in Scotland, England, and Australia are playing Mozart after dark — in an effort to calm drunk, hungry fast foodies. If this technique works with babies, then in theory, Mozart should also be able to calm adults who may act like babies after a few too many! No offense to babies.
The experiment began in a Glasgow McDonald’s two years ago.
Since then, restaurants in Gloucester, Liverpool, and some Australian McDonald’s have also implemented the new soundtrack. But, to be clear, an Australian McDonald’s spokeswoman told news.com.au that playing classical music is not a company policy.
Australia has seen many late night McDonald’s stop-ins go awry. A 2015 viral video showed customers spraying McDonald’s security guards with fire extinguishers. The fact that most McDonald’s restaurants even have security guards kind of says a lot about the issue.
So does Mozart and his classically trained counterparts really do the trick?
There’s not a lot of evidence to say that playing classical music has improved customer morale in McDonald’s chains. But then again, there’s no evidence to say that it hasn’t either.
News.com.au reported that Duke University’s Dr. Kevin Laber said that listening to classical music releases dopamine and represses stress hormones. So according to science, classical music should absolutely have a positive effect on drunk and angry customers.
Next time you’re at your local McDonald’s after sundown, take note of what’s playing overhead. And even if Katy Perry is playing instead of Mozart, do your best to behave. Don’t let the neon lights of McDonald’s turn you into fist-throwing, milkshake-spilling monster.
