How to Make Your Restaurant a Quieter Place
If you are a restaurant owner, nothing can be more satisfying than the sound of happy patrons enjoying your food and drink with their friends and colleagues. It's a sign that your facility is doing particularly well and business is booming, so what's not to like? Well, this is not necessarily a good thing if the level of noise is very high. You may open yourself up to claims for compensation in the worst-case scenario if your workers feel they are badly affected. How could this be the case, and if so, what should you do?
Long-Term Risk
There's no doubt that long-term exposure to high levels of noise can be detrimental. It can lead to stress and poor productivity, high levels of absenteeism or difficulty in retaining staff. If you notice that your workers seem to be prone to making mistakes or have been quite clumsy recently, then it could be down to high levels of noise in your restaurant.
Contributory Factors
So, what should you do in this situation? Clearly, you don't want to reduce the number of patrons so that your noise level is lower, but you must understand that configuration may be a lot to do with it. Your restaurant may have floor-to-ceiling glass windows and tiled floors, and these will significantly contribute to reverberation and echo. People may find it difficult to be heard and will raise their voice accordingly, and this will simply make the issue worse. When you add the noise of the machines used to prepare food and drink and the clattering of pans in the kitchen, you have the perfect storm.
Strategic Panels
In this case, why not think about installing acoustic insulation panels at strategic points throughout the restaurant? These panels are designed for the purpose and made from polyester fibres that are firmly bonded together so that they are durable, lightweight and long-lasting. They are good to look at and can be designed to match the overall style of your restaurant, control the noise very effectively and add to the visual appeal of your property.
Ideal Solution
When properly placed, the panels can absorb a great deal of the echo or reverberation and add to the general ambience at the same time. Your guests will find the experience more palatable, and your workers will certainly thank you for the effort.
Taking Action
Talk with contractors who specialise in the installation of acoustic panelling to put your plan into action.