158 words
... can be a huge difference. Our central university restaurant had it's 30th birthday about a week ago. To celebrate the occasion they served all the favourite dishes and tried to generate a cheerful atmosphere. That seems like a pretty hard thing to do in an ugly huge 70s concrete building. But it was just a tiny trick they needed here - Music.
They played music in the enterance area and the moment I entered, it just felt much better, much friendlier, than usually. It wasn't the music being particularly good (definitely) - just the music being there. My impression is that it covers the noise of many people talking that adds to the unfriendly look of the building in addition to having a cheerful tune.
Playing music really isn't a big deal (hm, though I know for sure that the licensing is quite expensive) - still, they should always do it, it improved my day.