San Francisco Safeway blasted classical music 24/7 to 'deter loitering'

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

Link to tweet

LATEST June 6, 10:03 a.m. Safeway has turned off the non-stop classical music playing out of its parking lot, according to a company spokesperson and a nearby resident.


June 5, 4:53 p.m. The Safeway grocery store at 1335 Webster St. in San Francisco's Fillmore District has been blasting classical music at all hours of the day and night from its parking lot for at least a week, nearby neighbors told SFGATE.

Neighbors have lodged multiple complaints with 311 and the San Francisco Police Department's nonemergency line, but the music has continued unabated, according to neighbors who spoke to SFGATE and also shared their experiences in a Nextdoor thread.


The nonstop barrage of sound is coming from a LiveView Technologies mobile surveillance unit, a solar-powered device that fits into a single parking space and comes equipped with lights, thermal imaging and loudspeakers intended to “decrease ... retail theft” and “increase safety,” according to the company's website.

Safeway has placed mobile surveillance units in parking lots at multiple San Francisco locations. While other locations do not have the security system's optional audio feature activated, whoever is operating the mobile unit at 1335 Webster St. seems to have recently turned up the volume of the loudspeakers exponentially and is keeping the music going 24 hours a day.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-safeway-blasts-music-in-parking-lot-18136448.php

[chowder66]

1. They don't need to blast it. They need to play Mandy over and over and over and over

on a moderate volume. It worked pretty well at our Rite Aid in Hollywood.

[leftieNanner]

4. If they could get approval from Disney,

How about It's a Small World?

[chowder66]

16. You have to think of the customers as well. : )

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

5. Mandy

[hlthe2b]

7. Little Drummer Boy (I can still hear my Mother freaking out at its repetition in childhood--LOL)

[chowder66]

15. Hahhahaha!!!

[TheProle]

20. "I always thought it was

bigger than Christmas anyway, you know?" - The Nard Dog.

[Merlot]

2. I would imagine the locals not shopping there would cost them more

than the shoplifting they are trying to deter. If I lived there and was subjected to hearing that 24 hrs, I'd never set foot in that store again after making it clear to them why.

Profits over people, yay.

[chowder66]

17. They just need to turn it down. They play classical at our 7-11's.

And it's outside, not inside.

[Merlot]

19. Neighbors can't sleep.

The anti-homeless maneuver has also incensed residents at nearby buildings, who say they can’t sleep anymore

[chowder66]

21. They don't play it loud here and it's far enough away from homes and apartments.

My understanding is that this is from a truck in a parking lot and cranked up.

[maxsolomon]

3. Technique has been used before.

The McDonalds at 3rd and Pike in Seattle adopted it probably 10 years ago because drug dealing and drug use and drug loitering were making the business terrifying to paying customers.

No apartments anywhere near, though.

Other naturally repellent genres: Opera, Polka.

[alittlelark]

6. A Walgreens in Albuquerque plays Halloween music at high volume

It’s cool for a FEW minutes………… it works.

[Brenda]

8. Kind of absurd to play it all hours so loud.

If it's about deterring loitering, it's also deterring the neighborhood customers.

Are there not enough cops in San Fran to patrol and round up the drug dealers, etc.? I ask that because in my small city there are NOT enough cops, they have billboards asking for people to sign up...black female cop is on the billboard.

This is not just a San Fran problem. Atlanta has this problem, most major cities do.

Too many homeless people.
Too many drug addicts (thanks Pharma).
Too many displaced human beings for many reasons including:

1. Climate Change
2. Right wing red state fucktards flying "unwanted" humans to blue cities.
3. Inflation and predatory banking and insurance industries.

I could go on, but I depress myself.

[Backseat Driver]

9. Blasting music 24/7 at high decibel levels is rude, but would the homed prefer heavy metal or rap?

Maybe the homeless enjoy audible symphonies at an acceptable volume? It can be quite calming. Heavy metal or rap might be really annoying on a loop. Although I'm pretty eclectic, I would not want to hear country music, hip hop, rap, pop playlists 24/7 either. Are there residential rules about "quiet hours"? Earplugs, anyone opposed, seems a reasonable accommodation to the financially-disabled homeless who likely don't like it any better - so, the answer is house the homeless with rules for courtesy and conduct, and mandatory sessions regarding resources for counseling, SF! Residents might be just as lucky to not hear gun shots and sirens all day and night as well. The world has gone crazy all right; the force has been disturbed, and trust diminished--all because of the wealth gap and "specialness" without conscienceness, compassion, or empathy. There, but for the grace of each other and a loving god, if so inclined, go I -- every age has its problems, but all problems show much more than just a bit of disrespect and betrayal--namely, I got mine and the means to screw you, so I will."

[Brenda]

12. "...the force has been disturbed, and trust diminished--

all because of the wealth gap..."

You could have stopped right there.

Root fuckin cause.

[yonder]

10. The Barney theme song might do it too.

Lottsa purply I Love You's would drive me nuts.

[usonian]

11. Looking up the coordinates.

I'll be right over.



Damn few nice things are free any more.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. Shucks, commercial Christmas/Holiday music

would do it for me.

[tanyev]

14. Ha! All I Want For Christmas Is You on a loop!

I kind of like the song, but I don’t need to hear it 3,754,292 times between Nov. 1st and Dec. 25th.

[Takket]

18. seemed like a good idea until a bunch of pot heads with chellos and flutes starting smoking in front

[revmclaren]

22. The worst by far is "The Song That Doesn't End"

There is even a 10 hour plus version on YouTube.

[msfiddlestix]

23. Did it work?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

24. House people and then it's not a problem.

[Sky Jewels]

25. Yes, we need a nationwide, multi-pronged approach.

We need to tax the wealthy to create a safety net, affordable housing, addiction treatment, mental health services, guaranteed minimal income, etc.

The situation is just untenable, especially in west coast cities (which don't get the harsh winters and therefore attract/harbor many more homeless people on average). I drove along I-5 near Seattle the other day and at one point there was a long stretch of ragged tents and shelters visible from the freeway. It reminded me of a slice of slums you might see in India or something.

I really feel for the businesses and residents affected, too, because homeless encampments create public health hazards (e.g. from urine and feces), increase crime, and can destroy livelihoods and neighborhoods.

I'm as liberal/progressive as they come, but I acknowledge the very real and very devastating effects on all populations involved, not just the homeless.

So in the meantime I'm not going to condemn this Safeway for taking action, although they should probably reduce the volume out of courtesy for the nearby residents.