Thanks for the chuckle, Tesco

Every now and then, you see something that makes you chuckle.

After last week’s busy recording session, Carl and I popped to our local branch of Tesco to get a bite to eat, and to browse the tech magazines… well, it’s cheaper than buying them…

As we both have something of an ear for audio, we noticed that the in-store music was sounding a little on the rough side… a little like listing to an FM radio tuned slightly off station.

On the way to pay, we passed the deserted customer service desk, pictured here.

Nothing special to report here, you might think. But on closer inspection, we discovered what goes on behind these scenes and just how the in-store music system works.

Now you might think that there’s some expensive in-store music scheduling and broadcast system that plays out music carefully designed to get customers to buy – music to get you in the buying mood with some subliminal sales suggestions thrown in? Or perhaps a computer-controlled playout system that rotates music to stop the shop staff from going bonkers hearing the same CD for hours on end.

Not a bit of it.

At our local store, here’s how it’s done.

1. 1. Get a cheap radio / CD player from the shelf
2. Stick some batteries in
3. Tune it to a local commercial radio station
4. Plonk the in-store public address mic in front of the speaker
5. Use an elastic band to hold down the Talk button

Simple, and effective. Here’s the technical wizardry in action:

Sometimes it’s the simplest solutions that work best – as long as the radio doesn’t drift off station.

You’ll be pleased to know that Carl tuned the station back in for the staff. You have no idea how tempting it was to drop in a CD of the latest episode of FrequencyCast before we left.

Share and Enjoy!

Pete