Trying to figure out how to control restaurant noise levels? We’ve got a few tips, tricks and hacks to bring those noise levels down.

Your restaurant has it all: mouthwatering meals, kind and caring wait staff, and appealing decor. Yet, something still seems off. You’re busy as ever but you rarely have repeat customers and your online reviews are just not up to par. After scrolling through your reviews, you see your customers have been complaining about your noise levels. They say they can’t hold a decent conversation with their friends and family. They have to shout over the sound of other conversations, glasses and silverware clinking as they hit the table, chefs cooking in the kitchen, and music blaring in the background.

While you want to reduce the discord, it seems as though so many of the online sources that discuss how to control restaurant noise levels are referring to the building process. You don’t have the time nor do you want to spend the money to tear down your restaurant and start from scratch. And you don’t need to! Employ these following strategies on how to control restaurant noise levels and you will notice a much calmer atmosphere, repeat customers and satisfied employees.

1. Purchase fabric sound panels.

One reason your restaurant might be so loud is because you don’t have soundproof walls and ceilings. Noise can easily travel throughout the restaurant, as well as into the restaurant! Many restaurants are now getting built with soundproof walls and ceilings, but you need an easier fix as your restaurant is already past its building stages. That’s where fabric sound panels become useful, as they can be attached to your walls and ceilings without any need for renovation.

Before you cringe at the idea of a panel detracting from your restaurant’s aesthetic, take a look at some of the options that are out now. There are a variety of fabric panels from the plain to the colorful to the artistic. A fabric sound panel can actually be multi-functional, making your restaurant both sound better and even look better!

2. Create a divide between the kitchen and diners.

The kitchen is where all the magic happens in the restaurant. Chefs transform simple ingredients into beautiful masterpieces to be sent out to the customer. Over time, viewing this process has gained traction and having the chefs close to the diners has become a trend. The customers can now get in on the action!

As tempting as it may be to follow the trend, if you already have a busy restaurant, don’t put your customers and your kitchen staff within a close distance of one another. The clattering of pots and pans are just going to add more noise.

Try moving your dining tables farther away from the kitchen, if possible. If there is still too much noise, you may need to purchase a partition to create a divide between the kitchen and the diners.

3. Turn the music down.

We get it – you love that song! But your customers are not coming to your restaurant to listen to music. They are there to eat a quality meal and spend time with friends and family. While background music is essential to add to a restaurant’s ambiance, you need to be careful not to go overboard with the tunes. The louder the music, the more it annoys your customers and detracts from their conversations.

Select music based on the feeling you’d like to evoke, and adjust the volume accordingly. For example, if you want your customers to stay awhile and enjoy their meal, play soft music at a soft volume. Or if you want customers to leave quickly so you can circulate new customers in, play pop music with a faster beat and turn the music up a little. It is important to recognize you need to keep the volume loud enough for customers to hear but not too loud to the point where it is deafening.

4. Purchase tablecloths.

Tablecloths are great for restaurant noise control because they create a barrier between plates, glasses and silverware and the hard table surface. Plus, they absorb sound. When dishes are constantly picked up and placed back down on the table, they often make an annoying clink. When you repeat that sound among the rest of the restaurant’s tables, there is a lot of disturbing clattering. By adding a tablecloth, you provide a soft layer for dishes to be placed on, greatly minimizing that sound.

Tablecloths have a similar effect as fabric sound panels because they aid in sound absorption. While definitely not as powerful as the fabric sound panels, using both panels and tablecloths together can greatly reduce the amount of sound reflected throughout the room.

We can help you figure out how to control restaurant noise levels. Tablecloths could be the answer.

At Braun, we offer various services to the restaurant industry, including uniform, apron and towel rentals. You’re in luck because we also offer table linen services! Give us a call today at 800-272-8657 to learn more about our tablecloths. Something as simple as a tablecloth could have a major impact on the quality of your customers’ experience and could save them an earache or two.