Restaurant awards and noisy eateries

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The Good Food Guide 2018

No, you haven’t stumbled upon a different blog. But it started in an article in the Guardian on the 17th of August. It began by celebrating the Cornish restaurant Outlaws. This seafood restaurant is now number one in the UK according to the Good Food Guide. Previously it had been L’Enclume in Cumbria. Although partial to a nice prawn and scallop or two, I have been to neither place. And I suspect the waiting list now to get into either will be too long and deter me from trying.

However, what piqued my interest wasn’t so much the praise heaped upon the Port Isaac eatery, but the second part of the article.

Restaurant awards and noisy eateries

Aside from the restaurant awards, it also highlighted noisy eateries. According to this mainstream report “the guide says readers have complained in unprecedented numbers that UK restaurants are getting noisier. With music “played at Glastonbury force” increasingly spoiling the dining experience.” (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/aug/17/nathan-outlaw-named-best-uk-restaurant-in-good-food-guide)

Since 2016 Action on Hearing Loss have been running a campaign. This campaign is called the Speak Easy campaign. I wonder if you have heard of it? Basically this charity is asking restaurants, pubs and cafes to reduce the noise in their establishments. After all, if you have a hearing loss and the music is blaring, then your hearing aids will amplify this noise. It increases your difficulty in communicating with your friends and family, colleagues and the staff. Socialising becomes increasingly stressful. And then people withdraw from these events. So you would think Pubs, Cafes and Restaurants would want to have repeat custom rather than driving people away. The power of the pound and all that!

Noisy eateries are not new news to hearing aid users. Many of my lipreading students complain of places that are noisy. Wooden floors and bare tables bounce the sound around even more.

What can I do about the noise? 

For more information and to get involved go to https://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/speak-easy/speak-easy-campaign-pack.aspx

Leave a review! Facebook, Twitter, Google, Trip Advisor feedback are all powerful social media routes you can take. This is useful if you have tried to explain your position to an uninterested manager.

10 million people in the UK have a hearing loss, that’s a lot of customers who are affected.

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