THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040442
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A local convenience store chain is using Tchaikovsky and Sousa to do what warning signs and police can't: keep panhandlers and loiterers away from convenience stores.
The fiery blast of ``Stars and Stripes Forever'' or the soothing ``Sleeping Beauty'' waltz apparently send teenagers looking for new hangouts and panhandlers searching for a new piece of curb.
Having used it successfully in Canada and other parts of the country, 7-Eleven is now trying the concept in Hampton Roads.
The method is used at one store in Norfolk and for a little more than three weeks now, customers have heard everything from Beethoven to Yanni pouring from outdoor speakers aimed at the parking lot of a downtown Portsmouth store.
Company representatives say it's too early to judge the impact here, but if it works they will use it at other area stores that have similar problems.
Elsewhere in the country, they've found that a little elevator music - from highbrow to New Age - goes a long way with certain age groups.
It doesn't bother shoppers, but it strikes a sour note with all sorts of loiterers - from teenagers to prostitutes.
Panhandling had been the cause of customer complaints at the Portsmouth store, according to Jerry Mitchell, market manager for about 50 Hampton Roads stores.
``I've been in the store on a number of different occasions and been asked by female customers to escort them to their car,'' Mitchell said.
Mitchell says store clerks tell him they've already seen a big difference in the number of loiterers.
It was a curiosity for customers at first, he said. But when store clerks explain the motive behind the music, they have received positive comments he said.
``Obviously we're not going to get any comments at all from the panhandlers,'' he said.
But a block away, a bearded man who had already been banned from the 7-Eleven property for stealing wine had plenty to say.
``Violins ain't no real music,'' he said with disgust. ``It ain't got no melody to it.
``The music is irritating to people,'' he added. ``Ying, ying, ying! Yang, yang, yang!
But such feedback is not likely to deter the convenience store giant, which has used the sound systems in about 125 stores since it tried it about six years ago.
``It's very effective on youthful loiterers,'' said Scot Lins, manager of corporate security and loss prevention from the store's Dallas headquarters.
``It's generally subtle. It's not like all of a sudden you're going to turn it on and they're going to leave.''
But it irritates them, he said.
They leave, he added, ``when they realize they can't get the store to change the channel.'' by CNB