Philip Hill, Manager of Tesco Scotland, has agreed ‘that it would be good to hold a couple of quiet times in our stores during the festive period’. The good news is that this isn’t a single hour first thing in the morning, which is all that most supermarkets have offered until now, but a whole morning from 9am – 12pm. The two quiet mornings will be Wednesday, 4th December, and Wednesday, 11th December. All Tesco stores in Scotland should be participating, including the Tesco Express stores which recently started playing music and were what sparked off Quiet Scotland’s original complaint. Clothing outlets within Tesco stores will also be included, but not coffee outlets, such as Costa. (Apparently, these need more negotiations).

This is real progress. When Quiet Scotland first started writing to supermarkets, they were either ignored us or sent a standard letter suggesting that no one else ever complained. The same response is often received across the whole UK, of course. Stores very rarely turn off their Christmas music, certainly not for a whole morning at a time. (See the previous post Christmas Cacophony Again!)

Quiet Scotland inspires us all. Wherever you live in the UK, do write to the Chief Executive, Dave Lewis. His email is dave.lewis@uk.tesco.com His postal address is Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City, UK, AL7 1GA