Something that amazes me is how loud the music is in restaurants nowadays. We used to hit places like Applebee's and Bennigan's, which are restaurant/bar combos, but I guess the idea nowadays is to make the whole place a bar. The music is so loud that you literally have to yell at the person next to you so that they can hear you over the music, and you can just forget about talking to the people across the table from you; it's just not gonna happen.
The server comes to take your order, and he/she has to scream, and when you try to give your order, you also have to scream. That doesn't work anyway, so you end up holding the menu and pointing at things. What the fuck? Do people really like having the music this fucking loud? What is the point? Is it more "cool" or more "fun" when the music is so loud that you can't actually have a conversation?
Basically, we've stopped going to places like that. And maybe it's a coincidence, but the two Applebee's and the two Bennigan's nearest us have all closed in the past couple of years. Sure, the economy is bad right now, but certainly it doesn't help if you run a place that is simply unpleasant for customers.