Whistle Over Intercom at Walmart?

Some of you may know my opinion on Walmart. Despite this, it's the best option on some occasions, and I grit my teeth and bear it. The last few times I've gone I've heard something like someone whistling a tune over the intercom. It's not over the entire store PA system, but just from a speaker every here and there, and it moves. My wife hasn't heard it, friends haven't heard it, Walmart employees I've asked haven't heard it. I've Googled and come up with couple references to it, so I have some small reassurance that I'm not simply insane. Who else has heard the Walmart whistling? If you haven't, would you please try and pay attention and listen for it the next time you go? Anyone have any information about WTF it is, what purpose it serves, and why?

Thanks all. :buddies:

It could be RF from cell phones, fluorescent ballasts, even equipment employees are using. Given Walmart's prices, I'm sure their intercom system is about as inexpensive as possible, meaning it's likely prone to pick up all sorts of stray signals.

I have a similar problem in my phone line right now. About 2 months ago the voice quality was getting progressively worse (there was a crackling sound which kept getting louder). Eventually, the phone quit entirely. No dial tone, nothing but noise. We at first blamed Time Warner Cable, our phone provider. However, plugging our cordless phone directly into the box, it worked fine. So I traced the problem to a line for the basement phone, and disconnected it. Everything was fine for a while. About two weeks ago the same thing happened. Nothing obvious to disconnect this time. So now I just have the cordless plugged into the TW box until I have time to rewire all the lines in the house. It could be literally anything-moisture, interference from something, insulation drying out (the house is 57 years old), gremlins. It'll take longer to find the problem than to just rewire everything. Anyhow, I'll bet something similar but with a lower level of interference is happening at Walmart.

No comments from me good or bad about Walmart. None local to me, so believe it or not, I've never been in one.

That sound plausible, but it's not an interference type whistling or buzzing; I'd recognize that. It's a recording of someone whistling a tune.

Be thankful you've never been in a Walmart. :buddies:

Subliminal Messages. Just picture a little yellow smiley face bouncing around lowering prices :tinfoil:

Haha but on a more serious note I have NO clue. Sounds a little... creepy, to me.

gsxrac said:

Subliminal Messages. Just picture a little yellow smiley face bouncing around lowering prices :tinfoil:

Haha but on a more serious note I have NO clue. Sounds a little... creepy, to me.

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You are probably correct. There was something about this a few years ago where some stores (WalMart?) were putting subliminal sounds (speech?) over the PA to get people buying. Perhaps the whistling is trying to put people into a happier buying mood.

They seem to run their audio ads in selective zones of the stores. I've heard the same annoying beep-boop-beep music in certain areas of a particular store while other stuff is playing in other areas. It's annoying but it's only audible in some areas, so you might have asked an employee who's stationed in an area where that never plays.

It could be an individual kiosk that has an audio player inside. I've heard marketing-type noises coming out of those self service photo printer kiosks before.

Still no one?

Maybe I'm just nuts. My wife has claimed that several times, and not just in relation to the Walmart whistling.

I work in the photo lab at Walmart and I have a high sensitivity to high pitched noises and I've never heard this. There are TV's that have ads playing, the Kodak Picture Makers talk to you, and some of the digital picture frames play demo songs but no whistling.

But we are also no longer allowed to page over the intercom unless absolutely needed otherwise we use the walkies.

JohnR66 said:

You are probably correct. There was something about this a few years ago where some stores (WalMart?) were putting subliminal sounds (speech?) over the PA to get people buying. Perhaps the whistling is trying to put people into a happier buying mood.

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Maybe like the blaring loud techno music they play outside every Abercrombie store in the country. It's been scientifically proven to make people so incensed that they are often driven into a buying or killing frenzy (thankfully the former is very rare).

Could it be a system to deter rats or mice ?
It is said that these pests can be chased away by high pitched whistles, usually beyond humam hearing.
Perhaps your hearing is very acute, which would explain others not hearing it.

No whistling heard yesterday when I was there. But I would to like find the jerk who took my cart while I was trying on some pants in the dressing room for 2 minutes, where's my freaking cart?

It was likely an employee who took the cart, thinking it was abandoned. My local store seems to be obsessive about this. On a receit visit I walked away from my cart for about 10 seconds when an employee walked over and said "excuse me, are you using this?"

Supposedly it's a theft prevention thing. I guess in some places thieves like to leave carts lying around the store (near the entrance would probably be best) load it up with lots of stuff and then make a mad dash out the doors with it. So in typical retail fashion, this means no unatended carts. It's stupid, but that's how retail works.:shrug:

Thanks for confirming I'm insane.

It's not a steady sound like a tone generator would make, it's a recording of someone who is actually whistling a song. My hearing is definitely not more acute than normal, too much loud machinery during work and too much loud music during play.

I'll keep looking. Thanks folks. :buddies:

Diesel_Bomber said:

Thanks for confirming I'm insane.

It's not a steady sound like a tone generator would make, it's a recording of someone who is actually whistling a song. My hearing is definitely not more acute than normal, too much loud machinery during work and too much loud music during play.

I'll keep looking. Thanks folks. :buddies:

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Could it be an employee that's simply goofing around on the intercom? Maybe there's a trained parakeet in the pets area?

Diesel_Bomber said:

Thanks for confirming I'm insane.

It's not a steady sound like a tone generator would make, it's a recording of someone who is actually whistling a song. My hearing is definitely not more acute than normal, too much loud machinery during work and too much loud music during play.

I'll keep looking. Thanks folks. :buddies:

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Don't worry. There's help for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haloperidol
:nana:
bernie

Bernie --


Would that stuff "cure" a Flashaholic ?



_

^^ I sure hope not lovecpf

I know what it is... over in the grocery section, they have tvs that play ads. one of them has a whistling tune to it that carries further than the rest of the audio. It's really irritating. I forget what the commercial is for. So much for marketing.

Anyway, that's the answer to the mystery.

--Matt

Diesel_Bomber said:

Thanks for confirming I'm insane.

It's not a steady sound like a tone generator would make, it's a recording of someone who is actually whistling a song. My hearing is definitely not more acute than normal, too much loud machinery during work and too much loud music during play.

I'll keep looking. Thanks folks. :buddies:

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Hey don't feel bad, I think I hear my cell ringing all the time when it's not. I am a service tech and it rings all day long sometimes, I guess I get used to it and anticipate the ring.