Noise pollution in the car showroom

I just had a rather depressing post-modern experience while waiting for my car to be serviced.
It was reasonably early in the morning and there was no-one else around in the waiting area. I helped myself to a free cappuccino, and settled down quite happily with Michael J. Fox's autobiography. After a while a young employee wandered over and switched on the huge flat-screen TV. I asked her to switch it off, as there was no-one around but me and I didn't really need it. She looked confused, even a little disappointed, for a while, and mumbled that "people want to know what's going on" (it was actually set to a generic American day-time talk show, not even a news channel), but she eventually complied.
A little later, the receptionist from the other side of the showroom walked over and switched on the TV. Again, I said that, if it was just for my benefit, she could switch it off as I didn't want it. This employee put up more of a fight, arguing that it was "too quiet" (despite the competing ambient noise of a radio station already blaring out in the showroom), and left it on. I was still the only person in the waiting area, so I switched the TV off as soon as she returned to her reception area, where she could not hear it anyway.
Finally, another customer arrived, and the first thing she did? - asked for the TV to be turned on. I went out for a walk.