psychologically pleasing smells

Today, I had to go to the office for our cable company and switch out our cable box, which had been acting up. When I stepped inside I remembered why I like my visits to the cable company. It smells real nice.

I have mentioned before that I have a strong sense of smell, so I believe that a lot of smells affect me more for better or worse than others. My experience is that a lot of smells have been designed to stir up a psychological reaction. For example, who can resist the allure of the new car smell and the general feeling of newness and excitement that accompanies it? Who can resist the draw of smoked meat outside a BBQ restaurant? Our cable company's local office has a different smell, though. It smells like a hotel lobby.

I have always gotten excited about the opportunity to stay in a hotel, even when I was very young. I think it's because I can be shut off from my typical world with access to cable TV and no real responsibilities other than getting some ice. When I was younger, I probably associated it with getting to swim in an indoor pool as well. When I get a whiff of a typical hotel lobby smell it instantly makes me just a little bit happier than I am because of the psychological excitement I get out of going to a hotel. It's probably stronger for me than the new car smell or the BBQ restaurant smell.

This all makes me wonder why more businesses do not integrate psychologically pleasing smells into their places of business. It would make me visit more often.