HAGERSTOWN, Md.—A Maryland mall says Salvation Army bell ringers are making too much noise, and that’s striking a sour note with merchants.

The mall is asking the charity to replace the insides of bells with paper clips to keep the clanging down.

Maj. Robert Lyle says the three indoor ringers at Valley Mall have replaced the clappers inside their bells. Lyle says he sympathizes with merchants who get tired of the noise. But he says the two bell-ringers located outside the mall are still at full volume.

Salvation Army volunteers ring the bells to call attention to their red kettles. Shoppers drop donations for the poor into the buckets.

Mall Marketing Director Brian Kaltenbaugh says the noise complaints came from kiosk- and cart-based businesses in hallways near the bell ringers.