30/04/2023
Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions for me, It was the end of an era for Belfast Music , a business that my dad started 30 years ago.
After losing dad last May things have been tough for myself and my family, the continuous pressures of not being able to get stock for the shop and our customers has been a contributing struggle to keep the business open.
Unfortunately as most of you know last November I was diagnosed with Cancer and have been through three very tough surgeries over the past few months and have now started my radiation treatments, with this and the fact we have struggled to get stock we decided that our only option was to close.
Since announcing the shop closing last month sales have been unbelievable but yesterday on our last day was truly amazing.
To be honest , to me it felt that we had been taken back in time to how the shop was 20 years ago before the internet and online shopping.
I can honestly say yesterday we never stopped, we had at least 6-8 customers in the shop at all times during the day, The shop was back to the good old days , it was buzzing , people trying out instruments , people browsing the music , customers asking for our advise as cars continually keep pulling up to the door. It was an amazing day of business with Customers new and old coming in to buy or just simply to say goodbye and wish us all the best.
I honestly didn’t expect to go out on such a high , listening to all the customers stories over the last month , telling us how much my dad , myself and our staff have meant to them over the years , some of the stories they shared were truly amazing and even brought tears to my eyes on more than a few occasions.
As I said it definitely was a day of mixed emotions, yes it was a very sad day that we were closing the doors for good but on the other hand to have that buzz back in the shop was truly amazing, we couldn’t have wished for a better way to bow out.
I would like to thank all of our customers for your continued support over the years. The friendships that have been formed have been truly amazing and that’s what I will miss the most.
I will miss our chats , the banter and the buzz I got when we could help you pick out your perfect instrument.
For me personally it was never all about the selling , or getting money off a customer, to me selling is not everything in business , it’s about the personal touch, it’s about the trust that people have in you as a sales person, you should never have to force a sale , in my eyes a sale with a customer could last days , weeks sometimes even months , customers are all different , it’s takes customers time to decide what they want to buy , customers should never be forced into a sale. Yes there will be sales you will lose , that’s a fact of life, but when a customer gains your trust and that trust forms a friendship, that’s what selling is all about.
This is how I always went about selling in the shop and im 100% sure our customers would agree with everything I have just said and in my eyes that’s what made our shop that little bit more special.
Again I would like to thank each and every customer , you are an amazing bunch of people and I wish you all health and happiness in the future.
Until we meet again 👍🏻
From Linden and all the staff at Belfast Music