This is an open letter to the merchants of Qualicum Beach, most of whom will understand completely what I am saying.
I know that times are tough in QB, but times are tough nearly everywhere, including Nanaimo. However, it does not help the cause to openly moan and groan to the people who are frequenting your store.
When I shop in QB, which is regularly, I shop for the experience of shopping in such a quaint town. I have lived here for close to 40 years and I enjoy shopping locally.
I owned and operated a real estate company on the main street. Times were good and times were really bad as during the recession of the early 1980s and the again the early 1990s. All of the realtors seemed to innately understand the need to put on a good face and sell QB to visitors and to re-sell it to current residents.
Most of the merchants in town are a pleasure to deal with, but there are a few who have guaranteed that I will never return to their stores. I went into these stores with the intent to buy and left empty handed because of the negative comments and being informed as to the number of businesses that have already closed and the number still either for sale or about to close.
I left these stores feeling very discouraged and thinking I would prefer to shop elsewhere, anywhere, where I was made to feel welcome and my business appreciated. The merchants who are fighting a good fight should feel very angry at these naysayers.
Sylvia Gardner
Qualicum Beach