For 47 years, family run Reids Florists has been firmly established on the Lisburn Road in Belfast. Originally the family lived above the shop, a greengrocers run by Harry Reid selling not just fruit and veg but flowers and plants too. Gradually, the horticultural side of the business took over, the family moved into bigger premises 100 yards up the road and Reid’s Florists was born.
Second generation family member Stephen Reid, who took over running the shop in 1976, remembers a time when there were as many as five florists shops on the busy Lisburn Road. ‘We are fortunate to be where we are, but we are not complacent, we ensure we are always well-stocked with a good supply of quality flowers as if your products are consistently good, people will remember that and recommend you. You are only as good as your last bouquet.’
But for Stephen and his son Chris, who with wife Kara, have now taken over the day-to-day running of the business, customer service is over and above everything else, oh, and a good van driver!
‘Our driver has been with us for 26 years; he knows our customers as well if not better than we do. He knows the best time to catch them in, who has trouble getting to the front door and so on. These are the little things which make a big difference.’
Having been established for so many years, Reids have inevitably picked up some prestigious orders and customers as such actor James Nesbitt who has their number on speed dial.
But it’s not celebrity followers that gets the Reids out of bed in the morning, ‘You have to have a passion for it and love what you do, our customers are the most important thing to us.’
