A music shop which began with one man selling accessories on eBay has won an award for its customer service.

El Toro Music in Chippenham was given the Platinum Trusted Service Award by customer review company Feefo after achieving a gold standard of customer service for three consecutive years.

A gold standard is awarded to companies with at least 50 Feefo reviews between 4.5 and 4.9 stars across the year.

Henry Herrera, the managing director of El Toro Music, felt the award recognised the effort he has made to put customers first.

He said: “It shows the effort to make customers happy really pays off and I’m extremely proud because I’ve been in the music industry for many years, and I’ve had a mixed bag with customer service.

“My focus has been customer service because it’s not something I always got as a musician. To be recognised is fantastic because there are a lot of music shops in the south west.

“The fact this award is based on feedback from real customers gives us confidence we are providing an exceptional level of service.”

Mr Herrera’s business has grown quickly from modest beginnings. He has been a musician for the last 30 years but worked in retail software fulltime.

He started El Toro in 2018, selling music accessories on eBay and shipping them from his home.

“It has grown from there”, he said. “It seemed like something I wanted to retire into so I built a website on my own and have been growing the business ever since.

“Within two years it had grown to the point that I had a reason to give up the day job.”

Mr Herrera was able to secure a small shop on Kington St Michael Road in early 2020, but just a week later the country was plunged into lockdown.

Despite the setback, Mr Herrera grew El Toro through online sales and moved into the industry full-time in late 2020.

He has been able to successfully navigate the challenges of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis and is still selling instruments and accessories, and offering music lessons.

He added: “It’s never been normal and it’s always been a challenge but I’m still here. I’m still offering instruments, amps, accessories and lessons.

“It worked out quite well because I was able to get more stock in and build the online sales which grew during lockdown… it’s a dream come true.”