Confessions of a Sanity worker: Staff remember what the iconic Aussie store REALLY was like

Dedicated employees are mourning the closure of music and video chain Sanity, with an ex-manager revealing he loved the store so much he even finished a shift after surviving a heart attack – before then checking himself into a hospital .

Sanity’s last two stores closed on March 27, prompting hundreds of employees and thousands of customers to share their memories from the workshop.

Those employees are now free to think about their time since the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that CEO Ray Itaoui enforced against employees on Jan. 4 ended with the closure of all 50 stores.

Nick White, a “sanity nerd” and former manager of two of the country’s top-grossing stores, delivered a moving eulogy online after “a life-changing 10 years” at the company.

Nick White (pictured), a “sanity nerd” and former manager, delivered a loving eulogy online after “a life-changing 10 years” at the company

Former employees now only have reminders and name tags when the brick-and-mortar store went online

After nearly a decade with the company, Mr. White said he is grateful for the connections and opportunities his time in the business has provided.

“I’ve moved, visited and helped out in a few different shops, even survived a heart attack and went to work the next day before I went to the hospital.

And it was worth it.

“I’m also proud to say that I gave my all every day to fulfill the Sanity customer promise that is posted in every single store.”

The Sanity customer pledge stated that staff will always keep the customer happy — whether that’s by figuring out what movie a scene is from or finding the song a particular line is from.

Other employees left Sanity with mixed opinions about the retailer.

A former employee who asked to work under the alias Bruce because of his NDA told Daily Mail Australia that while the staff is great, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.

“We found out about the closures on the same day as everyone,” Bruce said.

“Channel Nine called my boss before Ray did [Itaoui] had even sent the NDA email.’

All employees were under non-disclosure agreements as part of their employment contracts, which Mr Itaoui reiterated via email on Jan. 4 after the closure was announced.

“Luckily they trusted their gut and told the reporters they couldn’t talk about it or it would have been a bad day,” she said.

The hardest part for some employees was saying goodbye to the regular customers, who some employees considered close friends with whom they could discuss pop culture.

The Sanity customer promise states that staff will always keep the customer happy — by finding out which movie a scene is from or finding the song a particular line is from

Sanity announced it would close all physical stores on January 4 (Pictured Sanity employees in Mount Gambier, SA)

In the last few weeks of trading, stores went through sales periods that started at 50 percent off and climbed to 75 percent off.

Bruce said the dizzying number of customers rushing through the store to snag a bargain made the time fly by, with people waiting in lines for “literally two hours”.

“Some customers used to just walk in and talk about their favorite show all day, which was nice when we weren’t busy,” Bruce said.

“They acted like they wanted to pre-order something just to talk about other shows or give us recommendations on what to watch or listen to.

“You can tell they lost a big chunk of their lives because they didn’t have the opportunity to come into the store and browse the shelves.”

The CD and DVD retailer closed the doors of its last two physical stores in Queensland’s Browns Plains in southern Brisbane and Bundaberg in northern Brisbane on Sunday.

Sanity was a staple in most Australian shopping centers for more than 40 years and in its heyday had more than 200 store fronts across the country.

Sanity (above) closed its last two stores in South Brisbane and Bundaberg on Sunday after more than 40 years of operations

Mr Itaoui said the change in strategy was driven by consumers’ recent preference to ditch physical media in favor of digital downloads