As many have observed, more often than not you get better service when you wear your Birkin, wear a mink, big e-ring, etc. Over the years I have to the conclusion that its best to develop relationships with SAs at one store. Make all your major purchases there. I have been going to the Tysons Corner store since it opened. I am on a first-name basis with most of the SAs there. I went into the store on my birthday this yearand walked out with my 35 Etoupe Birkin. Dont get me wrong, I love to go to other Hermes and shop. I just dont go in there and expect the same service that I get in my home store.
Heres an example of really bad service, I purchased an Anaconda tourmaline bead necklace at Barneys Madison Avenue for about $2,500 last Christmas. In late June, I noticed the necklace had chipped in 2 spots. The damage was due to loose stringing/knotting of the silk thread so some of the beads were bumping up against one another. I took pics. I emailed SA to alert her of the situation. I told her I was traveling to NYC from DC to deal with this. Even though I was wearing a Bolide, had nice jewelry, etc., the chicer than thou SA was passive-aggressive hostile to me. She admitted she ignored my email. But she took in the necklace for repair. At Thanksgiving, I finally ransomed my necklace from Barneys for $180. They said they re-polished the stones (they didnt). They just removed the damaged stones and re-strung it. I noticed the necklace was shorter. The store manager offered to look up larger clasps and email me back. He didnt.
Lesson learned. Deal with people you know and trust. Even reputable stores can treat people badly. I wont spend a dime in Barneys again.