Maintaining a H relationship

#3,095
Please focus on the title of this thread rather than each other, TY

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#46
yplady said:
Interesting thread - I'm reminded that the University of Southern Europe (appropriately located in Monaco) has a major in Luxury Goods & Services...I imagine the psychology of luxury sales would be an interesting course!
While I'm not close enough to any store to have a relationship with a SA, I separate the great SAs from the others by their interest, enthusiasm and maybe just a little bit of passion for what they sell.
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One of my SAs is based in Hawaii........I have a close relationship with her, it was cultivated over the phone. She is a fantastic lady, we just clicked.
 
#47
I have a very dear friend whom I love and respect alot. And I post this question in hope of helping me, and her see things in other people's perspectives other than our very own. Our H experiences are rather varied and I somehow think it's a factor of many things, and no one single reason can explain why our H store experiences are different ... inconsistent ... and sometimes, just poor.

a) How often are you in contact with your SA/store? Be it via phone calls, emails, personal store visits.
Only when I need something or spotted something that I wanted.

b) Do you feel like you need to keep your H relationship warm by keeping a constant and regular contact? Do you believe that it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind" with H staff; that time away from your store will affect your H relatioship?
I believe the out of sight out of mind is true, but having said that, I still don't visit H store that often.

1. I am not ready to buy a bag there yet, I am keeping for FSH, I will only go there to pick something I really want up and occasionally visit that store with friends.

2. I feel bad asking the SA to work for me when I am not getting the item/bag and also to avoid tempation :P

3. I love my H store visits, sometimes going in for chitchats. I do not go town often (in general) but eversince H love started I had been going there like once a month on an average? Without H, I go town maybe 6 times in a year. I hate crowded places and when there is too much noise, I spaced out.

c) if for whatever reason/s, you stop calling your store maybe because you were going through a busy period. Will your SA remember to call you?
I'm in a superb busy period right now, I don't see the daylights for the last 2 weeks. And YES I do notice a difference, my SA don't "work" as hard for me anymore, KWIM?

d) Suppose you asked your SA to do a global search for something for you. Do you get to hear back from your SA? Do you get regular updates about the status? We all know that global searches are manual, and responses can be as late as 6 weeks' later. Do you need to constantly remind your SA to ask about this?
She did not get back to me on my searches previously. It was for 1 item, I eventually managed to get it on ebay, it's an older item and really rare, so I think it's not the SA not getting back to me per say but rather it might not be available. Since then, I have no faith in the global search. Lately, I told my SA to call me when the new men's wallets come in, I need a present for DH, we will see how that turn out.
 
#49
I am of the opinion that for most of us who are such great fans of Hermes :heart:, having a good and responsive SA is like a lifeline, because we'd constantly want to live, breathe and touch Hermes. Admiring Hermes at arm's length, just doesn't cut it. And I feel that as with all relationships, it needs both parties to work at it. It may sound silly here, afterall it's a retail relationship. And by right, it's the SAs who need to please the customers. And we should just be on the receiving end, and expect good service but SAs are human, and I think we customers need to put in a nice touch, to make it easier for them to do their job. I wonder if I am the only one who feels this way?
 
#52
mrssparkles said:
I am of the opinion that for most of us who are such great fans of Hermes :heart:, having a good and responsive SA is like a lifeline, because we'd constantly want to live, breathe and touch Hermes. Admiring Hermes at arm's length, just doesn't cut it. And I feel that as with all relationships, it needs both parties to work at it. It may sound silly here, afterall it's a retail relationship. And by right, it's the SAs who need to please the customers. And we should just be on the receiving end, and expect good service but SAs are human, and I think we customers need to put in a nice touch, to make it easier for them to do their job. I wonder if I am the only one who feels this way?
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I totally agree. Any 'relationship' has to be reciprocal. So, yes, I expect professional and efficient service but I at the same time try to make their job as pleasant as I can by being a thoughtful customer. So, for example, if an SA does a search for me, I make sure to show my appreciation with a thank you note.
 
#53
I have nearly 20 years of going into H boutiques. I could easily sum it up by saying the relationship you have with an SA or SA(s) makes all the difference, but if the manager wants to run his/her boutique a certain way it can really cripple you as a customer. The manager has the control and they can make it all that impossible for you to have an enjoyable time at Hermes. I can say this because I have experienced it.

If you love the brand you just find a way to make it work and you never give up. To be honest, it has taken me a long time to get where I am at and only as of recent is my situation less stressing. LOL

Thank goodness I have patience and only need to acquire a small collection and some little sweet goodies to make me happy. If not, I would have lost my love for Hermes long ago. (all due to management pretty much)
 
#54
princessfrog said:
a) How often are you in contact with your SA/store? Be it via phone calls, emails, personal store visits.
Only when I need something or spotted something that I wanted.
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Would this this at least ONCE a month, princessfrog?

princessfrog said:
c) if for whatever reason/s, you stop calling your store maybe because you were going through a busy period. Will your SA remember to call you?
I'm in a superb busy period right now, I don't see the daylights for the last 2 weeks. And YES I do notice a difference, my SA don't "work" as hard for me anymore, KWIM?
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What do you think is the reason for the change, my dear? Because our store has a lot more customers now? Would like to hear your opinion on this since we shop at the same store.

princessfrog said:
d) Suppose you asked your SA to do a global search for something for you. Do you get to hear back from your SA? Do you get regular updates about the status? We all know that global searches are manual, and responses can be as late as 6 weeks' later. Do you need to constantly remind your SA to ask about this?
She did not get back to me on my searches previously. It was for 1 item, I eventually managed to get it on ebay, it's an older item and really rare, so I think it's not the SA not getting back to me per say but rather it might not be available. Since then, I have no faith in the global search. Lately, I told my SA to call me when the new men's wallets come in, I need a present for DH, we will see how that turn out.
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As with ALL my global search experiences, if I don't follow-up, nothing happens. So if I were to use this aspect of the H service as a yardstick, I think the score would be rather miserable.
 
#55
Kellybag said:
I have nearly 20 years of going into H boutiques. I could easily sum it up by saying the relationship you have with an SA or SA(s) makes all the difference, but if the manager wants to run his/her boutique a certain way it can really cripple you as a customer. The manager has the control and they can make it all that impossible for you to have an enjoyable time at Hermes. I can say this because I have experienced it.

If you love the brand you just find a way to make it work and you never give up. To be honest, it has taken me a long time to get where I am at and only as of recent is my situation less stressing. LOL

Thank goodness I have patience and only need to acquire a small collection and some little sweet goodies to make me happy. If not, I would have lost my love for Hermes long ago. (all due to management pretty much)
Click to expand...

KB, you have the patience of a saint :heart:. I see meaning in your words above. Thank you so much.
 
#57
gracekelly said:
I guess I am the outlyer/exception. I have no desire to go chasing after the SA. On the whole I have been disappointed by them. Perhaps it is just where I live that is the problem. My reading here tells me that there are SA in Asia and other parts of the US who do service their clients without constant handholding. I have never felt the need to kiss up to a sales person for a product. I don't send gifts, flowers etc. I am polite, respectful of their time spent with me and appropriately grateful at the proper time. I realize that there is extreme competition for these bags and accept that. I do not have the time to call or pop into the store on a weekly basis. If they have something for me great. If not, I'll live. I have built a very large and varied collection with and without their help. I don't run myself ragged over the whole thing. I think there is a certain karma to the H experience and so I just sit back and let it happen:smile:
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You're a cool chick, gracekelly.:yes:
 
#58
Kellybag said:
The manager has the control and they can make it all that impossible for you to have an enjoyable time at Hermes. I can say this because I have experienced it.
If not, I would have lost my love for Hermes long ago. (all due to management pretty much)
Click to expand...

OMG, I couldn't have said it better myself about the store that has nothing. I guess being polite and non-demanding is not enough for this store. If it wasn't for FSH and another H store I found, I would have given up on Hermes by now.
 
#59
Rose said:
One of my SAs is based in Hawaii........I have a close relationship with her, it was cultivated over the phone. She is a fantastic lady, we just clicked.
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Rose, is it not true that all the computer records of customers in the US are centralised? Which means that even a newbie SA from any part of the US can retrieve one's sales history, thereby making it easier for them to size up any customer :graucho:
 
#60
Ok, this is going to surprise some of us here.
But some of my H experiences are far from being satisfactory, as much as I love :heart: my SA at one store, she does forget things. Not once, but probably two or three times within a short span of about 6 months. And the feeling is worse when I step into the store and see the particular item that I want sitting in the showcase. Of course I wonder where the miscommunication happened but I always just choose to think that she must have been too busy or maybe I was not specific enough in my requests. I don't know, I guess it really depends on how important the items are but as far as I am concern, stuff are just stuff, even if it's H. I always believe that if I miss out on getting an item that I want, then it's just not meant to be.

Whatever I have said may not be very helpful because I'm not as "crazy" over H as some of us here but you know, we do forget names, we do forget requests, and we forget birthdays. Don't sweat the small stuff. Whoever you are, MrsS' dear friend, *hugs* :heart: :heart:.
 
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