Chanel Shopping in San Francisco

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#16
SF streets and public transportation have been sickening for a long time. I commuted there for 19 years.
It’s getting worse and three premier businesses have moved their corporate offices, McKesson, Bechtel, and now Charles Schwab is moving in 2020. I limit my visits and try to stay in the financial district/Embarcadero area only.
 
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#19
If you’re in the city there are some really nice SAs at both the Union Square and Neiman’s locations. Definitely understand it’s a dicey area sometimes. If I buy a large item I typically ask for a plain white bag to carry out on the streets and they give me all the packaging inside :) Lmk if you need more specific recs and happy to help.
 
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#20
Tl;dr -- I had a really bad (first time) experience shopping at SF boutique recently so if anyone has recommendations on good SA that I can work with from the SF store or Neiman’s in Palo Alto I'd greatly appreciate it!

In case you're interested, here's my experience... I've never shopped at Chanel before but after saving up for a long time I finally decided to go in and check out the jumbo vs medium CF. I wasn't able to make up my mind on the spot so the SA that was assigned to my appointment slot recommended that I bring home the jumbo first to "test it out" while adding myself to the medium waitlist at the same time. She said once the medium comes in, I can make the final decision then on whether I really want to keep the jumbo. Since I don't live near SF, she promised that I could come in later to return the jumbo and get the medium when it arrives at the same time EVEN if it's outside of the 30 day mark. <-- I had a feeling she lied.

Fast forward to day 25 since I went home with the jumbo, I decided that I wanted the medium instead so I texted her to ask where I am on the waitlist and also to confirm that it's still okay to return the jumbo after 30 days so I can limit my trips there. She responds saying "I can add you on the list for the medium flap" and I was like uhhh??? We then talked on the phone later in which I very calmly reminded her that she had taken down my CC info already to be added to the waitlist 3.5 weeks ago and her response was "oh, I thought you didn't want the medium" and also claimed that she never got my info (which again was a lie because I filled out/signed the paper with all my info and she even scanned my card). Imagine the confusion and semi anger brewing inside my mind as I was talking to her while she said she'll go check even though she's certain that she didn't get my info. Anyhow she eventually called me back later and said "okay yea you're on the list"....I couldn't tell if she had added me just now or that I am already on the waitlist from before but whatever. I proceed to confirm about the return of my jumbo after the 30 days since I'm still waiting for the medium flap and she says no, I must return the jumbo within 30 days and make that extra trip now....again a;sldkjf. So fine, I'll make this trip because I want to ensure I get my money back so she promised to text me the name of another SA that I can meet with over the weekend to make the return and I still haven't heard back from her.

Aside from all this, when I was actually picking out the jumbo in the store that very first day, she definitely was super unhappy whenever I pointed out issues with the jumbo (e.g. there were dents in the quilt or white markings/glue on the leather itself). Her default response was "these bags are all hand made so this is normal". When I asked to see other bags for comparison, she got very frustrated and said "we have limits on how many we can bring out and show you."

I honestly wasn't trying to be difficult but if I'm going to spend close to 8K on something, I'd like to make sure that it's as perfect as it gets (I looked at 4 total because the first 2 had the exact same visible dent issue and the other 2 weren't perfect either but I picked the best one out of them). I don't know if this is normal but I'm hopeful that there are still some good SAs out there who won't lie or make me feel like crap.
 
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#21
That is terrible about your SF SA! I can definitely say I have a wonderful SA at that location, but don’t doubt there are several there like you describe. I also have a wonderful SA at SF Neimans Chanel. Message me if you want their contact info. I am heading out the door at the moment, but will be back later this afternoon.
Having a great SA changes EVERYTHING. So sorry you had such a bad experience!
 
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#23
ooosnowooo said:
Tl;dr -- I had a really bad (first time) experience shopping at SF boutique recently so if anyone has recommendations on good SA that I can work with from the SF store or Neiman’s in Palo Alto I'd greatly appreciate it!

In case you're interested, here's my experience... I've never shopped at Chanel before but after saving up for a long time I finally decided to go in and check out the jumbo vs medium CF. I wasn't able to make up my mind on the spot so the SA that was assigned to my appointment slot recommended that I bring home the jumbo first to "test it out" while adding myself to the medium waitlist at the same time. She said once the medium comes in, I can make the final decision then on whether I really want to keep the jumbo. Since I don't live near SF, she promised that I could come in later to return the jumbo and get the medium when it arrives at the same time EVEN if it's outside of the 30 day mark. <-- I had a feeling she lied.

Fast forward to day 25 since I went home with the jumbo, I decided that I wanted the medium instead so I texted her to ask where I am on the waitlist and also to confirm that it's still okay to return the jumbo after 30 days so I can limit my trips there. She responds saying "I can add you on the list for the medium flap" and I was like uhhh??? We then talked on the phone later in which I very calmly reminded her that she had taken down my CC info already to be added to the waitlist 3.5 weeks ago and her response was "oh, I thought you didn't want the medium" and also claimed that she never got my info (which again was a lie because I filled out/signed the paper with all my info and she even scanned my card). Imagine the confusion and semi anger brewing inside my mind as I was talking to her while she said she'll go check even though she's certain that she didn't get my info. Anyhow she eventually called me back later and said "okay yea you're on the list"....I couldn't tell if she had added me just now or that I am already on the waitlist from before but whatever. I proceed to confirm about the return of my jumbo after the 30 days since I'm still waiting for the medium flap and she says no, I must return the jumbo within 30 days and make that extra trip now....again a;sldkjf. So fine, I'll make this trip because I want to ensure I get my money back so she promised to text me the name of another SA that I can meet with over the weekend to make the return and I still haven't heard back from her.

Aside from all this, when I was actually picking out the jumbo in the store that very first day, she definitely was super unhappy whenever I pointed out issues with the jumbo (e.g. there were dents in the quilt or white markings/glue on the leather itself). Her default response was "these bags are all hand made so this is normal". When I asked to see other bags for comparison, she got very frustrated and said "we have limits on how many we can bring out and show you."

I honestly wasn't trying to be difficult but if I'm going to spend close to 8K on something, I'd like to make sure that it's as perfect as it gets (I looked at 4 total because the first 2 had the exact same visible dent issue and the other 2 weren't perfect either but I picked the best one out of them). I don't know if this is normal but I'm hopeful that there are still some good SAs out there who won't lie or make me feel like crap.
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I also have had terrible experiences in this area for several years- SF boutique, SF NM and Palo Alto NM. If it wasn't for the great Chanel service I've received in other parts of the country, I would have given up. Here's my latest story which is relatable to your story:

Recently I called to make an appointment to compare different sizes of the classic flap. I was told there was a big shipment that just got in that was currently being unpacked and there would be many sizes to try out. I happily made an appointment for the next day. When I got there, I was only shown the classic jumbo which I was enthusiastically told is very popular, but I wasn't interested at all- especially because I had thought I would be trying out different sizes. What makes it even worse is that a different SA overheard my conversation and told my SA there is more classic stock that hasn't been unpacked, but she waved her away and dismissed it as a possibility for me to even see at a later date- "Those are only jumbos!" she responded. I'm not sure if that was true or if she was reserving for other clients or if there were really only jumbos in the shipment. The SA offered to transfer a medium size from another location since she said it was the only smaller size available which I agreed to, but I never heard back from her and I didn't bother following up either. I ended up buying a small classic flap from a posting an NM personal shopper made on instagram instead. I would have preferred to have had an in store buying experience though.
 
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#24
I have a Chanel boutique appointment in February. I would like to go in a bit earlier before the next price increase. Will I have any luck finding a square mini in San Fran either in the boutique or the department stores?
 
#26
Hi @Weknow! I was just at Chanel boutique in SF last Saturday. I wanted to try on the mini flap rectangular and they didn’t even have any leather ones to try on (only tweed). The sales associate said there is a 4 page waitlist (about 10-12 people each page) for the Chanel mini rectangular. I don’t know about the square mini, but I would assume it’s also a waitlist given the popularity of the minis. Have you tried calling the store to ask what’s it stock?
 
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#29
LegacyFox said:
Chanel SF has the worst stock. Especially for minis.
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ChloeRD said:
Hi @Weknow! I was just at Chanel boutique in SF last Saturday. I wanted to try on the mini flap rectangular and they didn’t even have any leather ones to try on (only tweed). The sales associate said there is a 4 page waitlist (about 10-12 people each page) for the Chanel mini rectangular. I don’t know about the square mini, but I would assume it’s also a waitlist given the popularity of the minis. Have you tried calling the store to ask what’s it stock?
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Unfortunately I have to agree too, very low Chanel mini stock in SF.

I've been in to the standalone Chanel in SF few times over the past few months (appointments needed), last visit being last week, and they have very few mini bags in general--definitely no classic leather flap minis. They have some more fashion minis with pearls, etc. They also had some of the round styles, which is a cute shape if you're into it!

Chanel in Neiman Marcus had one classic mini when I was there in November (rectangle, not square). I believe it was red lambskin leather, silver hardware.

Good luck!!
 
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#30
Can also try calling Neiman Marcus (Walnut Creek) and Neiman Marcus (Palo Alto). They both have Chanel bags. WC and PA are both about 30-50 min drive from SF, depending on traffic.
 
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