Coach doesn’t want to encourage your business

[TejasMama]

I wouldn't take what one rude SA says as the gospel truth. She could just be regurgitating someone else's opinion and the not the company as a whole. I receive PCE's all the time and I'm not a twenty-something. It shows poor training and taste for her to say such a thing but we find those kind of SAs in most companies. Some great, some terrible, most in the middle.

It's true that Coach has done some puzzling things the last few years and they haven't been very smart in cultivating their loyal customers, who quite frankly, have many other price-competitive alternatives. They may get a rude awakening and end up with a tanking stock and a mind to reconsider the value of their loyal base. Here's hoping anyway...

 

[Jennifoo]

+ 1

They will never be a premier brand no matter how much they try. IMO a brand can't be a premier brand or become one with so many outlets around, and so many styles every few months. The outlets devalue the brand.

I totally agree. I see all the reveals on here from the outlets, and, while I'm happy for the women who get them, it makes me feel stupid for actually ordering from coach.com and paying full price.

 

[Jennifoo]

[FONT=&quot]A bit of a long story, but I want to show the setting, please bear with me)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I went to pick up my daughter at her school and had a rare opportunity to visit a FP store this one at the mall in Grandville,MI. I planned to visit Macy’s, I didn’t even know there was a FP there. I really wanted to see the Borough bag in person. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Of course we took the opportunity to look at other items we liked. I was carrying my FP Madison shoulder bag. Dd also had a small FP Coach. As the SA showed me items, I mentioned that I had this or that (several Phoebes, etc&#8230[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] DD found a mini skinny she liked, but I thought $38.00 for a coated canvas mini skinny was more than I wanted to pay, especially since I know there was JUST a PCE that expired. I mentioned the PCE, and the SA said there’s one coming out the 7th. I said it won’t matter because I never get them anyway, so she pulled me up on the computer and verified my information.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I then mentioned that I never get PCE. But I seldom buy FP because I don’t live near one. I said that if they sent me PCEs I might chance mail ordering more. I also said I wished they made plus size clothing because I’d love to buy those items (and would).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Then the amazing comment: Coach PCE and other decisions come from corporate (yep, knew that). You don’t get PCE because Coach corporate is trying to move in the direction of the young, hip, fashion forward customer who carries Prada. They want to encourage their business.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I said well, I guess they are pushing away their loyal customers. (That means not the 50+ fat lady who is not fashion forward.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Oh that’s surely not the intent, she replied. EXCUSE ME you just said in almost so many words, “They don’t want to encourage your business.” Sounds pretty clear to me.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Needless to say we left without the mini skinny and without the Borough. It will be a long day before I am back.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]signed not FF lady who doesn't carry Prada. And I'm pretty sure I will NEVER get PCE.

added: I hope that FF Prada lady spends a lot at Coach!
[/FONT]

I didn't get into to Coach until I turned 40 and I get PCEs pretty frequently. I ordered from coach.com and I don't know if someone who's in charge of it put my name in?






Sorry if that SA upset you. You may want to call Coach corporate to let them know about this conversation and to ask them if that's how they want their SAs to talk to clients.

 

[coachprincess1]

You should go to Macy's as you first planned. Went there today to look to see if I could find a good deal like other people on the forum have been finding and the SA bent over backward to be nice to me. Boroughs are 25 percent off and an extra 15 percent if you use your Macy's card. How can the department store discount them and coach won't. Picked up the large camel borough for 520 dollars. I'm not going to support the full price stores if they won't give me a discount on certain bags or don't offer me a PCE every time they come out. I can find them other places for much better prices.

 

[LuvsElvis]

You should go to Macy's as you first planned. Went there today to look to see if I could find a good deal like other people on the forum have been finding and the SA bent over backward to be nice to me. Boroughs are 25 percent off and an extra 15 percent if you use your Macy's card. How can the department store discount them and coach won't. Picked up the large camel borough for 520 dollars. I'm not going to support the full price stores if they won't give me a discount on certain bags or don't offer me a PCE every time they come out. I can find them other places for much better prices.

I was at my Macys today and bought a Saffiano Tote and did use my Macys card. SA didn't give me the extra 15% off. Lucky you!!! Congrats on the Camel Borough!!


Lynne

 

[LuvsElvis]

lizmil,


Sorry to hear about the insensitive SA at FP Coach. People can be so rude!!! Like our some of our fellow Tpfers said, Macys is having a sale on FP Coach. I think it ends on tomorrow. (March 2nd)


Lynne

 

[ClassicShopper]

I'm a newbie.. What does PCE mean?

"Preferred Customer Event." Discounts come out periodically, usually 25%. Sometimes by mail, sometimes by email.

 

[ClassicShopper]

Coachgirl555, that is not only stupid and rude but also incorrect. There is no rhyme or reason to the PCE. I have purchased many FP bags and I never get PCE. But, I bought a bag in my hubby's name one time when I used his card, and he gets PCE emails every time. So, I use his. No explanation for why he gets them and I don't, but I can tell you, he is not a fashion-forward 20-something carrying Prada. You just ran into an idiot SA. Don't let her ruin your happiness with any particular Coach item you might want.

 

[anabg]

Lol. I don't think people that buy Prada are too interested in Coach.

 

[restricter]

I think LovingMyBags has it right. None of the people I know who carry Prada would deign to carry Coach, anyway. Coach has really turned me off this year, which is sad for me. I'm sure kate spade and Brahmin and Dooney don't mind the extra business, though!

Funny, but I and a few of my friends who not only carry Prada but also Hermes, LV, Bottega Veneta and Chanel have recently turned to Coach. We've done it for a number of reasons. Hermes raised the price of the Birkin to over $10,000 and the others keep raising their prices while across the board quality has gone down. The leather and canvas used by these brands has gotten thinner and there are so many complaints about hardware, stitching and customer service -- especially the mind games these brands' SAs play.

Consumers like us, who've spent five figures on a bag without blinking are exactly the ones Coach wants now. What they don't realize at Coach is that we are sick of paying that kind of money. The thing is, we are transitioning. Coach is advertising the Borough in Vogue and celebrities are carrying it. People who scoffed at Coach -- me included -- are rediscovering it because the quality we thought we were paying for at LV for example has been gone for a long time.

I don't know how customers like me will affect the "core" customers. I don't know how Stuart Vevers and the brand's transition to a "lifestyle brand" will impact all of us. What I do know is that Coach is looking a lot better to those of us who ignored it.

 

[dwebb]

I can definitely agree with the premier bags losing their luster. I looked at an Hermes Kelly bag in Barneys that was on the Auction side and I was not impressed. The inside of the bag was glued. I was just amazed how people spend so much on something that little effort was put into it. I am really nit picky about everything and I have been wearing designer handbags since I was 11 ( I am 40 now) and I can definitely see the demise in quality over the years. As I mentioned before, I had a Coach dinky bag at at a 11 and I was an avid Coach buyer until the quality went down and I became a bag snob (i.e. LV, Gucci, BV, and Hermes). What I have seen in the pass year is Coach's quality is coming back.

Just to make a long story short; I am not impressed with the name on something but the craftsmanship. I can say the same about cars. My family bought Toyota's since I was five years old and I definitely seen the demise in that once quality brand. I also seen the difference in quality with Toyotas in the United States vs. Japan. I lived in Japan and the Toyotas were of better quality than what they offer here in the United States.

As I stated before, when the masses get into the buying frenzy of such "elite brands", the quality always diminishes and prices go up. Ask yourself, are you buying something because you like it; or are you buying for other people.

 

[coachgirl555]

Coachgirl555, that is not only stupid and rude but also incorrect. There is no rhyme or reason to the PCE. I have purchased many FP bags and I never get PCE. But, I bought a bag in my hubby's name one time when I used his card, and he gets PCE emails every time. So, I use his. No explanation for why he gets them and I don't, but I can tell you, he is not a fashion-forward 20-something carrying Prada. You just ran into an idiot SA. Don't let her ruin your happiness with any particular Coach item you might want.

You can think I am stupid or rude what ever you want but it's my opinion and until you have had the crap that has happened to me happen to you...... you can think all you want about how incorrect it may be...
I like the fact that my brand new never used LV is increasing (not decreasing) in value by 3 to 6% or maybe more tomorrow ... say that about 95% of Coach bags.. as most of them will be worth 50% less as soon as they hit the FOS or the outlets

 

[anabg]

Coach's quality may have improved, but it's still not great and last year I was surprised to see their prices (not having purchased anything for a while). Last year my boyfriend bought me an American Icon bag. The price tag on this bag was $800. Within a week of having it I had to send it in for repair and had to pay $20 to send it in. This surprised me. They sell me a subpar bag and charge me $20. $20 is small peanuts but it still puzzled me. Within a week of having the bag, I noticed something else, but I did not bother going back to the store. At that point I had owned the bag for 2 months but had only used it for 2 weeks.

 

[slowlikehoney]

OP, I wouldn't take it personally. I'm guessing that SA is fully aware that she herself isn't necessarily within that demographic either and were she not an employee she probably wouldn't get PCE either. It seems to me that Coach probably already knows you will buy without PCE and that's one reason they don't send it to you. They're main goal is probably picking up new customers and getting people who don't buy as often to buy more. Which is why one woman's husband got the PCE after buying just one thing.
As far as I can tell most fashion marketing is towards the young and fashion conscience not because they're "cooler" but because they're more apt to spend money indiscriminately and often because they don't yet know exactly who they are. That's the bread and butter for any consumer and they've done the market research to prove it. I've decided to take that as a compliment. Because I'm probably no ones target buyer these days. But I think that's actually a good thing.

 

[CA-Anonymous]

You can think I am stupid or rude what ever you want but it's my opinion and until you have had the crap that has happened to me happen to you...... you can think all you want about how incorrect it may be...
I like the fact that my brand new never used LV is increasing (not decreasing) in value by 3 to 6% or maybe more tomorrow ... say that about 95% of Coach bags.. as most of them will be worth 50% less as soon as they hit the FOS or the outlets

coachgirl555- I don't want to jump into anyone else's business, but the first time I read this reply to you, I read it the same way you did , and kind of had the same reaction (in my head) as your reply, but then I re-read it and realized (at least I think) that the poster was referring to the SAs spiel to Lizmil about Coach trying to cater to a younger demographic, and that potentially being the reason she no longer gets PCEs, and this poster was indicating that the SAs behavior was stupid and rude... I also think she was confusing you and Lizmil....then again, I could be totally off base here....just didn't want hurt feelings if none were intended!!


oh, and add me to the "no longer wanted" age demo. of the NEW Coach.....I'll be 47 in May!