H Store Experience with and without your SA

[eckw]

Granted I’m relatively new to H (about 2 years) but I was lucky enough to find a good SA in my home store and over the past year, have built a solid relationship with her. I love shopping with her and i do feel cherished with her.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the largest store in my city and the flagship is closer to my workplace and has better stock. Once in a while I will drop by to buy the odd CSGM or small leather good (bracelets, belts) but I never ask to connect with the SAs there as I do want to work with my own SA from the other store.

The other day, I dropped by the flagship at lunchtime just to see if they have a small accessory I wanted (out of stock in my store). Without a known SA and during a busy time, I was completely ignored for close to 30 mins. Even though I found a leather necklace I wanted and was standing around just waiting to have someone ring me up. I ended up leaving without the necklace. The whole experience felt terrible and completely different from when I’m buying in my home store.

It just got me thinking about H shopping in general. Compared to other brands, it seems like you cannot expect a luxury shopping experience (either as an unknown in your home store or abroad when shopping on holiday - especially popular destinations like Paris) unless you have already invested in a regular relationship with a store and SA.

But having developed this SA relationship now, how important is it to maintain this even if say, you feel like you’re satisfied with your collection and not looking to actively add much more? I really like my SA but I spent what I consider to be quite a lot for me last year (over US$60K) and I’ve also collected most of what I wanted (bags, shoes and fine jewellery). Going forward, I may want some CSGMs and the odd accessory but definitely nothing on the same level as what I spent this past year. I do have one more bag (K28 retourne in neutral) that I want to add but not sure if it’s worth pursuing or if I should just go vintage? If I work with my lovely SA I know I will need to spend a lot more for things i don’t really need to get an offer. (So far I love most everything I got but there isn’t much more big-ticket items I want and I’m in a very competitive Asian city which pretty much resets annual spending so buying the odd CSGM or RTW probably won’t cut it.). Any advice or insights would be appreciated.

 

[acrowcounted]

Granted I’m relatively new to H (about 2 years) but I was lucky enough to find a good SA in my home store and over the past year, have built a solid relationship with her. I love shopping with her and i do feel cherished with her.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the largest store in my city and the flagship is closer to my workplace and has better stock. Once in a while I will drop by to buy the odd CSGM or small leather good (bracelets, belts) but I never ask to connect with the SAs there as I do want to work with my own SA from the other store.

The other day, I dropped by the flagship at lunchtime just to see if they have a small accessory I wanted (out of stock in my store). Without a known SA and during a busy time, I was completely ignored for close to 30 mins. Even though I found a leather necklace I wanted and was standing around just waiting to have someone ring me up. I ended up leaving without the necklace. The whole experience felt terrible and completely different from when I’m buying in my home store.

It just got me thinking about H shopping in general. Compared to other brands, it seems like you cannot expect a luxury shopping experience (either as an unknown in your home store or abroad when shopping on holiday - especially popular destinations like Paris) unless you have already invested in a regular relationship with a store and SA.

But having developed this SA relationship now, how important is it to maintain this even if say, you feel like you’re satisfied with your collection and not looking to actively add much more? I really like my SA but I spent what I consider to be quite a lot for me last year (over US$60K) and I’ve also collected most of what I wanted (bags, shoes and fine jewellery). Going forward, I may want some CSGMs and the odd accessory but definitely nothing on the same level as what I spent this past year. I do have one more bag (K28 retourne in neutral) that I want to add but not sure if it’s worth pursuing or if I should just go vintage? If I work with my lovely SA I know I will need to spend a lot more for things i don’t really need to get an offer. (So far I love most everything I got but there isn’t much more big-ticket items I want and I’m in a very competitive Asian city which pretty much resets annual spending so buying the odd CSGM or RTW probably won’t cut it.). Any advice or insights would be appreciated.

My only advice is that you should keep all your purchases with your cherished SA. Window shop at the flagship if you want but then contact your SA and ask them to transfer it from the other store to her store and buy from her. There are three stores in the city I’ve made my Hermès “home city” and whenever I’m in town, I always visit all three, collecting mental notes of items I’ve seen elsewhere and then tell my SA (If they don’t have the item as well) that “I just saw it at the X store, could you please have it transferred over?” and then it works for everyone.
That being said, if you aren’t chasing quota bags, loyalty becomes less important; however, why give sales to SAs that ignore you anyway? Best to shop where it will at least be enjoyable, if not also rewarding.

 

[lulilu]

Granted I’m relatively new to H (about 2 years) but I was lucky enough to find a good SA in my home store and over the past year, have built a solid relationship with her. I love shopping with her and i do feel cherished with her.
The other day, I dropped by the flagship at lunchtime just to see if they have a small accessory I wanted (out of stock in my store). Without a known SA and during a busy time, I was completely ignored for close to 30 mins. Even though I found a leather necklace I wanted and was standing around just waiting to have someone ring me up. I ended up leaving without the necklace. The whole experience felt terrible and completely different from when I’m buying in my home store.

In addition to the good advice above, I'd just note that lunchtime is a bad time to look for extended attention from an SA.

 

[eckw]

My only advice is that you should keep all your purchases with your cherished SA. Window shop at the flagship if you want but then contact your SA and ask them to transfer it from the other store to her store and buy from her. There are three stores in the city I’ve made my Hermès “home city” and whenever I’m in town, I always visit all three, collecting mental notes of items I’ve seen elsewhere and then tell my SA (If they don’t have the item as well) that “I just saw it at the X store, could you please have it transferred over?” and then it works for everyone.
That being said, if you aren’t chasing quota bags, loyalty becomes less important; however, why give sales to SAs that ignore you anyway? Best to shop where it will at least be enjoyable, if not also rewarding.

Thanks, what you say is very true. No matter what the shopping goals are, we all want an enjoyable experience. I should be more disciplined in waiting and to really try to buy from my SA only. Actually I came across the necklace I wanted in Incheon airport but wanted to check if my SA had it so I passed. (Kind of regretting now but it’s not a super popular product and I already had it in a different colorway.) I already visited and asked her but she didn’t have it. I’ve noticed unless it’s a significant item, my home city stores don’t tend to transfer stock.

 

[eckw]

In addition to the good advice above, I'd just note that lunchtime is a bad time to look for extended attention from an SA.

Lesson learned! It was an impulse drop-in just to see if I could spot and buy the necklace and wasn’t looking for extended service. In future I will resist going in even if passing by at lunch.

 

[Love Of My Life]

It sounds like your collection is well rounded at this point in time
Since you have a cherished relationship with your SA, I would ask her as suggested above to transfer
an item or two that piques your interest. There perhaps are times when it is easier to get merchandise
from one boutique to another. I'd ask again
I find being candid with your SA in all likelihood she will go out of her way to satisfy your particular needs
& your SA understands that every H boutique has different inventory
By the way, I am a big lover of vintage H bags so why not go the reseller route for what you are looking for

 

[eckw]

It sounds like your collection is well rounded at this point in time
Since you have a cherished relationship with your SA, I would ask her as suggested above to transfer
an item or two that piques your interest. There perhaps are times when it is easier to get merchandise
from one boutique to another. I'd ask again
I find being candid with your SA in all likelihood she will go out of her way to satisfy your particular needs
& your SA understands that every H boutique has different inventory
By the way, I am a big lover of vintage H bags so why not go the reseller route for what you are looking for

Thank you! Yes I do feel very happy with my current collection - and it’s nice to be able to browse and shop freely without needing to think/talk quota bags. I am definitely considering vintage but I am also weirdly addicted to that new box smell you get from a fresh H-store bag.

Actually my SA can be very thorough - I asked her months ago to help my friend who lost a leather bit to her okelly necklace and she went to the trouble of asking Paris for it and is in the process of getting it to me now. She’s also good with transferring shoes for me. But when it comes to chasing small fashion items, I haven’t had much luck with her. Maybe it’s just my city stores’ culture.