Yes! my SA talked to me about this actually. One time I asked him to order a scarf for me because we didn't have it in the store and he happily did it, but since I was expressing concern over whether he would still get "credit" for it, he said yes but let me know exactly this. So in part, our purchases can help the store receive more items (hopefully the ones we're looking for). But it's a little bit of a catch-22.
Hermes Cafe Bon Temps~Good Times Cafe
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Oh, how "cute"...as if we were buying from the cobbler down the corner [emoji1]
I would be fine with this policy if it did not become a source of grief and disappointment for the clients. If one is indeed an "artisan" then they should not have the worldwide (or nationwide) policing of purchases...
As my CEO often tells me "why are you asking me logical questions when you perfectly know the answers have nothing to do with logic?"
[emoji849]
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My problem was not wearing 3 inch heels for a while. I have a casual lifestyle & live in an area where sandals & flats are appropriate for daily & most evening use. When I tried wearing heels again, it was difficult to say the least. I should never have stopped
Hi Cafe!
I've had a very busy week with work and a long day yesterday. I'm exhausted. I have a lighter week ahead of me so that's good.
My store is pretty candid with me so here's the info I have about transfers, buying at other stores etc.
Each store's inventory is selected by the SM and the SAs that specialize in the different categories. They also review regularly the client wish lists, leather availability, colors and the like. This is why some regulars like myself sit down with the SA every few months to talk about what might be on the horizon over the season or year. I would imagine all around the world that what is a best seller in one store gathers dust in another. I think my store would prefer to order anything "easy" to get for me, most scarves, SLGs, shoes, RTW, silver and/or fine jewelry and home. My SA let's me know if it's something she can get. There are very few items they can't easily get from another store and so for me, I would only buy a grail bag or a super grail CDC while traveling. FSH is the exception for me but I have yet to make my first trip since falling into the orange box.
With the recent changes in transfer policy, I believe the my store gets the "credit" for the send sale/charge send but they split the commission between the two SAs that complete the sale. H has changed this every year so I really don't know what is what anymore. My SA tries very hard for me so I now try to keep my purchases exclusively with her. I also like the staff at my store best so it's not as fun to visit other stores. I do not ask for items that I intend to buy at my home store while traveling. My SA knows about my travel plans and agrees I have to try for a bag in Paris-just because. She's the best. If something is transferred in, the SA and the store get full "credit". As they meet or beat their sales goals, they're allowed to buy more the next season.
I like several colors that my store doesn't do well with, I also like all the leathers that scratch which are generally unpopular apart from here on tPF. The items I like are hard to find or hard to get. I had the recent experience of being able to choose a B in my desired color from multiple sizes, hardwares and even leathers but the only leather I wanted wasn't available. Then we looked at another color family and none had been ordered at all. I haven't gotten a bag in a year though I have gotten offers. Rather than assume I haven't spent enough or that I'm not up on the list after this experience of being able to choose from a half a dozen Bs and still saying no thanks I realized: They just don't have it to sell me. When it comes, it comes. Some things in H really are rare and hard to get, my wish list seems full of those items. My SA and SM were genuinely disappointed to not have a bag for me.
As for the SAs and the wallet, I think it wasn't a very cool way to handle it. You could have not bought it and then never seen it again. I think anything in Box qualifies as rare and I'd likely speak to the SM or move on to a new location. How a SA handles it when they see you buy elsewhere is a good way to judge how they'll work for you, if they get petty then they're not likely to keep trying for you.
As for the policing of customer's purchase history to decide who gets a bag, that's H's prerogative. They have a major reseller problem and I would imagine there are lots of criteria that go into who can or can't buy. Each B/K/C purchase has to be approved by the SM so they consider lots of things. Telling the customer about it was frankly dumb though. Most of salesmanship is finessing a difficult conversation and that SA really blew it.
Ok, sorry for the ramble! PP, glad you had a great time on the West Coast!
I've had a very busy week with work and a long day yesterday. I'm exhausted. I have a lighter week ahead of me so that's good.
My store is pretty candid with me so here's the info I have about transfers, buying at other stores etc.
Each store's inventory is selected by the SM and the SAs that specialize in the different categories. They also review regularly the client wish lists, leather availability, colors and the like. This is why some regulars like myself sit down with the SA every few months to talk about what might be on the horizon over the season or year. I would imagine all around the world that what is a best seller in one store gathers dust in another. I think my store would prefer to order anything "easy" to get for me, most scarves, SLGs, shoes, RTW, silver and/or fine jewelry and home. My SA let's me know if it's something she can get. There are very few items they can't easily get from another store and so for me, I would only buy a grail bag or a super grail CDC while traveling. FSH is the exception for me but I have yet to make my first trip since falling into the orange box.
With the recent changes in transfer policy, I believe the my store gets the "credit" for the send sale/charge send but they split the commission between the two SAs that complete the sale. H has changed this every year so I really don't know what is what anymore. My SA tries very hard for me so I now try to keep my purchases exclusively with her. I also like the staff at my store best so it's not as fun to visit other stores. I do not ask for items that I intend to buy at my home store while traveling. My SA knows about my travel plans and agrees I have to try for a bag in Paris-just because. She's the best. If something is transferred in, the SA and the store get full "credit". As they meet or beat their sales goals, they're allowed to buy more the next season.
I like several colors that my store doesn't do well with, I also like all the leathers that scratch which are generally unpopular apart from here on tPF. The items I like are hard to find or hard to get. I had the recent experience of being able to choose a B in my desired color from multiple sizes, hardwares and even leathers but the only leather I wanted wasn't available. Then we looked at another color family and none had been ordered at all. I haven't gotten a bag in a year though I have gotten offers. Rather than assume I haven't spent enough or that I'm not up on the list after this experience of being able to choose from a half a dozen Bs and still saying no thanks I realized: They just don't have it to sell me. When it comes, it comes. Some things in H really are rare and hard to get, my wish list seems full of those items. My SA and SM were genuinely disappointed to not have a bag for me.
As for the SAs and the wallet, I think it wasn't a very cool way to handle it. You could have not bought it and then never seen it again. I think anything in Box qualifies as rare and I'd likely speak to the SM or move on to a new location. How a SA handles it when they see you buy elsewhere is a good way to judge how they'll work for you, if they get petty then they're not likely to keep trying for you.
As for the policing of customer's purchase history to decide who gets a bag, that's H's prerogative. They have a major reseller problem and I would imagine there are lots of criteria that go into who can or can't buy. Each B/K/C purchase has to be approved by the SM so they consider lots of things. Telling the customer about it was frankly dumb though. Most of salesmanship is finessing a difficult conversation and that SA really blew it.
Ok, sorry for the ramble! PP, glad you had a great time on the West Coast!
I don't think Hermes believes at all that they have a major reseller problem. They have a set capacity of items their craftspeople can turn out, which they sell very quickly and for some, can't even keep in stock in any meaningful way. So they are achieving their sales objectives, it would seem. Some Hermes customers (or want to be Hermes customers) feel they have a reseller problem, I would say. I still don't understand the vilification of resellers that often goes on (not saying you said this, but it's a common and recurring PF theme). Resellers get the vast majority of their stock from Hermes buyers who either sell to make a profit or buy specifically to resell with certain resellers. Despite tightening up how many bags can be bought in a year, or not shipping leather goods or an array of other policies, I haven't noticed reseller stock dwindling in any great measure. A lot of members here do both of these things: buying specifically to resell, or working for a reseller. Some do more of it that you might think. There are some things worth buying from a reseller and others worth trying to get from a store. But I think any "reseller problem" is more in the minds of some buyers than it is in Hermes's world view.
Mrs. O, you have hit the ball out of the park! I really need to take up embroidery so I can embroider your comments I bolded on to a pillow so I see it every day.
My boutique changed managers and I haven't gotten a bag for maybe 5 - 6 years. The original manager and my SA have departed long ago. Ah, it seems that I have no street cred to get another bag, it's back having the status of a walk-in. It doesn't help that I am usually toting my my Coach dark brown duffel which has orange leather polka dots outlined by gold grommets. I am toting that bag b/c it's much better for work than a status bag and I am too lazy to shift from the Coach to an H for a day's outing. (never mind those little canvas bags that facilitate that. I'm even too lazy for that). Perhaps the Coach may even represent my feelings about having to prove loyalty to the H label to the extent I risk becoming (in my mind) a label . . . "lady"). Plus I really like grommets.
Thank you for clarifying that. I am still very new to the H world, it's only been a year as of earlier this month, and my experience has differed a lot with most of what I've read on this forum so it's interesting to me....
As of yet I've never had to ask my SA to transfer anything in.... there is a pair of shoes I've asked about last time that they didn't have in my size... I might ask if they can locate them (and potentially that scarf I mentioned last time) when I stop by next. So far they've never not had what I was looking for so this hasn't really come up.
As of yet I've never had to ask my SA to transfer anything in.... there is a pair of shoes I've asked about last time that they didn't have in my size... I might ask if they can locate them (and potentially that scarf I mentioned last time) when I stop by next. So far they've never not had what I was looking for so this hasn't really come up.
I'm surprised they didn't offer to find the shoes for you when they didn't have your size. My SA did it for me twice for the same pair of shoes, a pair of ballerina flats in a 39 that were too small; my SA was convinced I was a 39.5 so he brought them in from another store for me. But even those were still a little too small, so they brought in a 40.
My SA mentioned something about finding them for me at the time but I was too distracted by another item to ask more about it or confirm. My SA found a pair of shoes for me once a while ago which I ended up buying. I am 90% sure I know what I am buying the next time I go and there are one or two other things I am curious about so will have to ask.... Thankfully what I want is usually in store.
This is my one problem with H. I love too many things and am distracted by so many choices I often forget about something entirely until I leave.
Oh good! Yes, I hear you - I've done the same exact thing lol!My SA mentioned something about finding them for me at the time but I was too distracted by another item to ask more about it or confirm. My SA found a pair of shoes for me once a while ago which I ended up buying. I am 90% sure I know what I am buying the next time I go and there are one or two other things I am curious about so will have to ask.... Thankfully what I want is usually in store.
This is my one problem with H. I love too many things and am distracted by so many choices I often forget about something entirely until I leave.
I am honestly thankful for all the knowlege that's imparted since my original post. It is day 3 and I am still moping like a girl who got dumped. After all the discussion, why do I feel so guilty that I have sent an email to the Managing Director of the store? I was advised that she does not come in until Tuesday. All of a sudden, I want to hit the non-existent recall button as I feel like I have gotten someone in deep trouble for a bag and I am messing with someone's livelihood. Should I come up with some type of damage control plan when she gets in and reads it?
I must have been going through 5 stages of grief, or suddenly am I just suddenly chickening out? Yiykes.
don't worry about it, as a long time retail worker in a previous career one email won't end a career and if it's an habitual issue with the SA then it means there's a bigger problem that needs to be addressed. You have a right to express your frustration. It can be frustrating and if it makes you feel better I moped for several days about passing on several bag options to wait for my ideal leather but now I'm over it.
Resellers are your best friend if they have what you want and you are willing to pay the premium and they are not if they managed to get the bag you thought you could buy directly from Hermes. Either way, Hermes has sold the bag so I don't see where they have a problem. In fact, the sometimes exorbitant prices just drive up the value of the product. Yes, many suppliers are to be found here and it is a fact of life.
From a brand management perspective, reselling circumvents the process H has in place for controlling who buys their product. For a company that has such stringent practices for just about everything, I would say that's why reselling is a problem. Sales are not the only measure of success. If your brand is carried by clients that don't show the product in the best light (i.e. read the Stars thread anytime the Ks are featured) it degrades the relationship with the clientele they need to cultivate for the future. I don't have a problem with reselling but I don't think it's good for the brand.