ah thanks. I'm getting ready to buy my first H bracelet so I was shocked when one week I was in Manhasset and the next I saw it was gone and came here for more info. I did go to RF last week to see the bracelet I want in person and dealt with someone there who I heard talking about me when he thought I left the store.
Hermès New York City Stores
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Yes, it will reopen as an H corporate owned store. Maybe some of the Manhasset clients know what the time frame is for the new store opening?
I was just discussing this a few days ago with a friend of mine who was a huge Manhasset client - I know she told me, but I can't remember the time frame she mentioned (we are having dinner tonight, I will bring it up). Maybe in a month or two? I know it is definitely before the holidays.
As for why Manhasset became corporate-owned: yes, Hermès has been taking back franchise stores over the years, which is why it seemed so odd to me that not only was this franchise store created not terribly long ago (about 20 years ago, around when we moved out here), but since that time it:
- was moved to the current location,
- then was open for a few years,
- then was moved to a temporary location for at least a year while they did a massive expansion,
- then moved back to the current location, where they had a huge reopening party (with corporate's blessing, even Bob was there). That was probably around 2016 or so.
There were other reasons corporate took over this boutique, some of which I would only discuss privately in person. A Madison SA asked me recently about things the corporate staff had heard...things were run a bit differently there.
There was definitely not a problem for the staff to make sales there (there are more than enough people here who could make the big influencers' collections seem tiny...I mean 50, 75, 100 exotic Birkins...although of course these were mostly not purchased here), which is why I was sad to see that, after COVID, their stock levels never returned to normal, and I mean across departments - I mean, they would have maybe 5 scarves, total - although that did make it much easier for me to finally become a full-time Madison client (my SAs at both boutiques were aware that I was a client of both, as I had originally been a NYC client before I moved here, but after I met my current SA about 10 years ago, it became increasingly clear to me that the additional travel was well worth it, and for at least several years prior to COVID I had already been making most of my purchases at Madison).
So when Roosevelt Field opened, I was not really surprised. As a matter of distance, you could drive door-to-door from Manhasset to RF in maybe 10 minutes, so it was fairly obvious to me that this would eventually happen. Even the precise location of the RF boutique within the mall was weirdly amusing; having grown up here, back in the day that particular part of the mall was what I would have called the, ah, most-likely-to-get-mugged section. RF is perfectly fine (for a mall) now, but there is really nothing at the level of Hermès in there. Every other high-end boutique is at the Americana Manhasset.
As a side note, most of the staff was fine, and some were genuinely good. My last SA there was the first SA to ever send me a text when a desired item came in. It's amazing that local staff turnover in general usually means that anyone good will wind up at another great place fairly soon. That's how I know one of the RF SAs - she used to work at the VCA at London Jewelers. One former Hermès Manhasset SM now runs the Loro Piana; another SA is at Gucci. My favorite former Manhasset SM has been running the women's department of another favorite store of mine for the last 12 years or so (her best friend, who used to work at Burberry, now works there with her), and since then we've become good friends, so I probably know far more than I should.
Anyway, those are my thoughts about this location. It looks like right now they are in the process of changing things within the boutique...here's a photo I took yesterday (they even took down all the signs!):
ETA: Interesting that my just typing the word g-u-c-c-i above created an instant hyperlink.
Hermès Newbie. I would appreciate your recommendations on what to do?
I met a nice SA at H Madison Ave recently. He seemed new. I bought a few things (silk, make-up, fragrance), tried on some bags that I passed because I didn’t like. He gave me his contact and we talked about an Evelyne in PM size plus twillies, rodeo, etc.
A few weeks ago, I texted him on a Tues to make an appt on Sat since we live in CT. He read it but no reply. I followed up a few days later and no reply.
We made the trip to the store. They asked if I worked with anyone so I gave his name. They asked me to text him because otherwise No SA would take me. I texted him and he apologized for missing my previous texts. But he didnt show face and just told me there were no bags with my specs. He didn’t help me try on some of the sample models which some of his colleagues said I could. I mentioned wanting to buy from other departments but nothing.
What do I do next? Do I go to the store and just restart with someone else? Give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he is just new and clueless? Go to a different store?
If this is not the right thread, please let me know.
Thank you for reading!
I met a nice SA at H Madison Ave recently. He seemed new. I bought a few things (silk, make-up, fragrance), tried on some bags that I passed because I didn’t like. He gave me his contact and we talked about an Evelyne in PM size plus twillies, rodeo, etc.
A few weeks ago, I texted him on a Tues to make an appt on Sat since we live in CT. He read it but no reply. I followed up a few days later and no reply.
We made the trip to the store. They asked if I worked with anyone so I gave his name. They asked me to text him because otherwise No SA would take me. I texted him and he apologized for missing my previous texts. But he didnt show face and just told me there were no bags with my specs. He didn’t help me try on some of the sample models which some of his colleagues said I could. I mentioned wanting to buy from other departments but nothing.
What do I do next? Do I go to the store and just restart with someone else? Give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he is just new and clueless? Go to a different store?
If this is not the right thread, please let me know.
Thank you for reading!
So was your SA at the store when you went to Madison and didn't meet with you? What did you end up doing? Did you just shop with another SA, or did you leave the store?
I personally think it's pretty rude if he was at the store and didn't even bother to meet with you. Even if he had other appointments, he could've met with you briefly and said "I'm so sorry, I have appointments back to back, but let me see if one of my colleagues can help you." So if that was the case, I would try a different SA.
I ended up leaving. No other SA would take me and kept telling me to text him again.
I also thought it was rude but I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. My husband was prob more upset than I was.
That’s an amazingly rude SA. Madison does have the most stock of any of the tri-state stores so if you’re willing to try shopping there again, you should try another SA. If you haven’t looked at MP, you could also try that store and see if you like the more relaxed atmosphere.
This is really not the level of professionalism that you should expect. Something was off for sure.
I would say that if you did like working with him to indeed give him the benefit of the doubt
& perhaps try again. It is hard to connect to a SA.. you also mention he might be new & not that I can
excuse that, but he might have been overwhelmed.
If you do decide to text him again & you don't get the response you expect, just move on would
be the best option.
Know Hermes is trying very hard not to give off an "uninterested vibe" (inventory issues) but if you like the brand
would not let this incident discourage me.
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Wow, so sorry you drove all that way to have it end that way! That is actually really ridiculous and very unprofessional. I don't think being new is an excuse for his lack of professionalism. Also really strange that no other SA would work with you. I would definitely try a different SA. Next time you go, just tell them you don't have an SA because you basically don't at this point. Or try a different store, as @DoggieBags suggested.
Yes, we were bummed. Thanks for your reply! I think I might do this.
How about texting him again to try to address this and see what happens?
You are a paying customer like all of us.
I had a bad experience there with my SA probably due to bad communication?
We ended up clearing things up and, while I didn’t want to change SA, things got much better after.
Madison is a special place to shop and seems pretty stressful to work at…
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You may need to shop with 2-3 different SAs and pick the best one who can work with. Some SAs don't respond to text messages. If that is a big hassle for you, then try to find another SA. You don't seem to spend much yet, so it would be a good idea to switch. (Some people find the right SA once, but it's not that common...)
Also, I've been told that Greenwich can be a better one for CT residents. Have you tried those?
I think its proximity to Neiman Marcus is a plus however, I was still shocked to see it at RF. I have a bit of a dilemma though. When I went in last week and had the SA show me several bracelets, there was a price discrepancy, where online the bracelet was a different price than at the store. When the SA thought I left the store I heard him saying quite loudly "she thought this bracelet was $315" then I guess he saw me and shushed up right away. So I left then got curious and looked it up online, to which I was correct. So bold me went back and showed him the price, to which he said, yes those (the glenan) are the thinner leather and I showed you the thicker leather for $370--that was a T4 which I guess starts the men's sizing, hence the thicker leather and higher price tag. It was a polite conversation and I tried to be very nice yet, hey, I wasn't imaging things. So I have decided that I want to go back and purchase the Glenan double tour and also possibly a Twilly. I'm wondering if I should try and see him again or walk in fresh. He was in general nice enough, showed me several bracelets and gave me his opinion. But the talking about me kind of rubs me the wrong way and seems unprofessional. This is my first Hermes purchase so I kind of want it to be special.
I was just discussing this a few days ago with a friend of mine who was a huge Manhasset client - I know she told me, but I can't remember the time frame she mentioned (we are having dinner tonight, I will bring it up). Maybe in a month or two? I know it is definitely before the holidays.
As for why Manhasset became corporate-owned: yes, Hermès has been taking back franchise stores over the years, which is why it seemed so odd to me that not only was this franchise store created not terribly long ago (about 20 years ago, around when we moved out here), but since that time it:
- was moved to the current location,
- then was open for a few years,
- then was moved to a temporary location for at least a year while they did a massive expansion,
- then moved back to the current location, where they had a huge reopening party (with corporate's blessing, even Bob was there). That was probably around 2016 or so.
There were other reasons corporate took over this boutique, some of which I would only discuss privately in person. A Madison SA asked me recently about things the corporate staff had heard...things were run a bit differently there.
There was definitely not a problem for the staff to make sales there (there are more than enough people here who could make the big influencers' collections seem tiny...I mean 50, 75, 100 exotic Birkins...although of course these were mostly not purchased here), which is why I was sad to see that, after COVID, their stock levels never returned to normal, and I mean across departments - I mean, they would have maybe 5 scarves, total - although that did make it much easier for me to finally become a full-time Madison client (my SAs at both boutiques were aware that I was a client of both, as I had originally been a NYC client before I moved here, but after I met my current SA about 10 years ago, it became increasingly clear to me that the additional travel was well worth it, and for at least several years prior to COVID I had already been making most of my purchases at Madison).
So when Roosevelt Field opened, I was not really surprised. As a matter of distance, you could drive door-to-door from Manhasset to RF in maybe 10 minutes, so it was fairly obvious to me that this would eventually happen. Even the precise location of the RF boutique within the mall was weirdly amusing; having grown up here, back in the day that particular part of the mall was what I would have called the, ah, most-likely-to-get-mugged section. RF is perfectly fine (for a mall) now, but there is really nothing at the level of Hermès in there. Every other high-end boutique is at the Americana Manhasset.
As a side note, most of the staff was fine, and some were genuinely good. My last SA there was the first SA to ever send me a text when a desired item came in. It's amazing that local staff turnover in general usually means that anyone good will wind up at another great place fairly soon. That's how I know one of the RF SAs - she used to work at the VCA at London Jewelers. One former Hermès Manhasset SM now runs the Loro Piana; another SA is at Gucci. My favorite former Manhasset SM has been running the women's department of another favorite store of mine for the last 12 years or so (her best friend, who used to work at Burberry, now works there with her), and since then we've become good friends, so I probably know far more than I should.
Anyway, those are my thoughts about this location. It looks like right now they are in the process of changing things within the boutique...here's a photo I took yesterday (they even took down all the signs!):
View attachment 5856408
ETA: Interesting that my just typing the word g-u-c-c-i above created an instant hyperlink.