I'm afraid I'm blackballed, & very sad! :-(

[kipp]

LOL!! Love this post. Here's a recent experience that I had with a Hermes SA....
I was working with a very nice SA at my store in Alaska and over a year or two had bought lots of items, scarves, lindy, evelyne, birkin, belts, bracelets and other small items. I was looking for a particular birkin and called the store to speak to my SA but found that she had left. I'd met another SA my friend deals with and my freind suggested I contact her and gave me that SAs email. I sent a nice note letting her know that my SA had left and my friend recommended her and reminding her that we had met before. I also let her know that I was looking for a certain birkin and to please keep me in mind if she came across one.

Here was a portion of her email response--

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."




KathyD, Hope you find the bag of your dreams and a nice SA to work with.

RC, this is truly unbelievable!!! I agree with silkstarh that this email should go directly to Robert Chavez. Despite your ability to laugh this off and take it in stride (and I bow to you for that), no H client should be treated this way. By letting Mr. Chavez know (and I understand from other friends who have corresponded with him, he is very responsive...) you would be doing everyone a big favor. JMHO.

KathyD, I'm sorry about what you have gone through. I also hope that you are able to find a reasonable boutique and SA to work with.

 

[Ms_Jade]

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."

OMG!!!!! Reading this makes me want to sell my bags and scarves and never buy H again!!!!! I have no doubt that I don't fit the stereotypical "Hermes lifestyle" but my cash is a good as anybodies! I cannot believe that an SA would say this to YOU, of all people. Thanks for the reminder not to take H so seriously.

Kathy, sounds like you picked a bad egg. I live a long way from an actual H store too, so most of my learning is done on tPF. I'm surprised that the SA wouldn't help you learn more about H, most of the SA's I've talked to love a knowlegeable customer. Good luck in your search.

 

[toujours*chic]

LOL!! Love this post. Here's a recent experience that I had with a Hermes SA....
I was working with a very nice SA at my store in Alaska and over a year or two had bought lots of items, scarves, lindy, evelyne, birkin, belts, bracelets and other small items. I was looking for a particular birkin and called the store to speak to my SA but found that she had left. I'd met another SA my friend deals with and my freind suggested I contact her and gave me that SAs email. I sent a nice note letting her know that my SA had left and my friend recommended her and reminding her that we had met before. I also let her know that I was looking for a certain birkin and to please keep me in mind if she came across one.

Here was a portion of her email response--

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."




KathyD, Hope you find the bag of your dreams and a nice SA to work with.

???there is no Hermes boutique in the state of Alaska.

I have heard this sort of nonsense before. Some SAs hold the primo bags over customers like a carrot in order to boost sales of other Hermes goods, especially RTW. I doubt Mr. Chavez would pay any attention- I understand he doesn't like to "micromanage". It is what it is with Hermes- what you have to put up with for the privilege of shopping there.

 

[Rockerchic]

???there is no Hermes boutique in the state of Alaska.

I have heard this sort of nonsense before. Some SAs hold the primo bags over customers like a carrot in order to boost sales of other Hermes goods, especially RTW. I doubt Mr. Chavez would pay any attention- I understand he doesn't like to "micromanage". It is what it is with Hermes- what you have to put up with for the privilege of shopping there.

Alaska is an old joke we use on the PF just to not reveal the location of a store.
This was a real email from a SA in a store in the US.

 

[GirlieShoppe]

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."

Unbelievable!

 

[ouija board]

Prettily written blackmail is right! Well, I guess I would prefer an SA to tell me outright what it took to score a Birkin, rather than dancing around the issue, telling you, "ooh, the waitlist is closed/they're all spoken for/we'll put the order in but it'll take 2-5 yrs and in the meantime can I sell you a scarf or 50." But surely this SA could look in the computer and see that Rockerchic didn't just walk into an H store for the first time that day?!

 

[Lyanna Stark]

I just read that the US unemployment rate is 16%. The economy isn't doing well. SAs should fall over themselves just to retain customers instead of pissing them off. RC, that really was jaw dropping. In SEasia, yes, that is to be expected. I still get soft hints from my SA. But I can't think why they persist with this in the US. The birkin isn't much of a carrot anymore, you can stop treating customers like donkeys and dangling it before us.

 

[pursenality]

LOL!! Love this post. Here's a recent experience that I had with a Hermes SA....
I was working with a very nice SA at my store in Alaska and over a year or two had bought lots of items, scarves, lindy, evelyne, birkin, belts, bracelets and other small items. I was looking for a particular birkin and called the store to speak to my SA but found that she had left. I'd met another SA my friend deals with and my freind suggested I contact her and gave me that SAs email. I sent a nice note letting her know that my SA had left and my friend recommended her and reminding her that we had met before. I also let her know that I was looking for a certain birkin and to please keep me in mind if she came across one.

Here was a portion of her email response--

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."




KathyD, Hope you find the bag of your dreams and a nice SA to work with.

RC - WOW, I am appalled!! . I hope she was PMS-ing when she wrote that e-mail. The content is utterly rude to my standard.

And what was she implying? That you should buy more things together with the bag if they offer you a Birkin? That's outrageous!

I'd take my business elsewhere.

 

[pyrexia]

RC, I admire your ability to laugh this off!

If I'd been in your position, I'd have typed a nice email: "Just a helpful reminder, I have been a long time customer and yes, I will be adding other items to my collection in addition to this bag. You, unfortunately, will not be enjoying the commission the other items bring."

I cannot believe the nerve of this SA!

 

[balihai88]

^ I would not have been as nice as you pyrexia, but I like where you're going with this! "As you would have seen had you bothered to do your research, I am a longtime Hermes customer and as such will continue to add other items to my collection along with this bag. You, unfortunately, will not be enjoying the commission from any of these purchases, but I do wish you all the best in cultivating other customer relationships, which I'm sure will require more effort on your part in these difficult economic conditions."

 

[ShyShy]

Wow, just when I thought Kathy's experience was bad, RC's experience is just unbelievable!

 

[mezzopiano]

LOL!! Love this post. Here's a recent experience that I had with a Hermes SA....
I was working with a very nice SA at my store in Alaska and over a year or two had bought lots of items, scarves, lindy, evelyne, birkin, belts, bracelets and other small items. I was looking for a particular birkin and called the store to speak to my SA but found that she had left. I'd met another SA my friend deals with and my freind suggested I contact her and gave me that SAs email. I sent a nice note letting her know that my SA had left and my friend recommended her and reminding her that we had met before. I also let her know that I was looking for a certain birkin and to please keep me in mind if she came across one.

Here was a portion of her email response--

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."




KathyD, Hope you find the bag of your dreams and a nice SA to work with.

Is the store in Alaska on the Mars?
It's a pity the H lifestyle that SA meant seems not to include top quality attitude, lol. Wait, she did not say she herself pursue the H lifestyle, even in the materialistic meaning of it. Then, who, the SA thinks, is she to preach a customer like that? And what did she feel after sending that e-mail to RC...? Somehow superior?...
:lolots: Funny and pitiful, how people with such arrogance get satisfaction from life. I would not spend even a few hundred bucks with her. Not only because I do not have Mars currency.

KathyD and RC, sorry you went through that. And thanks for sharing your experience. I believe that was like an accident that do not happen often at H stores worldwide. Good luck with the chase for the bags you really love. Cheers!

 

[louch]

I often wonder if the SA's are a bit envious of customers. I'm not sure what the deal is with them getting discounts etc but it just sounds like somenone wanting to make herself sound far more important than she really is. As we've all talked about in other threads, I can understand them getting sick of people asking for Kellys and Birkins all day long but to put this in writing with an obviously loyal customer is just amazing.

Can the store manager be notified?

 

[dollychic]

I would purposely find another SA from THE SAME STORE.

 

[dollychic]

LOL!! Love this post. Here's a recent experience that I had with a Hermes SA....
I was working with a very nice SA at my store in Alaska and over a year or two had bought lots of items, scarves, lindy, evelyne, birkin, belts, bracelets and other small items. I was looking for a particular birkin and called the store to speak to my SA but found that she had left. I'd met another SA my friend deals with and my freind suggested I contact her and gave me that SAs email. I sent a nice note letting her know that my SA had left and my friend recommended her and reminding her that we had met before. I also let her know that I was looking for a certain birkin and to please keep me in mind if she came across one.

Here was a portion of her email response--

"Your request is, unfortunately, a bit of a long shot. You already well know that our supply is never enough to satisfy the demand. Just as a helpful reminder, I thought I should take the time to explain bag allocation again.
The demand for the Birkins being so high, we have to take various factors into consideration when allocating bags. A long term relationship and a well rounded client profile are a few of the elements we look at when deciding. Hermes being a complete lifestyle brand, with fourteen metiers, we strongly encourage you to look to our other product categories. Our intention is obviously not to pressure clients into useless purchases, but rather to look to us for providing practical, quality items for every aspect of their lives. We know that they will equally enjoy them.
If we were able to offer you this bag, would you be interested in adding other items to your collection? Let me know what you think would best fit your tastes and current needs."

IS THIS A LECTURE??
OMG wat the hell are they thinking?

Please forward this email to the US HQ and bcc to FSH.
They shouldnt be able to get away with this crap.. their items are not exactly mid-range items n no customer should ever be made to feel like an idiot from wanting to purchase a birkin.