Maintaining a H relationship

[papertiger]

Please focus on the title of this thread rather than each other, TY

If you find it very hard to ignore certain people, please feel free in adding them to your 'Ignore' list.

For advice on how to obtain a B/K/C please go to the reading room in the Reading Room The Newbie's HOW DO I GET A BIRKIN (or other bag) Reading Room

For advice on how to shop at your local store please do a search in Hermes Shopping sub-forum and look for your store/region/country.

 

[Perja]

I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t being fobbed off! But yes nothing but good vibes from her so I’m really pleased. Called up to make an appointment with her in a couple of weeks!

Then congratulations on finding an SA! It seriously makes all the difference in the world. If anything, take the time to share the non-bag items that you'd be interested in purchasing ahead of the appointment, it'll make it easier for her as well to find the pieces you want.

 

[WhiteBus]

Hi all - new on my Hermes journey, would have liked to started earlier but the U.K. spent majority of the last year in national lockdown... So, I started my wishlist last week. Queued up for 2 hours (new Bond Street, London) only to have to leave for another appointment, but one SA kindly squeezed an appointment with her in the following day.

I informed her my first priority was getting a twilly for my friend’s birthday - and she had recently gotten a birkin. Secondly I wanted to start a wishlist. She was incredibly attentive and gave me really sound advice and recommendations, appreciated how I knew exactly what I liked and wanted.

I had a good experience and I wanted to buy more items but they didn’t have in stock so wanted to book an appointment to come back another time. I’ve since sent the SA an email informing her how grateful I was for her service and attention - my friend loved the twilly and I even sent her a photo of the twilly she helped me pick out on my friend’s bag.

I’ve also requested to have another appointment soon to pick out some other items but she hasn’t not responded. She also didn’t give me her number as she said they are trying to move away from whatsapping as it gives the store a lack of visibility over who is working and when, particularly with the new shift patterns and remote and structured working.

So my only route is emailing her, which I don’t mind as it’s the most professional but it’s also seems to be slow in terms of response. Any advice? Should I try and get another SA or?

It was nice to send an appreciative email, but all the rest is pushing too hard too soon.
If I were an SA or one of my SA colleagues saw this discussed immediately on public media, I would not be very impressed.

 

[WhiteBus]

I am probably just overthinking. After talking to my hubby, I think I will stay with the new SA. I feel very grateful that he offered me an SO and I know that is also his very first SO as an Hermes SA (the director was there to guide him through the process). It just doesn't feel right to leave him. Now my problem is how do I say it to the old SA? I am planning on bringing her flowers on my next visit to congratulate her on her twins and to show appreciation.

If we believe that SAs read these forums, running ideas like this over a public audience was probably not the best thing to do.

 

[LifestyledchoicesL]

It was nice to send an appreciative email, but all the rest is pushing too hard too soon.
If I were an SA or one of my SA colleagues saw this discussed immediately on public media, I would not be very impressed.

Ok thanks for the advice, I came here for guidance but I guess it was not the right place. Really nice meeting you all.

 

[acrowcounted]

Ok thanks for the advice, I came here for guidance but I guess it was not the right place. Really nice meeting you all.

I think the right guidance is just to encourage you to be patient. H SAs seem uniquely slow in responding recently with varying working shifts and differing management allowances for communicating outside of strict working hours. It’s not unusual to have an SA go “unresponsive” for up to a week or more lately so it’s best to give the benefit of the doubt before thinking of switching SAs. If you are asking for an appointment to come back to purchase something which isn’t in stock, the SA may be trying to secure the item behind the scenes before telling you to come back without having the item there to sell. It can take weeks, or even months, to get a specific item located and transferred.

 

[_kiki119_]

Ok thanks for the advice, I came here for guidance but I guess it was not the right place. Really nice meeting you all.

I think H is def so different from Oyher brands, especially in response timeline. Being patients and let the SA takes the leads are the biggest learning curve for me and i just started my journey in October.

 

[Hikitten]

What does it mean when an SA writes to you to say she has a “surprise” for me and when can I book an appointment with her next? Is this it? Is the surprise always a quota bag? I’m in the waitlist for a Kelly 28 but also let her know I’m looking for a garden party or Picotin.
I’m going in tomorrow and kind of pinching myself. Any bag would be amazing if it’s the right color.

 

[Perja]

What does it mean when an SA writes to you to say she has a “surprise” for me and when can I book an appointment with her next? Is this it? Is the surprise always a quota bag? I’m in the waitlist for a Kelly 28 but also let her know I’m looking for a garden party or Picotin.
I’m going in tomorrow and kind of pinching myself. Any bag would be amazing if it’s the right color.

I think you can "expect" one of the items that you were after, or perhaps something related that your SA thinks will delight you! Fingers crossed for you!

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

This is really a Post for all those fretting about their SA not responding to them as swiftly as they would hope.
Please remember that you are not their only client, during the pandemic they will have been making orders for customers, chasing those, checking inventory having training etc etc.
Speaking as someone who works in sales (although not for Hermes) I KNOW that its a constant juggling act keeping on top of everything with in-store appointments taking up time, checking new deliveries to see if any client requests are in them, updating clients databases with their latest purchases etc etc.
Trust me its not that they DONT WANT to help you or are ignoring you but please try and remember that you are not the only email they will receive, or the only WhatsApp.

 

[loh]

This is really a Post for all those fretting about their SA not responding to them as swiftly as they would hope.
Please remember that you are not their only client, during the pandemic they will have been making orders for customers, chasing those, checking inventory having training etc etc.
Speaking as someone who works in sales (although not for Hermes) I KNOW that its a constant juggling act keeping on top of everything with in-store appointments taking up time, checking new deliveries to see if any client requests are in them, updating clients databases with their latest purchases etc etc.
Trust me its not that they DONT WANT to help you or are ignoring you but please try and remember that you are not the only email they will receive, or the only WhatsApp.

Yes, SA's are people too.

I just visited my SA and she was telling me about her horrible side effects after her 2d vax shot and how she still was scheduled to work while dealing with them. And I think now she doesn't have her phone on her days off so when she does return to work she has a gazillion messages. On top of that, some US stores have now returned to allowing walk-in customers so they are absolutely frazzled. I hope people realize that patience and appreciation go a long way.

 

[WhiteBus]

What does it mean when an SA writes to you to say she has a “surprise” for me and when can I book an appointment with her next? Is this it? Is the surprise always a quota bag? I’m in the waitlist for a Kelly 28 but also let her know I’m looking for a garden party or Picotin.
I’m going in tomorrow and kind of pinching myself. Any bag would be amazing if it’s the right color.

It does not mean anything different to when any other acquaintance tells you they have a surprise for you. It is likely that they have something for you that you want. But it could be that they have something for you that they think you would want and you don't like it. It coukd be any bag but the wrong colour, the wrong size, or just wrong. We share your excitement, but caution against undue expectation. Just be prepared to say, 'No thank you,' if it isn't exactly what you want.
It is all about feeding expectations.

 

[BB8]

So, I'm learning....
I am so used to checking with my SAs at Chanel and Dior, and even LV in the past, if they have an item before heading over. I did this as well with my H SA after my first purchase, and she was always responsive to letting me know before scheduling an appointment. However, this last time I texted about an item she replied that she could check during an appointment if I wanted to make one. I was a bit surprised. I always check first, no matter where I shop, because I have a busy schedule and don't want to waste a trip (for H, I have to cross the bridge), if the item is not available. This makes shopping at H very unique in this regard. Perhaps all the previous times my inquiries were checked was due to the changes around the pandemic and not being as busy, versus now I think the boutique is opening up to walk-ins and allowing higher capacity inside. Anyway, new lesson learned as I navigate the world of H.

 

[Hikitten]

It does not mean anything different to when any other acquaintance tells you they have a surprise for you. It is likely that they have something for you that you want. But it could be that they have something for you that they think you would want and you don't like it. It coukd be any bag but the wrong colour, the wrong size, or just wrong. We share your excitement, but caution against undue expectation. Just be prepared to say, 'No thank you,' if it isn't exactly what you want.
It is all about feeding expectations.

i haven’t had anyone tell me they have a surprise for me in many years more curious if this was common language for quota bag offers. In the past my former SA would email me if there was a non quota bag she thinks I would like. Don’t want to set my expectations too high but also forgot to mention I was in the boutique on monday and bought my first fine jewelry piece. So it’s a bit sudden for her to write again.
I also want to mentally prepare if it’s a big bag purchase! Will of course politely decline if it’s not something I’ll love.
i’ll be sure to update here after.

 

[Hikitten]

i haven’t had anyone tell me they have a surprise for me in many years more curious if this was common language for quota bag offers. In the past my former SA would email me if there was a non quota bag she thinks I would like. Don’t want to set my expectations too high but also forgot to mention I was in the boutique on monday and bought my first fine jewelry piece. So it’s a bit sudden for her to write again.
I also want to mentally prepare if it’s a big bag purchase! Will of course politely decline if it’s not something I’ll love.
i’ll be sure to update here after.

So here’s my update. Apologies if this is not the right thread for it. I love reading here to learn about everyone’s journey.
So a bit of the backstory. I found a lovely SA at my local boutique in December 2019 but didn’t make my first purchase with her until March 2020 before lockdown. Fast forward a few purchases in scarves shoes and home wear I find out she’s leaving the store to go back to school in February 2021. When the stores opened up again in March this year I found a new lovely SA and have since bought sandals, a dog leash and just this week a pair of earrings in fine jewelry. And the next day she emails me with a surprise. The surprise was not a quota bag but a bag that’s been on my list in a color I couldn’t resist. She offered me a Picotin 18 in nata that was for display only. She knows I’ve been looking for one for awhile and have not bought any bags from this location so it was a lovely surprise and so sweet for her to take care of me.
it seems quite difficult nowadays to get any bags with covid and lockdowns so I understand quota bags will not happen fast. I’m hopeful that’s this will be a nice lasting relationship and hope to get more bags from my wishlist (plus many other H items) but for now I’m happy to take a small break.
thanks for letting me share.

 

[Chrismin]

super cute!
i love nata!

So here’s my update. Apologies if this is not the right thread for it. I love reading here to learn about everyone’s journey.
So a bit of the backstory. I found a lovely SA at my local boutique in December 2019 but didn’t make my first purchase with her until March 2020 before lockdown. Fast forward a few purchases in scarves shoes and home wear I find out she’s leaving the store to go back to school in February 2021. When the stores opened up again in March this year I found a new lovely SA and have since bought sandals, a dog leash and just this week a pair of earrings in fine jewelry. And the next day she emails me with a surprise. The surprise was not a quota bag but a bag that’s been on my list in a color I couldn’t resist. She offered me a Picotin 18 in nata that was for display only. She knows I’ve been looking for one for awhile and have not bought any bags from this location so it was a lovely surprise and so sweet for her to take care of me.
it seems quite difficult nowadays to get any bags with covid and lockdowns so I understand quota bags will not happen fast. I’m hopeful that’s this will be a nice lasting relationship and hope to get more bags from my wishlist (plus many other H items) but for now I’m happy to take a small break.
thanks for letting me share.