I listen to a podcast called the Simple Sophisticate - the host is a complete Francophile, and she recently had an American author as a guest on her show who relocated to Paris from the US about 15 years. While the author was explaining how he adjusted to Parisian culture, he said something that I think explains a lot about how H operates as a company; it demonstrates that H is a product of centuries of French culture.
Customer service in France is primarily about relationship building, whether you are in a Parisian boutique, bakery, or grocery store. People are inherently cold and somewhat distrustful to strangers - this is why the first word out of a lot of French people's mouths in the customer service context is "No" or "Can't be done." They don't know you, they don't know if you genuinely appreciate their business or the services they provide; they just know that you come into their business and demand something, without knowing what sort of person you are, if you are a loyal customer, or anything else. But once you demonstrate yourself to be a loyal customer who is genuinely interested in the product or service over an extended period of time, and show you are interested in building a relationship and not merely demanding on the spot satisfaction, then suddenly doors open for you.
Of course this stands in stark contrast to American style customer service, where shop attendants fall all over themselves to help you or provide you with whatever you need. In this era of increased competition across nearly every industry in every market, most companies have switched to this American style of service. But it appears H has remained true to its cultural heritage. We can debate whether this is a good business model for today's day and age, and understand why some are put off by it, but I found this explanation really helpful in understanding H's behavior in a larger, cultural context. I hope this information goes a long way in helping everyone here establish and maintain a good H relationship.
