Maintaining an 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.

 

[HKsai]

Hey everyone, hope you all having a fab year so far[emoji3526]

Last year wasn't a great year financially for me, So haven't bought anything other than a scarf and a bolide 27. My last K/B purchase was two years ago.

I did receive a lovely Christmas card from them which gives me hope they haven't forgotten me[emoji846]

My SA is lovely but not sure how to bring up a Bag wishlist for this year with her since I've not shopped for awhile. Email or in person?

How does everyone go about their wishlist regarding bags? Are you quite straightforward about about your wishlist? Or is the softly approach the way to go?

Go to the store if you have want to look at certain things. I usually ask if I could revisit my wishlist at the end of the appointment.

 

[DB8]

Hey everyone, hope you all having a fab year so far[emoji3526]

Last year wasn't a great year financially for me, So haven't bought anything other than a scarf and a bolide 27. My last K/B purchase was two years ago.

I did receive a lovely Christmas card from them which gives me hope they haven't forgotten me[emoji846]

My SA is lovely but not sure how to bring up a Bag wishlist for this year with her since I've not shopped for awhile. Email or in person?

How does everyone go about their wishlist regarding bags? Are you quite straightforward about about your wishlist? Or is the softly approach the way to go?

Every client goes through highs and lows of purchasing. It's really simple and no need to overanalyze. Pop in, say happy new year, and tell her what you're looking for. I never sugar coat it, and I never feel the need to only mention it when I've purchasing something. "Hi, I'm looking for a neutral coloured Birkin 30 in gold hardware, can you let me know when you have something available for me?" That will suffice.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Hey everyone, hope you all having a fab year so far[emoji3526]

Last year wasn't a great year financially for me, So haven't bought anything other than a scarf and a bolide 27. My last K/B purchase was two years ago.

I did receive a lovely Christmas card from them which gives me hope they haven't forgotten me[emoji846]

My SA is lovely but not sure how to bring up a Bag wishlist for this year with her since I've not shopped for awhile. Email or in person?

How does everyone go about their wishlist regarding bags? Are you quite straightforward about about your wishlist? Or is the softly approach the way to go?

I think that SA's are quite familiar with clients going through changes, be it financial, health etc
It was lovely of your SA to send you a holiday card , after all you do have a client/SA relationship
I always think that being "candid" with what your " wish list" is usually is the best approach.

 

[classybags4ever]

Hi, I've gotten two bags in Paris FSH, but now trying to get a B25 at my home store and I'm confused and really don't understand how the rest of you play this game. I started building a relationship with an SA who seemed great, but she left. I emailed her requesting they move me to another SA that I also liked before she left, but I never heard from that SA even though she told me she would reach out to me. Then, I just went into the boutique to pick up a few things and just straight out asked for the new SA and reminded her gently of my wish. But, then, what if she moves too? Both told me straight out that spend amount doesn't matter, it's relationship and appreciation for the brand, and to just buy what I like. But form reading some of this thread, I'm not sure if I believe them. Clearly they want me to *think* I can get a bag so I keep coming in and buying things, that benefits them, but they can just as easily string me along. This is getting way too expensive given how much the savings in Paris are. Not just the base savings on the bag, but the savings of not having to buy all the other stuff. On top of that, I hate the feeling of not even knowing when or if the bag will ever be offered.

Wondering if I should keep up with this or just book another trip to Paris.

 

[little.bear]

In some countries, SAs aren’t legally allowed to be explicit about the spend requirements so they always use loyalty and appreciation of the brand as a way to close the conversation. Australia is one of them, they will never tell you that although I did have a very candid transparent conversation a while ago with one of the SAs and was told that they can’t say it but implied that it’s the same as other asian countries who are more open about the spend requirements. Either way, spending is required with a few exceptions along the way for some lucky customers. Always keep in mind that, for every 1 success story you hear about someone scoring their iconic bag, comes with thousands of unsuccessful stories which are mostly unheard of. People tend to share happy stories more than sad ones although we have a very good community here who are kind enough to share their unsuccessful ones. It’s the same in Paris, the beauty of scoring in Paris is the price is better and if you’re one of the lucky ones, no spend is required which is great!

Also, with regards to how much to spend, we will never know how much we need to spend, generally 1:1 or 1.5 or more:1 but not necessarily required either. I have friends who score a bag with just a few hundreds spent. It’s different in every store and very dependent on how the SM feels at that point in time and how hard your SA works for you to bid the bag for you. This is the one part that frustrates me the most coz I can never find the right answers. HTH!

 

[peonies13]

Hey all - wondering how you'd handle the following situation. I imagine this must be very common? Advice please on how you handle working with multiple SAs...

Backstory: I have been working with a SA for a couple of months. I was paired with her during the SF store opening when the person helping me was not actually a SA: he was part of the merchandising team but saw me waiting and was nice enough to help me while he waited to find an available SA . I ended up choosing a bag and a couple of SLGs and he passed me off to this SA when I was ready to actually pay. She has helped me a few times since and she is generally pretty nice and patient. I like working with her so far. She takes me seriously since her first interaction with me was an actual purchase.

I went in on a whim last week - i obviously had not made an appointment with my "regular" SA and she wasn't in the store. I ended up working with a SA I'd met on a previous visit last summer but who wasn't very responsive via email (thus at the time I didn't attempt to continue working with her). She was very helpful with scarves and seemed pretty knowledgable. She took my info for a non-quota bag I'm looking for.

This second SA seemed more experienced than my original SA who might be newer to the brand. However she is indeed more "old school" and reserved about the information she shares - she isn't up front about what is available - meaning she was fine telling me that X color was not available but did not then offer the information of what my other colors were available. My original SA is happy to tell me "hey if that color isn't available, here is what is available" and then she's been up front with her offer to do a charge-send. This second SA told me charge sends are not allowed and I'm not positive, but from what I've heard on TPF, that isn't true. Anyway, this charge-send thing isn't a huge deal but I think it speaks to the willingness to make a sale.

So the question is: I want to inquire at the store if they have three specific 140cm scarves in stock. Should i continue with the 2nd SA who helped me with scarves last week or should I email my original SA (who never really helped me with scarves). Basically what I'm saying is that I want money I spend to go against my "purchase history" and for relationship building but I don't want to be a disloyal customer to the second SA who specifically helped me with scarves.

 

[CMilly]

Hey all - wondering how you'd handle the following situation. I imagine this must be very common? Advice please on how you handle working with multiple SAs...

Backstory: I have been working with a SA for a couple of months. I was paired with her during the SF store opening when the person helping me was not actually a SA: he was part of the merchandising team but saw me waiting and was nice enough to help me while he waited to find an available SA . I ended up choosing a bag and a couple of SLGs and he passed me off to this SA when I was ready to actually pay. She has helped me a few times since and she is generally pretty nice and patient. I like working with her so far. She takes me seriously since her first interaction with me was an actual purchase.

I went in on a whim last week - i obviously had not made an appointment with my "regular" SA and she wasn't in the store. I ended up working with a SA I'd met on a previous visit last summer but who wasn't very responsive via email (thus at the time I didn't attempt to continue working with her). She was very helpful with scarves and seemed pretty knowledgable. She took my info for a non-quota bag I'm looking for.

This second SA seemed more experienced than my original SA who might be newer to the brand. However she is indeed more "old school" and reserved about the information she shares - she isn't up front about what is available - meaning she was fine telling me that X color was not available but did not then offer the information of what my other colors were available. My original SA is happy to tell me "hey if that color isn't available, here is what is available" and then she's been up front with her offer to do a charge-send. This second SA told me charge sends are not allowed and I'm not positive, but from what I've heard on TPF, that isn't true. Anyway, this charge-send thing isn't a huge deal but I think it speaks to the willingness to make a sale.

So the question is: I want to inquire at the store if they have three specific 140cm scarves in stock. Should i continue with the 2nd SA who helped me with scarves last week or should I email my original SA (who never really helped me with scarves). Basically what I'm saying is that I want money I spend to go against my "purchase history" and for relationship building but I don't want to be a disloyal customer to the second SA who specifically helped me with scarves.

I would work with the SA you think you can have a long term relationship with and I would only from that SA going forward.

 

[BagsofOC]

Work with the SA you feel comfortable with and let that SA what you are looking for. It will take time if you really looking for a certain item that is popular.

 

[corgimom11]

I am still very new to H and have recently started to work on a building a long-term relationship with a local SA, so apologies in advance for very newbie questions. I found a great one and made a few, albeit small, purchases prior to the Christmas holiday. I gave my wishlist after the first appointment afterwhich my SA committed they would get me my dream bag but did not specify a timeframe. I know with H you have to really learn the game of patience.

I was hoping to go back into the boutique and take a deeper look at scarves and a few other items that I am interested in, so I e-mailed my SA asking about them and if I could come in on a certain day and let them know what I was interested in looking at. It turned out they are off the day I was hoping to go and they were planning to connect me to their SM to help me. I ended up telling my SA it was not urgent and changed appointment for a day they could assist me.

sorry if I am overthinking. but I am not sure if I messed up. Should I have taken the appointment with the SM instead...? I got the gut feeling that the more important thing here at first is connecting with my SA... or is it overkill to even consider making appointment to visit the boutique??

 

[De sac]

I am still very new to H and have recently started to work on a building a long-term relationship with a local SA, so apologies in advance for very newbie questions. I found a great one and made a few, albeit small, purchases prior to the Christmas holiday. I gave my wishlist after the first appointment afterwhich my SA committed they would get me my dream bag but did not specify a timeframe. I know with H you have to really learn the game of patience.

I was hoping to go back into the boutique and take a deeper look at scarves and a few other items that I am interested in, so I e-mailed my SA asking about them and if I could come in on a certain day and let them know what I was interested in looking at. It turned out they are off the day I was hoping to go and they were planning to connect me to their SM to help me. I ended up telling my SA it was not urgent and changed appointment for a day they could assist me.

sorry if I am overthinking. but I am not sure if I messed up. Should I have taken the appointment with the SM instead...? I got the gut feeling that the more important thing here at first is connecting with my SA... or is it overkill to even consider making appointment to visit the boutique??

Overthinking. SA just trying to be helpful and you changed plans to see SA instead of SM, no harm there as long as it suits you. Appointments are helpful, no harm either flagging the items you are looking at and that you are open to SA suggestions too.
Have fun!

 

[periogirl28]

Just wanted to add an especially nice experience I had recently. I went home before Christmas to meet up with family and friends and dropped by to say Hallo to my previous homestore SA and SM. I last shopped with them 6 years ago before I relocated and have not bought a thing since. Even then, after a while chatting about our families, the SM asked if I would like something special for Christmas. I honesty said I had just visited Paris and FSH and didn't think I was considered a current customer. Anyway she kindly offered me a choice of 2 Kelly 25, a Birkin 25 and Constance 18 in Black Box, RH Box and MS. I was completely delighted and shocked and my SA said it was due to a good relationship which they considered important enough. This really made my day and I hope it helps to show that unlike others, some stores still value and want to keep their regular customers.

 

[Serva1]

Just wanted to add an especially nice experience I had recently. I went home before Christmas to meet up with family and friends and dropped by to say Hallo to my previous homestore SA and SM. I last shopped with them 6 years ago before I relocated and have not bought a thing since. Even then, after a while chatting about our families, the SM asked if I would like something special for Christmas. I honesty said I had just visited Paris and FSH and didn't think I was considered a current customer. Anyway she kindly offered me a choice of 2 Kelly 25, a Birkin 25 and Constance 18 in Black Box, RH Box and MS. I was completely delighted and shocked and my SA said it was due to a good relationship which they considered important enough. This really made my day and I hope it helps to show that unlike others, some stores still value and want to keep their regular customers.

Periogirl, your post put a smile on my face. I just returned from Paris and I’m so happy you had a wonderful experience at your previous homestore.

 

[periogirl28]

Periogirl, your post put a smile on my face. I just returned from Paris and I’m so happy you had a wonderful experience at your previous homestore.

Thank you so much!

 

[Sofiko]

Just wanted to add an especially nice experience I had recently. I went home before Christmas to meet up with family and friends and dropped by to say Hallo to my previous homestore SA and SM. I last shopped with them 6 years ago before I relocated and have not bought a thing since. Even then, after a while chatting about our families, the SM asked if I would like something special for Christmas. I honesty said I had just visited Paris and FSH and didn't think I was considered a current customer. Anyway she kindly offered me a choice of 2 Kelly 25, a Birkin 25 and Constance 18 in Black Box, RH Box and MS. I was completely delighted and shocked and my SA said it was due to a good relationship which they considered important enough. This really made my day and I hope it helps to show that unlike others, some stores still value and want to keep their regular customers.

That is a wonderful story, thank you for sharing- make me want to run to my old home store too!

 

[little.bear]

Just wanted to add an especially nice experience I had recently. I went home before Christmas to meet up with family and friends and dropped by to say Hallo to my previous homestore SA and SM. I last shopped with them 6 years ago before I relocated and have not bought a thing since. Even then, after a while chatting about our families, the SM asked if I would like something special for Christmas. I honesty said I had just visited Paris and FSH and didn't think I was considered a current customer. Anyway she kindly offered me a choice of 2 Kelly 25, a Birkin 25 and Constance 18 in Black Box, RH Box and MS. I was completely delighted and shocked and my SA said it was due to a good relationship which they considered important enough. This really made my day and I hope it helps to show that unlike others, some stores still value and want to keep their regular customers.

Thanks for sharing this. A great relationship goes a long way!