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.

 

[Siha77]

I work in sales and before we were in Lockdown here in the UK I was still seeing clients (masked socially distanced etc..) If one of them had contracted Covid within a few days of seeing me I would be SO grateful if they contacted me to tell me so that I could then go take a test and protect my loved ones and other clients and colleagues.
You definitely did the right and honourable thing.
Don't feel bad. You didn't know you had the virus when you saw your SA.
And the moment you had your diagnosis you contacted the store You did 100% the right thing.

Thank you for sharing your perspective as a sales professional! This was a big relief to hear.

And just as I was reading your response, I received the sweetest text from my SA confirming what you all have said. She was more concerned about our well being and certainly thankful I let her know. Praying that she’ll be ok and we recover swiftly!

To all who have responded: I really could not be more grateful for this community. It says a lot that we all obsess over what outsiders deem as superficial and frivolous, but when it matters, it seems we recognize what’s truly important and what’s human. The kindness has literally moved me to tears (my husband can vouch as he was chuckling in the background as I sat here teary-eyed over purseforum lol). Love you all

 

[HBfan81]

Hello,

Thanks for your help. I am relatively new as hermes customer. In my first purchases, which have been small (a couple of ties for me and some product for the house), I have always asked for the same SA that attended me the first time...finally he gave me his phone number and I could also make one wishtlist with a birkin 25 to surprise my wife.

But I still don't know very well how to improve the relationship to be able to achieve it someday, sooner rather than later. Is it good to write frequently or better not to be too pushy? Do you give him the birthday or anniversary dates to see if he can offer it there, or is it better to let him offer the bag when he wants/can? Do you ever tip them or is that ugly? Should I need to buy much more items or once they already give You and order and suggest you will have it just waiting is enough?

Thank you very much because I am very lost, and also I go to the store just alone for my wife does not find out that I want to surprise her with her bag. Say that I live in Europe in case the recommendations change by country.

 

[momoc]

Do you ever tip them or is that ugly?

Absolutely do NOT do this. Yep it is ugly and it is considered bribery. It will result in the SA getting fired if they accept and are found out (and they will not accept this if they are even half decent).

And to answer the other parts of the question
- Yes, the recommendation changes by country, even within Europe. In some of them you can just wait. In others you want to build your profile (meaning: purchase history).
- So in general, except a couple places where you can purely wait, the way to make it happen is to buy more. Even in the places where you wait, I would not be surprised that spending some $$$ may help you jump the line (no personal proof on this though since that's not the system where I live; those who are in e.g. the UK and are experiencing the new "wait" system, feel free to chime in here with your experience / knowledge).
- You definitely can let them know about the anniversary / birthday etc. and some SAs are happy to try to help. It is not a guarantee that you will get a bag, but it does not hurt to try, and you may get very lucky! We do hear about success stories of the husband getting a present bag for the wife.

Good luck.

 

[Tykhe]

Adding to what @momoc said above, a Birkin 25 is somewhat difficult to get. I have been trying to get one for a while and I have spent more than 2:1 and it hasn’t materialized yet. I’m content to keep trying until it appears but just FYI, the journey might require a lot of patience.

 

[momoc]

Adding to what @momoc said above, a Birkin 25 is somewhat difficult to get. I have been trying to get one for a while and I have spent more than 2:1 and it hasn’t materialized yet. I’m content to keep trying until it appears but just FYI, the journey might require a lot of patience.

Best of luck to you too. Yes, the competition for a 25 is a little crazy right now in some parts of the world (IMO it's a little too crazy). Sending H fairy dust your way!

 

[Tykhe]

Best of luck to you too. Yes, the competition for a 25 is a little crazy right now in some parts of the world (IMO it's a little too crazy). Sending H fairy dust your way!

Thank you!!!! Yeah, I am spending my time looking at instagram photos of different color ways. Never hurts to do more research!

 

[Greendragon]

Thank you!!!! Yeah, I am spending my time looking at instagram photos of different color ways. Never hurts to do more research!

Follow forum's hotest bag and thanks to my sweet SA was bring up the demo b25 when l pick up k28 sellier on last month , i find out it's too small for my frame (5'3) . I did add that size on email wish list but now I know I only want B30 .

 

[HBfan81]

Hello,

Thanks for your help. I am relatively new as hermes customer. In my first purchases, which have been small (a couple of ties for me and some product for the house), I have always asked for the same SA that attended me the first time...finally he gave me his phone number and I could also make one wishtlist with a birkin 25 to surprise my wife.

But I still don't know very well how to improve the relationship to be able to achieve it someday, sooner rather than later. Is it good to write frequently or better not to be too pushy? Do you give him the birthday or anniversary dates to see if he can offer it there, or is it better to let him offer the bag when he wants/can? Do you ever tip them or is that ugly? Should I need to buy much more items or once they already give You and order and suggest you will have it just waiting is enough?

Thank you very much because I am very lost, and also I go to the store just alone for my wife does not find out that I want to surprise her with her bag. Say that I live in Europe in case the recommendations change by country.

Absolutely do NOT do this. Yep it is ugly and it is considered bribery. It will result in the SA getting fired if they accept and are found out (and they will not accept this if they are even half decent).

And to answer the other parts of the question
- Yes, the recommendation changes by country, even within Europe. In some of them you can just wait. In others you want to build your profile (meaning: purchase history).
- So in general, except a couple places where you can purely wait, the way to make it happen is to buy more. Even in the places where you wait, I would not be surprised that spending some $$$ may help you jump the line (no personal proof on this though since that's not the system where I live; those who are in e.g. the UK and are experiencing the new "wait" system, feel free to chime in here with your experience / knowledge).
- You definitely can let them know about the anniversary / birthday etc. and some SAs are happy to try to help. It is not a guarantee that you will get a bag, but it does not hurt to try, and you may get very lucky! We do hear about success stories of the husband getting a present bag for the wife.

Good luck.

Thank you so much for your answer! I see your poitns.

I hope I was lucky with my SA. I think it's fairly new to the store, but I don't know if that penalizes or benefits because it won't have as many customers already known.

I think for now I'm going to stop buying, unless I see something that I like a lot. But not buy just for improve profile. Also the last time he gave me to understand that he expected to offer me my wishlist in a few months.

tu in case in the future I want to buy more..buying other more common bags, other than B o K, does it help to improve the profile, or need to buy only jewelry and clothing For that? because I know that there are bags like Constance, Lindy etc that are also difficult to find.

And finally, in the wistlists they let you put several colors? I told him two or three colors that I liked and he only let me put one.

 

[HBfan81]

Adding to what @momoc said above, a Birkin 25 is somewhat difficult to get. I have been trying to get one for a while and I have spent more than 2:1 and it hasn’t materialized yet. I’m content to keep trying until it appears but just FYI, the journey might require a lot of patience.

thanks for The info. I will wait because already do the wishlist and the CA seems positive about find it soon. It if time pass without offer, I will consider change wishlist to B30 because I wyhink size is still convenient and I can’t afford spend 2:1 so easily

Hope you will get it soon!

 

[Winiebean]

Hi all, sorry in advance for the super long post. i’m fairly new to H and in need of advice. My first visit was last year i went in and bought a few items in my first visit (picotin, oran’s, twilly, farandole necklace) i made them well aware of what i was looking for (a grey birkin - i’m very persistent) and they got me a grey birkin for my 35th bday a monthish later. i was super happy and shocked they got it for me tbh. but i’ve literally texted SA almost every month since last august (for items she said she’d order me during august visit, then in october no response, then nov no response, dec with a response two weeks later that she could ship me some shoes which frustrated me that’s all she could get esp during the holiday, then jan- she said she’d order my list (avalon pillow and some homeware dishes ) and i’ve followed up three times since then) does stuff take awhile to come in? is it this store? she said it takes ~2 days to come in and that she’d follow up with me but still hasn’t and it’s been over a month. i’m not sure whether it’s hermes in general or this store? i’m starting to give up wanting to shop there anymore. there’s def other things i want C18/CTG, another B or a K but i feel like they don’t care about my money or business. i live 2 hrs away and so i would like to buy a lot of the items i’m looking for if i’m making the trip. i’m willing to spend money, been eyeing jewelry and homewares but starting to lose confidence in their reliability. do SAs normally act this way ? sorry for the long message. there’s still plenty of things i want from H so so i’m not sure how to proceed. i’ve bought a few things from H.com over the passed few months and preloved. I want to give her the credit for purchases and i thought the delay over the holidays was bc she was busy that’s why i tried again last month hoping the rush died down. it’s just frustrating bc i’m a client too. it makes me consider preloved route ( even though i’d prefer not to go there) any suggestions? I’ve also been avoiding going up there bc of coronavirus, but i’m getting my second vaccine next week and was hoping/wanting to plan a trip up there to go to H and check out a VC bracelet i’ve been eyeing for awhile. should i even have confidence that she would get me something i’m looking for after all this? she did get me the B i wanted and i greatly appreciate it. i don’t know what to do. again, sorry for the long post. thanks J

 

[acrowcounted]

Hi all, sorry in advance for the super long post. i’m fairly new to H and in need of advice. My first visit was last year i went in and bought a few items in my first visit (picotin, oran’s, twilly, farandole necklace) i made them well aware of what i was looking for (a grey birkin - i’m very persistent) and they got me a grey birkin for my 35th bday a monthish later. i was super happy and shocked they got it for me tbh. but i’ve literally texted SA almost every month since last august (for items she said she’d order me during august visit, then in october no response, then nov no response, dec with a response two weeks later that she could ship me some shoes which frustrated me that’s all she could get esp during the holiday, then jan- she said she’d order my list and i’ve followed up three times since then) does stuff take awhile to come in? is it this store? she said it takes ~2 days to come in and that she’d follow up with me but still hasn’t and it’s been over a month. i’m not sure whether it’s hermes in general or this store? i’m starting to give up wanting to shop there anymore. there’s def other things i want C18 another B or a K but i feel like they don’t care about my money or business. i live 2 hrs away and so i would like to buy a lot of the items i’m looking for if i’m making the trip. i’m willing to spend money, been eyeing jewelry and homewares but starting to lose confidence in their reliability. do SAs normally act this way ? sorry for the long message. there’s still plenty of things i want from H so so i’m not sure how to proceed. i’ve bought a few things from H.com over the passed few months and preloved. I want to give her the credit for purchases and i thought the delay over the holidays was bc she was busy that’s why i tried again last month hoping the rush died down. it’s just frustrating bc i’m a client too. it makes me consider preloved route ( even though i’d prefer not to go there) any suggestions? again, sorry for the long post. thanks J

It seems this is pretty normal with many SAs right now. Their work hours have been limited, stocks are the lowest I’ve ever seen across the board, and many stores are restricting shipping things to clients, even things that they were happy to ship, pre pandemic. Also, your SA can see your H.com purchases when she brings up your profile so that may also not be working in your favor. And yes, transfers between stores are taking, sometimes, weeks as well.

 

[Winiebean]

It seems this is pretty normal with many SAs right now. Their work hours have been limited, stocks are the lowest I’ve ever seen across the board, and many stores are restricting shipping things to clients, even things that they were happy to ship, pre pandemic. Also, your SA can see your H.com purchases when she brings up your profile so that may also not be working in your favor. And yes, transfers between stores are taking, sometimes, weeks as well.

Thanks. that’s good to hear the items may be delayed then. i understand what you’re saying, but i feel like she could still follow up and say such and such items aren’t here yet but they’ve been ordered etc. to at least keep me in the loop. I’ve worked in retail years ago at many high end stores Brooks Bros, tuxedo shop, another handbag company. i understand i’m not their best client, but i’m still a customer. if i had confidence she was actually getting me things i wanted, i wouldn’t purchase from H.com. the list i sent her all were stocked on the site and i could’ve purchased them immediately last month but i went to her. if she’s not going to get me the items that are available on the site, how am i supposed to have confidence she will get me other things i want, not on the site.

 

[acrowcounted]

Thanks. that’s good to hear the items may be delayed then. i understand what you’re saying, but i feel like she could still follow up and say such and such items aren’t here yet but they’ve been ordered etc. to at least keep me in the loop. I’ve worked in retail years ago at many high end stores Brooks Bros, tuxedo shop, another handbag company. i understand i’m not their best client, but i’m still a customer. if i had confidence she was actually getting me things i wanted, i wouldn’t purchase from H.com. the list i sent her all were stocked on the site and i could’ve purchased them immediately last month but i went to her. if she’s not going to get me the items that are available on the site, how am i supposed to have confidence she will get me other things i want, not on the site.

I get it. I’m just suggesting not to take it so personally. We’ve been hearing these types of things from clients with SAs all over the world these past few months. I’m not saying it’s fun, but it’s not personal. Many SAs also seem to think that they don’t need to communicate unless they have a “yes” answer. I’m not sure if its something H corporate pushes or if they just don’t have the time (literally hundreds of clients and like what, 20 hrs/week with access to their phones while also assisting customers in store?) or just hate giving bad news all day long. And they can’t “order” items that don’t exist in the country. They can potentially pull them from other stores (if the other store is willing...sometimes takes extended bargaining/approvals), but if no store has it, it’s often impossible, or at least extremely inconvenient, to order a fresh one from Paris. Many items listed on the website, especially in homewares and jewelry, are actually back ordered by months. I feel like they are assessing demand before kicking off production again. This is much easier for the website to do than the SAs. Heck, I myself have requested around 15 different non- bag, normal stock items over the past couple of months and my SA has only been able to find four of them (with two still being transferred so...question mark...). It’s kind of just how things currently are, imo. But if it’s not for you, I can’t blame you and would say go to resale. I do think we will get back to normal eventually though.

 

[Winiebean]

I get it. I’m just suggesting not to take it so personally. We’ve been hearing these types of things from clients with SAs all over the world these past few months. I’m not saying it’s fun, but it’s not personal. Many SAs also seem to think that they don’t need to communicate unless they have a “yes” answer. I’m not sure if its something H corporate pushes or if they just don’t have the time (literally hundreds of clients and like what, 20 hrs/week with access to their phones while also assisting customers in store?) or just hate giving bad news all day long. And they can’t “order” items that don’t exist in the country. They can potentially pull them from other stores (if the other store is willing...sometimes takes extended bargaining/approvals), but if no store has it, it’s often impossible, or at least extremely inconvenient, to order a fresh one from Paris. Many items listed on the website, especially in homewares and jewelry, are actually back ordered by months. I feel like they are assessing demand before kicking off production again. This is much easier for the website to do than the SAs. Heck, I myself have requested around 15 different non- bag, normal stock items over the past couple of months and my SA has only been able to find four of them (with two still being transferred so...question mark...). It’s kind of just how things currently are, imo. But if it’s not for you, I can’t blame you and would say go to resale. I do think we will get back to normal eventually though.

Ok, That makes sense. Thank you for the info! I guess i’ll try to wait it out. I really want to stay working with them. They were all really nice/helpful during my other visits. The pandemic has been hard on everyone. Maybe i could just go in and visit and see what else is there in the meantime.

 

[momoc]

in case in the future I want to buy more..buying other more common bags, other than B o K, does it help to improve the profile, or need to buy only jewelry and clothing For that? because I know that there are bags like Constance, Lindy etc that are also difficult to find.

And finally, in the wistlists they let you put several colors? I told him two or three colors that I liked and he only let me put one.

Question 1: take a look at this comment https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/maintaining-a-h-relationship.156549/page-229#post-34310029

Question 2: depends on the country, store and even the SA style. My SA just knows my general personal preferences & checks with me periodically (i.e. "which bag would you be looking for next?" when I visit, "hey we will be getting this bag, feels like you may like it, would you?"), I've not had an official wishlist written down for quite some time now (I did when I first met her).

It does sound like that in countries where you are allowed to purely wait they put more restrictions and you can only be on the waitlist for about one thing at a time.