Maintaining an H relationship

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Does anyone live slightly outside the city the store is in, such that you wouldn't be able to just pop in after work? Maybe you can only go on the weekends, and it's not a guarantee your SA is working then, I would assume. Does this affect your ability to get items? What if you are able to spend more than an average customer per visit? Thanks for the help. Sorry if wrong thread; please redirect if so :smile:
Agree with both of the above and only want to add that even pre- COVID, I would always arrange with my SA the date and time I would be coming in. Just makes it so much easier for all concerned-her work schedule may change, mine as well, and I'd rather come in when she has a few things I may be interested in. Now is really the same, except its more organized, in that she has to "register" my appointment with H (I assume her store). This way I get that reminder text and email one hour before (not hugely helpful for me, but my SA says you'd be amazed at the people who still either blow it off or call 5 min before to cancel).
And OT, now I seem to always end up going in ( MP in NYC) on the weekends now-there are pros and cons to everything :yes:
 
I can pop in after work, but I don’t, I text days ahead to set an appointment with my SA, that way she knows I’m coming and can manage her time with walk in clients on that day. My store is not that big so if I have to wait for her there’s not that much to look at and I get bored pretty quickly, scheduling ahead facilitates a more smooth visit for both of us.
 
Let's face it, even prior to Covid, contrary to the impression that you might get reading the people who choose to bare their souls on social media, a very small proportion of Hermes customers live or work close enough to a boutique to drop in frequently.
The nature of Hermes has always been that a customer would not expect a store to carry every style in every colour in every size. If you had a contact, it was always sensible to plan ahead to confirm that what you want was or could be available for you.
But setting a notional spending target for a visit seems wrong to me.
You would quickly be seen as the 1000, 2500 or 5000 customer - dangerous for exploitation
and not the discerning enthusiast that Hermes really wishes to cultivate.
 
This makes me think about this contrast between those saying “just buy what you love” and don’t think too much about the spending and those who warn about being strung along. I’ve seen advice about ok just quickly spend a lot buying what you love and that would speed things along/put you at higher priority but then others are warning me against that because I’ll be seen as a target. Indeed I would be pissed if others who spent less got a bag while I was still being strung along to get more money. Ugh how to avoid this.
 
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This makes me think about this contrast between those saying “just buy what you love” and don’t think too much about the spending and those who warn about being strung along. I’ve seen advice about ok just quickly spend a lot buying what you love and that would speed things along/put you at higher priority but then others are warning me against that because I’ll be seen as a target. Indeed I would be pissed if others who spent less got a bag while I was still being strung along to get more money. Ugh how to avoid this.
I think there is a need to assess the SA whether she sees u as a money tree/gold mine or as a customer whom she is pleased to delight.
I think u can tell its the former who pushes u to buy high comms items that u had expressed u do not like. Or someone who is happy to help you get the items u like….
 
This makes me think about this contrast between those saying “just buy what you love” and don’t think too much about the spending and those who warn about being strung along. I’ve seen advice about ok just quickly spend a lot buying what you love and that would speed things along/put you at higher priority but then others are warning me against that because I’ll be seen as a target. Indeed I would be pissed if others who spent less got a bag while I was still being strung along to get more money. Ugh how to avoid this.
I think the most important thing of all advises I would give is to only buy an item you will love and cherish. I think that is the best way to avoid feeling "strung a long" if the bag or other popular item you are hoping for is taking its time to be offered. Quick spend might not work out as you hoped and not necessarily because the store is not willing to offer but they just don´t have what you want. Be patient and enjoy your shopping!
 
Yeah I was worried about the spending target making one a ____k customer. But at the same time it’s like how do you stand out as a customer?
If by standing out as a customer you mean spending, then unfortunately there will always be client that spends more with higher social status and longer history. Especially if your home store is in one of the major capital cities.
 
she does seem very concerned with getting me exactly what I want. I have not expressed much interest in leather good however, there was one on my list but I don’t remember any effort towards getting it haha, but lots of struggle to locate the other (probably) commission items (including pre-reserving and ordering for next time). but I also was not that interested in the leather good and did not ask about it with great emphasis. I’ll keep watching and observing, really do appreciate all the perspectives, you guys may have save me
 
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Hi all, I would like some advice. I'm just starting my H journey and have meet with two SA's. The first was very nice but I came to learn he is a brand new Hermes SA. I've ordered a few things with him but never got his work cell to communicate. The second SA, also lovely, seems to have been with the brand for a while. I did make one small purchase with him and ended up with his work cell to be able to communicate.

My plan was to find one SA I gelled with and stick with them. During my first interaction with the new H SA I mentioned eventually wanting a Kelly so he had me make a wishlist. My initial reaction is to stick with the new SA but I don't know if it's a good/bad/somewhere in between thing to work with someone new to the brand. Any advice or insights is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
Hi all, I would like some advice. I'm just starting my H journey and have meet with two SA's. The first was very nice but I came to learn he is a brand new Hermes SA. I've ordered a few things with him but never got his work cell to communicate. The second SA, also lovely, seems to have been with the brand for a while. I did make one small purchase with him and ended up with his work cell to be able to communicate.

My plan was to find one SA I gelled with and stick with them. During my first interaction with the new H SA I mentioned eventually wanting a Kelly so he had me make a wishlist. My initial reaction is to stick with the new SA but I don't know if it's a good/bad/somewhere in between thing to work with someone new to the brand. Any advice or insights is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

What is your end goal? If it is someone that will bend over backwards to try and help you, it will likely be the new SA as they’re trying to build their portfolio. If it’s to get a quota bag, then the senior SA will be higher on the pecking order of getting the bag for one of their clients, though their client list will be longer so you would be dealing with more competition.
 
Eventually I would like a Kelly but don't plan for it to be a one and done thing. They are several H items I love and I plan to be a customer for the long haul.

They both were really helpful, with the senior SA being more hospitable though I'm sure it was because of his experience and not from a lack of trying with the new SA. But the reasons you mentioned is a main concern with moving forward with him. I do also worry about putting in time with the new SA to only have him move on. I'm not sure what the turnover rate is with Hermes. But I wouldn't want to use that as an excuse to not give him a chance.
 
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she does seem very concerned with getting me exactly what I want. I have not expressed much interest in leather good however, there was one on my list but I don’t remember any effort towards getting it haha, but lots of struggle to locate the other (probably) commission items (including pre-reserving and ordering for next time). but I also was not that interested in the leather good and did not ask about it with great emphasis. I’ll keep watching and observing, really do appreciate all the perspectives, you guys may have save me

Before I made my first visit to store I did some research, and a lot of asian youtubers suggested that to optimize chances of getting a B/K/C, a client should never refuse any "pre-spend" purchases suggested by the SA, SAs like it more when clients buy RTW/watches, and clients should send SAs holiday greetings. So when I went in, I was waiting for her to push random merchandise that I didn't really want. Imagine my internal confusion when she didn't...just showed me what I was interested in seeing, made some suggestions as to color ways, never urged me to look at any particular category. It was a very enjoyable experience.

I think clients that will buy whatever is pushed by the SA in the hopes of getting a quota bag do exist, and can be "strung along" for maximum commission. SAs who want to cultivate more long-term, loyal clients that will continue to make purchases for years to come will tailor their suggestions to the client's taste and preferences.
 
Hi all, I would like some advice. I'm just starting my H journey and have meet with two SA's. The first was very nice but I came to learn he is a brand new Hermes SA. I've ordered a few things with him but never got his work cell to communicate. The second SA, also lovely, seems to have been with the brand for a while. I did make one small purchase with him and ended up with his work cell to be able to communicate.

My plan was to find one SA I gelled with and stick with them. During my first interaction with the new H SA I mentioned eventually wanting a Kelly so he had me make a wishlist. My initial reaction is to stick with the new SA but I don't know if it's a good/bad/somewhere in between thing to work with someone new to the brand. Any advice or insights is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I would suggest not to go with the SA who did not provide his work cell phone. Does not appear to me he is desperate for your business. If he is desperate for your business, he would be eager to be contactable, especially if you are building your profile towards a Kelly. You might want to visit him another time if want to try it out.

however, during COVID times we are in now and SA work shifts might change now and then, logical thing to do would be to provide the contact to arrange an appointment….which you can’t really do if he didn’t provide
 
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