Maintaining an H relationship

[papertiger]

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

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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.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

@Moniqq if you don’t have time, it’s best not to play the Hermes game.

It’s not even easy to buy some of their “stuff” anymore. Eg waiting 4months and counting for a change tray, 5 months for a wallet, 9 months and counting for a piece of fine jewellery (100% deposit paid). Unless you buy what you see at the shop which you may not like. Depending on what is the store policy, you may not be able to buy duplicates, need to spend across categories to build a nice profile, etc etc.

Then it’s another waiting game of 3, 6, 9 or even 12 months to get the bag you like.

 

[Moniqq]

@Moniqq if you don’t have time, it’s best not to play the Hermes game.

It’s not even easy to buy some of their “stuff” anymore. Eg waiting 4months and counting for a change tray, 5 months for a wallet, 9 months and counting for a piece of fine jewellery (100% deposit paid). Unless you buy what you see at the shop which you may not like. Depending on what is the store policy, you may not be able to buy duplicates, need to spend across categories to build a nice profile, etc etc.

Then it’s another waiting game of 3, 6, 9 or even 12 months to get the bag you like.

@Justlikewhatilike Yes, I think I wouldn't play the "Hermes game" anymore, my time is precious and wouldn't waste any minute and effort to just have that bag. I am not a vip nor a celebrity unless you really clicked with one sa then you have the chance and that possibility is still unsure since you don't know if you can get what you really want. It's all about taking risks. I believe everyone has their own personal preferences on how we'll spend our money and use our efforts and we should respect that.

 

[jenayb]

@Moniqq it sounds to me like you just need to purchase your desired quota bag from a reseller and be done with it.

From what I'm reading, you aren't really into the brand as a whole, you don't care for Hermes' "stuff," and you want to game the process of being offered a quota bag by purchasing one "cheap" item per month. If all you want is one bag, just go buy it above retail and save the time/money that you would spend at the boutique building your profile.

 

[WhiteBus]

@Moniqq it sounds to me like you just need to purchase your desired quota bag from a reseller and be done with it.

From what I'm reading, you aren't really into the brand as a whole, you don't care for Hermes' "stuff," and you want to game the process of being offered a quota bag by purchasing one "cheap" item per month. If all you want is one bag, just go buy it above retail and save the time/money that you would spend at the boutique building your profile.

I agree with your assessment, but I wouldn't want to encourage the premium reseller market either.
That reduces the number if bags available to genuine customers, like the stallwarts of this forum.
Direct people to the supply of older bags from people who no longer have a use for them.

Let's keep this about advising people to be regular and enthusiastic shoppers of Hermes items, thereby having a naturally good working partnership with their store and SAs and making the nature of the title redundant.

 

[jenayb]

Let's keep this about advising people to be regular and enthusiastic shoppers of Hermes items, thereby having a naturally good working partnership with their store and SAs and making the nature of the title redundant.

I think that the beauty of a public forum, as tPF is, is that there are different viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives. I think that we are all able to post our thoughts here as such.

 

[WhiteBus]

I think that the beauty of a public forum, as tPF is, is that there are different viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives. I think that we are all able to post our thoughts here as such.

I was concerned about being accused of going off topic

 

[tigergirl]

This is what I heard from my SA here in the US. I don’t know if it’s just excuses or if it’s the real story. I prefer to choose the latter. When I’m trying things in store, she is desperately trying to answer some texts. When I am talking to her she is engaged but if I am trying shoes or trying to make up my mind about something, I see that she is using those gaps to answer text messages. She told me several times that she can’t take her phone home with her anymore and she gets so many messages to respond to when she is back at the store that she can’t keep up. She seemed very frustrated at times. She mentioned that she was tired of telling people that she couldn’t get them a bag and they kept nagging her and asking for a bag every week. She was truly overwhelmed. At this point, I never discussed bags with her yet so maybe that’s why she feels free to share those feelings. It might be really tough. Hang in there guys. My two cents: I think Hermès created a type of business model that over the years shaped our relationship with the SAs in a certain way. Meaning, those patterns that we see today is just a response from the public towards the type of business dynamics they manufactured, in a way. The SAs withdraw and the clients pursue and the rat race continues. It’s an endless cycle. The SA needs to find a sustainable way to be mentally healthy to hold on to a retail job that requires her to answer endless texts and deal with us chasing her for a quota bag. I told my SA last week that I am gonna give her some space and we’ll touch base after the Holidays. Is it the SA job to sell? Yes! But there’s a person behind that job description and we need to have some emotional intelligence to remember that they have a lot of people texting them and pursuing them as well. It’s a hard balance to attain. We want the product and we expect the SA to facilitate that transaction. The company plays hard ball and the SA is caught in the middle of that crossfire, having to keep the balls up the air.

Interesting insight. This article points out that the relationship is all about the SA & why this Hermès’ strategy is successful.

The Psychology Behind the $500,000 Handbag

Are you in love with a handbag or obsessed with a watch you can’t afford? Knowing why may change your mind and save you cash.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[RitaLA]

Interesting insight. This article points out that the relationship is all about the SA & why this Hermès’ strategy is successful.

The Psychology Behind the $500,000 Handbag

Are you in love with a handbag or obsessed with a watch you can’t afford? Knowing why may change your mind and save you cash.

www.psychologytoday.com

OMG!!!! I love this!! Don’t want to go off topic but this article got me at the title, when it mentioned “psychopathic narcissism.” LOL I loved the content and makes total sense. I loved when it said, “Brands don’t live on the shelves of luxury boutiques; they live within the minds of people.” Darn … isn’t that true?? Now, I feel like I am in a rat race playing within a feedback loop of a narcissistic relationship, which I always tried to avoid at any cost. Just the fact the we have a thread maned “Maintaining a H relationship,” says it all. We might feel like the girlfriend who is chasing the guy who keeps playing games with us or the parents who will only reward us if we are the greatest kids in the family. Great insight and can you imagine if the customers applied CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) interventions on the SA to stop the intermittent rewards? They wouldn’t sell any bags!!!! One can dream. I would have to drop this forum and erase H from my brain hard drive

 

[IronOak]

Interesting insight. This article points out that the relationship is all about the SA & why this Hermès’ strategy is successful.

The Psychology Behind the $500,000 Handbag

Are you in love with a handbag or obsessed with a watch you can’t afford? Knowing why may change your mind and save you cash.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[tigergirl]

OMG!!!! I love this!! Don’t want to go off topic but this article got me at the title, when it mentioned “psychopathic narcissism.” LOL I loved the content and makes total sense. I loved when it said, “Brands don’t live on the shelves of luxury boutiques; they live within the minds of people.” Darn … isn’t that true?? Now, I feel like I am in a rat race playing within a feedback loop of a narcissistic relationship, which I always tried to avoid at any cost. Just the fact the we have a thread maned “Maintaining a H relationship,” says it all. We might feel like the girlfriend who is chasing the guy who keeps playing games with us or the parents who will only reward us if we are the greatest kids in the family. Great insight and can you imagine if the customers applied CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) interventions on the SA to stop the intermittent rewards? They wouldn’t sell any bags!!!! One can dream. I would have to drop this forum and erase H from my brain hard drive

Exactly. The thread’s name says it all. The intermittent rewards is what keeps us maintaining that relationship. The random nature of when you might be rewarded with a bag, not knowing how much to spend, how often you have to see your SA, what to buy in order to trigger a “reward” is like that one way relationship with a bad boyfriend. One day soon, we will get that bag of our dreams

 

[RitaLA]

Exactly. The thread’s name says it all. The intermittent rewards is what keeps us maintaining that relationship. The random nature of when you might be rewarded with a bag, not knowing how much to spend, how often you have to see your SA, what to buy in order to trigger a “reward” is like that one way relationship with a bad boyfriend. One day soon, we will get that bag of our dreams

I feel like the Pavlov’s dog, who he used for classical conditioning. His primary theory is that salivation is a learned behavior. We were taught well how to start “salivating” and our brains start shooting dopamine at the thought of getting a high coveted bag and being rewarded for spending the money and being thought as worthy of caring such an expensive bag. Mind you, I am not criticizing anyone because I am responsible for my willingness to be part of this madness bahahaha. I have a choice to get off this psychological train wreck. It’s just a matter of: “Do I want to?” Let me get my bags and then I will re-evaluate this relationship

 

[tigergirl]

I feel like the Pavlov’s dog, who he used for classical conditioning. His primary theory is that salivation is a learned behavior. We were taught well how to start “salivating” and our brains start shooting dopamine at the thought of getting a high coveted bag and being rewarded for spending the money and being thought as worthy of caring such an expensive bag. Mind you, I am not criticizing anyone because I am responsible for my willingness to be part of this madness bahahaha. I have a choice to get off this psychological train wreck. It’s just a matter of: “Do I want to?” Let me get my bags and then I will re-evaluate this relationship

I am willing to be part of this madness. I spent an hour searching thru this thread to find out how often I need to reach out to my SA because she says, it’s been a while (3 months), rewards me with a Constance 24 offer and says,” I know you’ve been waiting patiently for the K or B”, which triggers the intermittent reward/ Pavlov salivating reaction.

Back to the maintaining the relationship.. it seems that a visit of every 3 weeks is about right timing with a purchase of Jewelry, housewares/textiles or scarves seems to do the trick? (Maybe this will trigger the reward?)

 

[Etriers]

I am willing to be part of this madness. I spent an hour searching thru this thread to find out how often I need to reach out to my SA because she says, it’s been a while (3 months), rewards me with a Constance 24 offer and says,” I know you’ve been waiting patiently for the K or B”, which triggers the intermittent reward/ Pavlov salivating reaction.

Back to the maintaining the relationship.. it seems that a visit of every 3 weeks is about right timing with a purchase of Jewelry, housewares/textiles or scarves seems to do the trick? (Maybe this will trigger the reward?)

If you approach shopping in luxury boutiques this way for the rest of your life you’re going to lose your mind. Here’s the “Formula”:

1. Find a conscientious, professional SA with whom you click.
2. Email her once a year a list of the bags you want.
3. Shop in the store by appointment with her—only when you want, for only the things you want.
4. Relax.

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

If you approach shopping in luxury boutiques this way for the rest of your life you’re going to lose your mind. Here’s the “Formula”:

1. Find a conscientious, professional SA with whom you click.
2. Email her once a year a list of the bags you want.
3. Shop in the store by appointment with her—only when you want, for only the things you want.
4. Relax.

Yes Yes Yes 100% Yes!

 

[Hikitten]

Has anyone had experience with their wish list expiring? I had an SA I had put in my wish in with. She booked the color and specs I was looking for and everything but after about a year she left. When I got a new SA and told her I had been added to a waiting list she checked and said it was fine. If they cancel it someone will call me. Then a year goes by and She just now tells me that my wish has expired after a year. So basically my wish hasn’t been in the system the whole time I’ve been shopping with her. Does this mean I need to start fresh? Will I be back in the line? I don’t think my store plays the spend ratio game as I know people who have gotten quota bags with little spend. But I’m wondering how much longer will this take lol. I know each case is different but I’m going in next month to put my wish in again and wondering how to approach it.