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.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I think for now, the relationships are complementary, especially since you have two accounts. I have two remote SAs (one in a city I used to live in, one in a city where I have a second home) and get bags and interesting things from both (and RTW/jewelry is *really* easy).
I know for a fact that one of these SAs vastly prefers dealing by text and WeChat with clients they know well. The store seems fine with it (or they wouldn't let me pay online and get things messengered LOL).

Of course, in-person and long-term is the ideal relationship, so I'd prioritize your new SA, but don't drop the old one yet. If that relationship dries up then of course abandon it.

 

[carlinha]

I'm also for maintaining both, especially keeping one under your name, and the other under your wife's name. I don't think it will hurt you at all, only benefit you to have more contacts/relationships.

 

[showgratitude]

My question is a bit more nuanced, see history below.

History:

My wife and I are big Hermes spenders (well into the six figures), all on my account until recently. We have historically shopped in one store with a specific SA, however that store requires travel and not convenient. We also must regularly remind our SA about our wish list and requests (she has treated us well with multiple bags and SOs, but the constant follow up is exhausting, and the store has limited inventory and we regularly are not able to buy everything we want in RTW, shoes, and other categories.) For example, both my wife and I requested numerous RTW FW22 pieces before the store even did their buy, and we received none of them after multiple follow ups. On the other hand, our SA has a Horizon order in for us. Our gut feel is that because we are not local and come to make purchases every quarter or so, that we aren't really prioritized. We see others shopping with the same SA in the store that regularly get more offers (even more than the supposedly two quota bags per year!) They are local to the city and can easily go to the store.

We recently relocated and are within walking distance of a high-volume Hermes (this is dangerous!) This is also on the other side of the country from our previous store. We have been working with an SA in our local store, but we essentially are building a new relationship from scratch. She has been very responsive and accommodating and we have been able to get a lot of our SS 2023 requests fulfilled through her. No quota bags yet as we are new clients (but our spend is rapidly increasing so I expect some offers in 2023 if we continue to shop with her.)

Both SAs are "Selling Supervisors" if that matters.

Our goal is to develop/continue a great relationship with our SA(s) and continue to grow our bag collection and hopefully get some collectors' pieces eventually.

Our debate is should we:
1) continue to work with both SAs at different stores - but this feels a bit awkward. I can use my account in our old store and my wife can use her account in the new store to keep things separate (we have always done our purchases this way).
2) work exclusively with our existing SA on the other side of the country given the existing relationship and spend, and likely less "competition", but less options given it's a smaller volume store and we can't regularly visit;
3) work exclusively with the SA at our new store given that we can easily go into the store, but more "competition" with more options given it's a higher volume store?

Interested in everyone's thoughts and if anyone has previous experience here.

Thanks, and happy new year!

You'll have to do what you think will work well for you. The important thing to ask is---do you get along well with the new SA/do you have the rapport genuinely? Supplies have been limited during COVID plus more people are now interested in H items more than ever so that may be the reason why your SA#1 was not able to sell you what you like despite of the fact that you spend a lot of money with her already. You mentioned too that she treated you well with multiple bags and SOs. At this point you are not sure yet if the new H boutique will treat you the same/better. Closer or having face-to-face interaction doesn't always mean beautiful offers and that you no longer need to follow-up. You can do Option #1 for now and see if your new and close-by H boutique and SA will truly deliver just like your first one.....or give you a "better" treatment.

 

[Jsh88]

Thanks everyone for the advice! Plenty of angles to consider. We'll keep both relationships for now and see how 2023 goes with both SAs.

 

[nicolemil7]

To me, building a sincere relationship (Hermes or elsewhere) means not plotting out what may or may not transpire during a future meeting, and treating it like any other social interaction. If you read through these forums, some really hype building a strong personal connection via plotting out a timeline of what to say and when to ask for x y and z.

If you are pleasant, decisive and respectful of an SA's time (ie, I don't text off hours unless they do so first, and if I'm looking for a low cost item such as a Twilly, it'll be a 5-8 min endeavour max), that'll go MUCH further than the people who are forcing a 'relationship'.

I also come from the camp where I don't volunteer unnecessary information out to people. IF your (future) SA were to even say anything about the B25, it'd simply be something like "that is a beautiful bag on you."

I really appreciate the thoughtfulness behind your reply. I’ve read how difficult it can be to find a good SA that you connect with. I don’t have any interest in forcing a relationship which I why I bought my b from a reseller. I don’t like the idea of pretending to like someone or buying their rtw or jewelry (which I don’t love) in hopes to get a b or k offer. I feel like getting the bag of my dreams before starting a relationship with an SA removes all the pressure from myself and the SA. I don’t plan on buying another quota bag anytime soon. I’d likely even turn down an offer for one because I already have my dream bag and I prefer the idea of them being offered to someone who doesn’t already have a b or k. I do how we love their other leather goods (wallets, belts, shoes) and their homewares. I really look forward to working with a few SAs until I find the right fit.

 

[junngch]

Does SA contact clients to offer bags through text or phone call post-covid? I am a long time Hermes client but haven't shopped my home store since Covid. I went back to the store about 6 months ago but I've never been contacted for any bag offers in this period. My SA offered my bags when I visited the store several times but I didn't take them as they weren't the exact specs I asked for. Just wondering if I need to continue to go to the store in order to be offered something or I can just wait at home. Wondering how other's experiences are like? Thanks!

 

[acrowcounted]

Does SA contact clients to offer bags through text or phone call post-covid? I am a long time Hermes client but haven't shopped my home store since Covid. I went back to the store about 6 months ago but I've never been contacted for any bag offers in this period. My SA offered my bags when I visited the store several times but I didn't take them as they weren't the exact specs I asked for. Just wondering if I need to continue to go to the store in order to be offered something or I can just wait at home. Wondering how other's experiences are like? Thanks!

Hermes is now giving vast preference to in-person transactions. For best chance at a bag offer, visiting in person is key.

 

[waterlily112]

Does SA contact clients to offer bags through text or phone call post-covid? I am a long time Hermes client but haven't shopped my home store since Covid. I went back to the store about 6 months ago but I've never been contacted for any bag offers in this period. My SA offered my bags when I visited the store several times but I didn't take them as they weren't the exact specs I asked for. Just wondering if I need to continue to go to the store in order to be offered something or I can just wait at home. Wondering how other's experiences are like? Thanks!

Every SA works differently I'd think. My SA tend to only call me or leave me a voice message when she found something on my wish list, including bags, never through text. I guess because she has many clients so she wants immediate answer before she can tag or un-tag the items to the client's profile. Other than that, we mostly communicate via texts on locating items because usually what I want to order is not readily available in the boutique, and then schedule appointment so I get to check out the items in person before making the purchase. I think the in person interaction (even just a quick 10-15 minutes chat) helped building the relationship too, or at least a reminder for my SA that I'm still alive

 

[ntshstrk]

Hi all, started purchasing from H late last year and need some advice. I have bought a few things over the course of 3 visits with two SAs, the second I decided I would continue working with. She was very helpful during the holiday season, even to go so far as to respond to my e-mail request for an item within an hour. I e-mailed her a few days ago with a request for a passport holder but she has not responded, and I saw one in the website that I really like. I texted her to ask if she was in the process of looking for the item for me because I found it on the website and would rather she get credit for my purchase, but still no response. While I'd love to build a relationship with her, I'm not in the market for a QB, so it's not a priority right now. Still, I'd like her to get the credit.

My question: should I just purchase the item from the website? If I do that, I'm thinking of picking it up from the boutique so I can say hi to her and maybe pick-up a twilly and some cosmetics anyway. I feel like I'm overthinking and my gut says to just buy it from the website, but would love to hear your thoughts. I do like her and understand it can get pretty busy at the boutique and stock is scarce, but I also would like to be able to get the items I have my eye on, haha

EDIT: never mind, I just bought it online for pick-up at the store. Hopefully she'll respond to my e-mail asking for an appointment when I pick it up, but if she doesn't I don't mind working with another SA.

 

[junngch]

Every SA works differently I'd think. My SA tend to only call me or leave me a voice message when she found something on my wish list, including bags, never through text. I guess because she has many clients so she wants immediate answer before she can tag or un-tag the items to the client's profile. Other than that, we mostly communicate via texts on locating items because usually what I want to order is not readily available in the boutique, and then schedule appointment so I get to check out the items in person before making the purchase. I think the in person interaction (even just a quick 10-15 minutes chat) helped building the relationship too, or at least a reminder for my SA that I'm still alive

Thank waterlily112! It's good that you receive calls when SA finds something on your wish list. I've never received any message from my SA for my wishlist. Mine is really friendly when I visit the store but it seems my SA has been overwhelmed with the amount of clients after covid and has no time to maintain relationship. I will continue to go to the store to remind her and build the relationship.

Hermes is now giving vast preference to in-person transactions. For best chance at a bag offer, visiting in person is key.

Thank acrowcounted! I kind of have the feeling that it's more likely to be offered a bag in person. I will go to store from time to time.

 

[litto3]

How many SA’s do you use before finding the right one? What happens if you commit, but feel like they’re not the right one? Do you tell your SA if you’re going to be shopping at a different location out of state or out of the country?

 

[ntshstrk]

How many SA’s do you use before finding the right one? What happens if you commit, but feel like they’re not the right one? Do you tell your SA if you’re going to be shopping at a different location out of state or out of the country?

In the context of my comment above, this was the second SA that I had worked with at the boutique and I did like her since she responded to my e-mails during the holiday season in less than an hour and we basically got all the items we wanted to gift. However when she didn't respond to my e-mails about the item I wanted from the website, I thought I'd move on but see if I can still set up and appointment pick-up my item from her and maybe purchase a twilly and some cosmetics at the same time. If she wouldn't respond to that as well, then I'd work with another SA at the boutique and maintain cordiality with the other. At the end of the day, it's a business transaction, and as a client I want my basic needs met. Trial and error until I find the right synergy. But maybe I'm more relaxed about this because I'm not in the market for a QB.

 

[Yodabest]

I have a pretty good purchase history and would like to request a bag through my lovely SA. I am not sure if I would like to request a birkin or kelly, as I would be thrilled with either. Is it better to put in a more specific request? Or tell her my size/leather preference for each bag and that I’d be happy with whatever becomes available first? TIA for any advice!

 

[HippieHeart]

if you have no preference you can tell your SA you'd be open to either the birkin or the kelly? usually i give my SA very specific options, but a range, so that she has some room to work her magic good luck with your purchase!

 

[allanrvj]

1. Don't call it a quota bag when talking about it with your SA.
2. Tell her what you like. A birkin in this size color leather hardware, or a kelly in this size color leather hardware.
3. Tell her if you are very specific about your bag, or if you're open to other combos. Either is fine. One is not better than the other. what's important is what you prefer.

Good luck!