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 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.

 

[880]

Don’t know if others mean it this way, but when I say 5X. . .i mean 5X roughly the price of a QB. So about 50- 60 ish USD. When i refer to 5X plus between accepted offers, I mean 10X per year (assuming roughly two accepted offers a year). There are quite a few clients who spend 5X per visit; I am not one of them. The ratio is something I’ve only roughly estimated for my home store. For a RTW collection that I love, I spend more; if there is nothing that appeals, I don’t purchase. FSH SAs have repeatedly told me that there is no such requirement there due to lack of commission. But, it seems such advice varies, so just my own experience.

 

[QuelleFromage]

nm, seriously

 

[Midge Maisel]

Don’t know if others mean it this way, but when I say 5X. . .i mean 5X roughly the price of a QB. So about 50- 60 ish USD. When i refer to 5X plus between accepted offers, I mean 10X per year (assuming roughly two accepted offers a year). There are quite a few clients who spend 5X per visit; I am not one of them. The ratio is something I’ve only roughly estimated for my home store. For a RTW collection that I love, I spend more; if there is nothing that appeals, I don’t purchase. FSH SAs have repeatedly told me that there is no such requirement there due to lack of commission. But, it seems such advice varies, so just my own experience.

Interesting insight. I emphasized two sentences that I think are very important to keep in mind: while this is logical, no one should take anything as a hard and fast rule, and experiences can and will vary from person to person, store to store, and country to country.

 

[ladysarah]

The math equations here are beginning to really stress me out. Perhaps I am just going to try and pretend being normal and shopping like a normal person.(LOL)

 

[QuelleFromage]

The math equations here are beginning to really stress me out. Perhaps I am just going to try and pretend being normal and shopping like a normal person.(LOL)

It's been working so far for many of us

 

[Deleted 793791]

I would be cautious about some of postings here.

1. Spending is associated with getting a QB, but it's not a causation. Some people say 3X, 4X, or even 6X is normal (since there are many high spenders out there) and they even instigate this amount of spending to get a bag (even when they say "just you know..."). However, there are people who only spent 4-7K a year and still got 2 QBs in the same year. Theses low spenders may not even bother to post here because people can be jealous or for other reasons.

2. Some people here are clearly long-term H clients and they ARE VIPs, even if they deny that they are the VIPs. (It's like "Oh, I am only making 600K a year and I know I am not rich (or just average) because a lot of people around me make 750K or even a million a year.") By the way, do we even have a clear definition of what it means to be a VIP at H? I asked my SA what it means to be a VIP a while ago, and she told me that, "You are VIP. Don't worry about it." (I know she is just being kind.)

Addendum to #1: I also think that the "pre-spending" is a cultural thing created by the clients in the US. In countries with the wishlist systems, pre-spending is not necessary while it helps.

 

[880]

Interesting insight. I emphasized two sentences that I think are very important to keep in mind: while this is logical, no one should take anything as a hard and fast rule, and experiences can and will vary from person to person, store to store, and country to country.

Agree 100%. The only reason why I give the explanation X = the price of a QB in ones local boutique is simply bc members have often asked why can’t I get a certain offer if im at 3X.

Personally, I reject more offers than I accept, and I would never advise buying anything unless you love what you buy independent of a bag offer. Bc no matter how much anyone spends, no one is entitled to an offer based on spend or relationship.

To tie this back to H SA relstionships, my SA in my local maison has also told me that when he was first trained, spend didn’t matter. But, any SA relationship will be stressed by a client who feels entitled.

ETA: there are already a number of posts re what constitutes a VIP. Since this sub forum is mainly focused on bag acquisition, one might define VIP here as those clients who can easily obtain more than two of their desired/wishlist QBs every year at their home boutique (by that metric I am not one).

However, my SA defines VIPs as regular lifestyle clients (and between my DH and I, we qualify some years when we love the merchandise and not other years lol)

i believe that I read somewhere on TPF that chanel used to award VIP status to clients who spent 250K USD on non bag merchandise annually. I’ve always assumed that Hermes and other premier big brands would not fall far from this mark. And, I am not including those longtime clients who are VIP by virtue of their tenure and relationships. Clearly those longstanding clients seem to be exempt.

The only certainty is that there are really no rules bc experiences differ so broadly. JMO of course

 

[MacawGuy]

Agree 100%. The only reason why I give the explanation X = the price of a QB in ones local boutique is simply bc members have often asked why can’t I get a certain offer if im at 3X.

Personally, I reject more offers than I accept, and I would never advise buying anything unless you love what you buy independent of a bag offer. Bc no matter how much anyone spends, no one is entitled to an offer based on spend or relationship.

To tie this back to H SA relstionships, my SA in my local maison has also told me that when he was first trained, spend didn’t matter. But, any SA relationship will be stressed by a client who feels entitled.

ETA: there are already a number of posts re what constitutes a VIP. Since this sub forum is mainly focused on bag acquisition, one might define VIP here as those clients who can easily obtain more than two of their desired/wishlist QBs every year at their home boutique (by that metric I am not one).

However, my SA defines VIPs as regular lifestyle clients (and between my DH and I, we qualify some years when we love the merchandise and not other years lol)

i believe that I read somewhere on TPF that chanel used to award VIP status to clients who spent 250K USD on non bag merchandise annually. I’ve always assumed that Hermes and other premier big brands would not fall far from this mark. And, I am not including those longtime clients who are VIP by virtue of their tenure and relationships. Clearly those longstanding clients seem to be exempt.

The only certainty is that there are really no rules bc experiences differ so broadly. JMO of course

This is all very well said. Based on everything I’ve seen and heard here and elsewhere, it really seems like every persons “path” to getting their first QB is unique.

It’s a little disheartening of course to know that so many people in my location likely spend more at Hermes per year than my total income haha. But I do think (or hope) that brand loyalty and SA relationships go beyond just $$$ alone.

 

[880]

This is all very well said. Based on everything I’ve seen and heard here and elsewhere, it really seems like every persons “path” to getting their first QB is unique.

It’s a little disheartening of course to know that so many people in my location likely spend more at Hermes per year than my total income haha. But I do think (or hope) that brand loyalty and SA relationships go beyond just $$$ alone.

Thank you @MacawGuy.

I did want to add that my home SA is not a leather SA. (I’m primarily a RTW and homeware client) In a large flagship or maison, he may be a bit less likely to be authorized to offer a specialty bag to any of his roster. In a smaller boutique, the distinction may not matter at all.

On the other hand, it has been suggested to me that if an established SA has a bunch of big clients who already have many bags, there is definitely room to award the wish for a first time bag to a newer client with room to grow.

 

[Love Of My Life]

The math equations here are beginning to really stress me out. Perhaps I am just going to try and pretend being normal and shopping like a normal person.(LOL)

Simply said, shop at the level you are comfortable with meaning not to put oneself into
"debt" to get the bag of ones dreams
In the long run, one might be better off just biting the bullet & going the resale route, instead
of buying categories that one may not really want just to build a profile, JMO

 

[NotAnotherPuffySleeve]

Question re: Maintaining Relationship:

Today I visited the store to exchange a couple of cosmetics and also added an additional number of cosmetics on top of the exchange. I mentioned to one of the free SAs that I knew my SA would be out today, would she or anyone else mind handling the exchange and adding a few items to it? I assumed she would ring it up under my SA’s name (as that is the way it has been handled in the past on the rare occasion my SA was out). However, I double checked the receipt when I got home, and she rang it up under her name. I am not happy as I expected my SA to get the sale.

Should I mention something to my SA or would that just cause more problems? Just for reference, I made a much larger purchase with her the day before (much more than the cosmetics I returned for) and generally have a very good working relationship with my SA.

 

[acrowcounted]

Question re: Maintaining Relationship:

Today I visited the store to exchange a couple of cosmetics and also added an additional number of cosmetics on top of the exchange. I mentioned to one of the free SAs that I knew my SA would be out today, would she or anyone else mind handling the exchange and adding a few items to it? I assumed she would ring it up under my SA’s name (as that is the way it has been handled in the past on the rare occasion my SA was out). However, I double checked the receipt when I got home, and she rang it up under her name. I am not happy as I expected my SA to get the sale.

Should I mention something to my SA or would that just cause more problems? Just for reference, I made a much larger purchase with her the day before (much more than the cosmetics I returned for) and generally have a very good working relationship with my SA.

I wouldn't worry about it. In the grand scheme of things this is a very small purchase and won't have much effect on your profile overall. However, to avoid this kind of thing in the future, only work with your own SA. In my opinion, the SA who is taking time out of their day to assist with a sale is the one who should be getting the credit and I would feel weird asking for that credit to go to someone who isn't even there. The best course of action would have been to wait for a day when your SA could be there, and if not, ask for the assistant manager/manager to process the return and come back another day for additional purchases. (Also, SAs seem to be negatively impacted when another SA has to handle a return from their client. I'm not sure exactly to what extent this negative is given but they seem to appreciate being the person allowed to handle it.)

 

[NotAnotherPuffySleeve]

I wouldn't worry about it. In the grand scheme of things this is a very small purchase and won't have much effect on your profile overall. However, to avoid this kind of thing in the future, only work with your own SA. In my opinion, the SA who is taking time out of their day to assist with a sale is the one who should be getting the credit and I would feel weird asking for that credit to go to someone who isn't even there. The best course of action would have been to wait for a day when your SA could be there, and if not, ask for the assistant manager/manager to process the return and come back another day for additional purchases. (Also, SAs seem to be negatively impacted when another SA has to handle a return from their client. I'm not sure exactly to what extent this negative is given but they seem to appreciate being the person allowed to handle it.)

Great advice. Thank you so much.

 

[tinkerbell68]

The only certainty is that there are really no rules bc experiences differ so broadly.

^^^^^^^^^

The only real answer to so many of the questions posed in this thread!

 

[DoggieBags]

I’ll preface my comments by saying I already have several QBs so I’m not usually actively looking for anything specific these days. But what’s worked for me over the years is if I have a specific QB in mind, I’ll mention it to my SA during one of my in store appointments. I’ll show her a pic just so we’re on the same page. Responses range anywhere from let me check and after checking, yes I’ll let you know when one comes in, or are you sure you really want that?, or haven’t seen one of those in years so you may be waiting years for that one, or a lot of people are asking for that (which I just assume means it probably won’t happen for me ). But I’d say the bulk of my QBs were surprise offers of bags I never thought to ask for but loved when I saw them. If I mention a specific bag, it’s once and then I forget about it. If it happens, great, but if it does not, I assume there will be some other great bag somewhere down the road. My SA appreciates that I’m not always asking or talking about bags. She gets enough requests every day that she doesn’t need me adding to the pressure. Same works for RTW which is mostly what I buy these days. I’ll ask for specific things and if they show up and fit me and are within my price range, great. If they don’t show up, something else unexpected will probably show up at some point. The whole thing is very laid back.