I just returned from an epic trip to Europe and thought I would share my experience and my scores for those getting ready to go or for those planning in the future. A few quick points of background:
- I live in LA and my home stores are either BH or NPB and although I have a longgggg and voluminous (think 7 figures) history of purchasing, I have only received one bag offer in my home stores. Admittedly, she was my absolute dream bag (K28 Noir Sellier Epsom GHW), but I swear someone on the list had to die before I got it, and I’m pretty sure that’s what happened). Moving on..
- I was offered a B35 in 2018 in Gold Togo GHW in Tokyo after a nominal (maybe 2k?) RTW spend (accepted)
- Two Evelyns purchased off the home site by the grace of god, good timing, and fast fingers!
- Wallets offered all over the world, most accepted
Ok.. here we go.
I was traveling to Europe for Star Wars Celebration with my teenage sons, which was happening in London, so naturally after the convention we had planned to travel to Paris. I had never been to any of the Hermès stores in Paris as Paris just hadn’t been on my travel list for quite some time. I was new to the appointment system, but I made sure I did my research and of course, scoured every single video of both success and failure, so I knew what I was up against. My two sons and myself all applied as we were leaving London and getting ready to go on the train. I really was naïve and thinking at least one of us will get an appointment based on the research I had done. I also had seen in some of the videos, that if you had a purchase history in Paris, then you may be prioritized for an appointment. So as soon as we got to the hotel, I walked over to the George V location and made my acquaintance with one of the SAs.
To protect her identity, we are going to refer to her as Lor. Lor and I got to talking as I was looking for home goods and we just simply hit it off. We both had similar backgrounds and children and also busted up knees lol. So we spent about an hour chatting and looking at different items: home stuff, Twillies and scarves and I ended up purchasing some very cute, bedside bowls for my jewelry and a few scarves.
I told her I had applied that day for an appointment for the following day and asked her to wish me luck. She was very sweet and said “I will wish you luck. I hope you get it and if it’s the George V store you can ask for me and I will help you find your dream bag.” I left the store very encouraged and excited and made my way back to the hotel. That evening, around 8:05 PM all three of us got what I will affectionately refer to as the “Je suis désolé” email lol. I was mildly disappointed, but we were going to be there for another three days so we had at least another two chances. And since all three of us were requesting, we had hoped that at least the odds were somewhat in our favor.
The following day, we reapplied for an appointment on the site and made our way to FSH to browse and do some recon. I brought along my sons, who are 16 and 19. Of course, I styled them beautifully with Hermès scarves, and was also styled head to toe in the brand, myself. My eldest son was looking for new Apple Watch bands, so we were instructed to go upstairs and wait for a SA to come to help us. It took some time, but finally a lovely woman named Sara, (not her real name) came to help us. She is a mentor to the other SAs and was incredibly patient and helpful. My son picked out two watch bands that he loved. My other son was looking for cologne. So we went downstairs and Sara helped us sample at least 10 to 12 different scents. None of them he liked, so we decided to look for twillies for their girlfriends.
They each picked out one for each of their girlfriends, and I picked out a few scarves for myself. We then went to the leather section, and asked Sara if the wallets were available for men. We saw some on the counter, and before she could say yes, she had to check whether or not we could purchase them. She came back and said we could, so each of my sons picked out a wallet for themselves. I then got a little bold, and asked her if she had any Kelly To Go wallets. She hesitated for a moment, and then she said yes let me go and find one you might like. She came back a few minutes later with an etoupe in the box leather, which could not be less my style. I let her know that I prefer Epsom in the Kelly wallets, and in black. At first, she hesitated, but then she said, let me go check. She came back about five minutes later with the exact wallet I was looking for!
Normally, you need to have a leather appointment to get the wallets, especially the To Go wallets, but I guess I had already spent enough to deserve one in her eyes. We checked out, and I hoped that the 12k in spend in two days, would surely lead to an appointment the following day.
That evening we waited patiently for 8 PM to arrive, but this time the “je suis désolé” email didn’t come until almost 10 PM. I was obviously very disappointed, knowing that we only had one more chance for an appointment.
The following day we applied again and after our sightseeing, we decided to go back to George V so that Lor could meet my sons and I could look at some jewelry. We came in and I purchased six very cute bracelets and several more scarves as the boys charmed and entertained Lor, as we all bonded even more.
That evening the “Je suis désolé” came through once again, and of course I was devastated. That was our last chance for an appointment as we would be leaving early the day after next. We went to dinner, and although I was devastated, I was still so excited about our purchases and the experience we had. I chalked it up to it just not being my time, this time.
The next day we had planned on lots of sightseeing, including the Eiffel tower, the Louvre and Versailles. Just on a lark, I texted Lor in the morning and said what a wonderful time it was meeting her and that if she ever found herself in LA to give me a call and also if she could keep her ear out for a leather appointment cancellation that day I would be so grateful.
We were getting ready to take the RER to Versailles when I got a text from Lor that there was a cancellation at 3:30 and did I want it? Posted the conversation below for maximum effect LOL!
We quickly left the train station and caught an Uber and made our way back to George V. We excitedly went to the desk and let them know we had an appointment. Several of the SAs in the store already knew us and they were so excited for us! They led us upstairs to wait for Lor, and we got to talking to another SA (we’ll call him Michel) who is one of the leather associates. We really hit it off with him as well. (I’m bringing my sons to every appointment from now on lol). And he told us some things that were really interesting. I may post this in another thread, but the gist of it is that they truly hate this appointment system, and they also hate the way that the brand either stocks or allows which person to get a bag. I found it fascinating and honestly made me even more empathetic for the SAs who just truly want to make us happy.
Back to the topic… Lor comes to greet us and asks me what I’m looking for. There is only one bag that I have been dreaming about which you would think would be easy to get since it is such a staple, but again death would have to happen in my home store lol. I ask her for a B30 in noir Togo GHW. She didn’t seem like that was such a big deal but just in case I gave her a few other options. She left to go look for my bag while the boys and I tried to contain my excitement. A few minutes later, she came back with the right size box, and I was already starting to build incredible amounts of excitement that were nearly bursting out of me. She led us into a private room, and Michel followed her. We continued chatting for another few minutes and then Michel left while Lor presented the bag. As she was opening the box she let me know that she got my exact bag that I was looking for. I don’t know how I maintained my composure when she opened this box. But let’s just say it was like someone was opening the box to a baby unicorn that had just appeared on earth for the first time. I looked at her and said, this is an obvious yes, and started laughing. After a little while we were chatting and she asked me if I was looking for anything else and I said yes, I was looking for a Nata picotin 22 with gold hardware, but I would also consider any other neutral 22 if she had it.
When she left the boys and I took a minute to celebrate and believe me, they were just as happy for me as I was. They were so happy my dream finally came true. When she came back, she had another big box and a couple of small rodeo boxes. The pico 22 she found was in gold with palladium hardware which was quite literally second on my list. So that was also an obvious yes. She also brought two Pegasus charms that were very cute and I accepted those as well.
After I checked out and gave hugs and kisses and thank you’s to everyone, my sons and I practically ran down the Champs Élysées back to our hotel lol. I was taking no chance of anyone messing with us holding all of these very obvious bags ha ha. When we got back upstairs to my suite, I couldn’t wait to unbox her again and just take a minute to admire her. Now that I’m home she’s taking her place amongst my other Birkin and Kelly and I will not be using at least five credit cards for the next 2 to 3 years. Totally worth it!!!
tl/dr: The appointment system is a true lottery, and you are up against 200k entries a day, so it really is just luck, and no purchase history matters. SAs are real people. Be yourself, have fun, and make friends- and remember they need to make money to support their own families, so spend a little if you find something you love! You never know what it will lead to!
Lol appointment convo and bag hauls:
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I’m just going to say ”but STILL.…” as code for the OT lament about the decline of the H shopping experience in comparison with what it used to be
I am going to DM you bc I would love your advice.
