My opinion of Hermes is changing...

[tonkamama]

Well i think its really quite 2-way.
Im sure the sales staff have no lack of people buttering up to them in hopes of scoring a b or k so whats new. 😝

I agree totally! As a matter of fact, it all comes down to almost everything we "want"....supply vs demand!

As for me I always be friendly with my SA (why not?) but will not go out of my way to please anyone to change anything. However I kicked myself nowadays for not taking their offers of a B back in the old days when I was totally not into the B.

 

[charmesh]

I'm annoyed by the facts that they hide the good bags in the back & then lie and say they aren't there. If you have a bag& I ask for it, sell it to me. They hoard things for their little cliques. It's like they only sell the best things to a handful of customers who have time to kiss a SA's behind

 

[Handbag1234]

In my personal experience the larger stores with high footfall play the spend a lot, get a coveted item game.

I have found a much smaller store that caters for a small local clientele with few tourists passing by. I pop in now and then, say hello and buy what I need/fancy from what they have in stock. The customer service is personal, and the whole vibe is different to large stores. They have my wish list of hard to get items. If one comes in great, if it doesn't I won't lose any sleep or feel the urge to spend the price of a decent car on stuff I don't want or need.

This store has restored my love of all things H, and I avoid the other stores with poor customer service and pushy sales.

 

[charmesh]

In my personal experience the larger stores with high footfall play the spend a lot, get a coveted item game.

I have found a much smaller store that caters for a small local clientele with few tourists passing by. I pop in now and then, say hello and buy what I need/fancy from what they have in stock. The customer service is personal, and the whole vibe is different to large stores. They have my wish list of hard to get items. If one comes in great, if it doesn't I won't lose any sleep or feel the urge to spend the price of a decent car on stuff I don't want or need.

This store has restored my love of all things H, and I avoid the other stores with poor customer service and pushy sales.

I'm in Notthern California not many boutiques to choose from.

 

[doves75]

In my personal experience the larger stores with high footfall play the spend a lot, get a coveted item game.



I have found a much smaller store that caters for a small local clientele with few tourists passing by. I pop in now and then, say hello and buy what I need/fancy from what they have in stock. The customer service is personal, and the whole vibe is different to large stores. They have my wish list of hard to get items. If one comes in great, if it doesn't I won't lose any sleep or feel the urge to spend the price of a decent car on stuff I don't want or need.



This store has restored my love of all things H, and I avoid the other stores with poor customer service and pushy sales.

I totally agree with you Handbag1234! 👍👍

 

[catsinthebag]

In my personal experience the larger stores with high footfall play the spend a lot, get a coveted item game.

I have found a much smaller store that caters for a small local clientele with few tourists passing by. I pop in now and then, say hello and buy what I need/fancy from what they have in stock. The customer service is personal, and the whole vibe is different to large stores. They have my wish list of hard to get items. If one comes in great, if it doesn't I won't lose any sleep or feel the urge to spend the price of a decent car on stuff I don't want or need.

This store has restored my love of all things H, and I avoid the other stores with poor customer service and pushy sales.

I agree, Handbag1234, the feel of the store makes a huge difference. I really love my local store. Everyone is so nice and down to earth. A couple of years ago, I walked into H Madison Ave in New York and was shocked at the attitude. If that had been the first H store I ever went to, I never would have started buying the product.

I do consider my SA a friend, but it is a friendship that exists within the walls of H. We've commiserated over husbands, families and pets, and I like her personally and I believe she likes me. It is a friendship, just a limited one, and that's fine.

 

[golconda]

My feelings have changed as the bags have become more and more expensive, and I think twice about where I carry them.
I could be described as the grandmother with the exotic Birkin bought at prices now charged for Togo.
I am not comfortable carrying a bag that others may think cost more than a new car, even though it did not.
My manicurist told me that the client after me told her that my bag cost $50,000. This was embarrassing to me. This Birkin was not even exotic and was over 20 years old and cost under $4000.
I know things have changed and I certainly do not mean to offend others who may feel differently.

 

[esmeh]

My feelings have changed as the bags have become more and more expensive, and I think twice about where I carry them.
I could be described as the grandmother with the exotic Birkin bought at prices now charged for Togo.
I am not comfortable carrying a bag that others may think cost more than a new car, even though it did not.
My manicurist told me that the client after me told her that my bag cost $50,000. This was embarrassing to me. This Birkin was not even exotic and was over 20 years old and cost under $4000.
I know things have changed and I certainly do not mean to offend others who may feel differently.

+1

 

[purselover888]

I believe 628628 is a regular customer at her boutique and has had her fair share of offers for hard-to-get Hermes bags. She hardly needs to be educated on what a relationship between an SA and customer means and entails...

My FSH SA is the very first to encourage me to buy outside of Hermes if I send him a photo of an Hermes bag that I really covet and cannot purchase at the boutiques at that moment. He will even send me photos of Hermes items that he thinks I might like that are found elsewhere (yes including non-Hermes outlets.)

While I wouldn't say we are each other's confidantes, he has become a dear friend and a trusted SA. I even send him links to some stories that I've read here and he has helped verify what's true and what's not

And btw, I would never run to him (or any SA for that matter) if things go awry in my life. But then who does that?

That to me is a most healthy perspective on the SA-client relationship.

 

[Leah]

That to me is a most healthy perspective on the SA-client relationship.

Thank you purselover888

The reality is, despite some dissatisfaction with Hermes by some people, which luxury brand is an alternative to Hermes? None as far as I'm personally concerned.

I bet even the skunk issue hasn't affected the brand's image over-all, and I think it will be external forces like an economic crunch that will impact Hermes, rather than any recent reputational issues.

 

[charmesh]

Thank you purselover888

The reality is, despite some dissatisfaction with Hermes by some people, which luxury brand is an alternative to Hermes? None as far as I'm personally concerned.

I bet even the skunk issue hasn't affected the brand's image over-all, and I think it will be external forces like an economic crunch that will impact Hermes, rather than any recent reputational issues.

Hiring your own leather craftsman. Somebody who actually hand stitches the whole bag.

 

[Leah]

Hiring your own leather craftsman. Somebody who actually hand stitches the whole bag.

That sounds like a good alternative option and I have seen some talented leather artisans working in small leather boutiques in Europe.

But with Hermes, you have the assurance that if things fall apart, the boutique will be there to fix and repair it, even decades down the road (albeit at increasingly scary higher spa prices.)

With local artisans, who knows if they will even be in business 5-7 years from now.

As many of us have shared, we've had our quality issues with the likes of Chanel and Bottega Veneta as well.

A relationship with Hermes is like dating that hot bad boy in your teens - despite some disappointments, you just keep coming back because the alternatives are just so unexciting LOL

 

[MsHermesAU]

A relationship with Hermes is like dating that hot bad boy in your teens - despite some disappointments, you just keep coming back because the alternatives are just so unexciting LOL

:lolots::lolots:

 

[hermes_lemming]

My feelings have changed as the bags have become more and more expensive, and I think twice about where I carry them.
I could be described as the grandmother with the exotic Birkin bought at prices now charged for Togo.
I am not comfortable carrying a bag that others may think cost more than a new car, even though it did not.
My manicurist told me that the client after me told her that my bag cost $50,000. This was embarrassing to me. This Birkin was not even exotic and was over 20 years old and cost under $4000.
I know things have changed and I certainly do not mean to offend others who may feel differently.

Don't you just hate that cattiness? I saw it evident in a N yet beautiful woman I know. We happened to pass by a H boutique and we watched as a blond woman walked into the boutqiue, carrying a black togo B. She said tsk tsk under her breath saying how can anyone in their right mind spend $15k on a handbag. She at the time was on welfare, divorced and mother to child. I was shocked at her statement and remained mum.

+1

 

[purplepoodles]

All so true! So well put Leah