I want to report back from our Valentine’s Day trip to Paris. I was looking for K25/K28 (preferably Sellier), B25/B30 in either craie, pink (rose sakura/rose d’ete), or anything neutral like etoupe or etain.
Landed on 2/14 Friday early morning, both husband and I applied for an appt. the day before for this day and were both rejected. It didn’t bothered me as I had an appointment with my SA at Sèvres store that day at 3pm which I very much looked forward to. She helped me a few years ago with a quota bag and was able to give me an appt for this trip. We arrived at our appt at Sevres and was in shock to find that she was not there and had been out that week. She also did not notify me. Another SA took over the appt and informed us no stock after we gave my wishlist. We then dropped by FSH, where the leather appt host was borderline rude sternly reciting a robotic script how there was no walk-in appt available and needed an online appt.
2/15 Sat- applied for appt on 2/14 for this day and both rejected again. We lined up at the Sèvres store around 10am and was seen by another SA right away once store was opened. Same thing, the SA said “no stock” as it was a Saturday. We dropped by FSH after lunch hoping to get a walk-in appt. We got lucky because even though the rude host from the day before was there, there was another host who helped us and granted a walk-in appt. We were seen by a SA right away. He seemed genuine and informed us no stock but offered me a C18 bleu electric GHW. I politely declined as I did not love that color and blue was not on my list. I then bought a pair of sandals from another SA in the shoes dept. I have to say I was pretty disappointed at this point, not only my SA cancelled on me the day before and now been rejected online appts and got no offers three times in person.
2/17 Monday - applied online on sat and we were rejected again. Lined up at the Sèvres store around 10:15am. This time we were not seen right away and waited until around 11:45am to be seen. Got another SA and he said no stock as the store is under renovation so stock is lower than usual since they don’t have the storage space they had before. After lunch we dropped by FSH and got the same rude host as 2/14 and was told no appt. At this point I was completely defeated and mentally prepared myself going home empty handed. Regardless, we had a great trip and since we’ve been in Paris many times, it did not affect our sightseeing plans.
2/18 Tuesday - we both were rejected online appt for the 4th attempt (8 total). Initially, I felt the urge to line up at George V as I felt I would regret had I not tried to line up one more time. But my husband didn’t not want me to line up so I decided to have a relaxing morning with him instead of rushing to stand in line. Even though I didn’t have any hope, a voice inside (God) told me to just go to FSH store after we took our time getting up and had breakfast. The same host who declined us a walk-in appt on 2/14 and 2/17 was not there at the moment which was a great sign. This other host looked me up and said I had an appt (which I did - walk-in on sat), then was reluctant to give me one. My wise husband quickly chimed in asking to look him up and was able to get an appt under his name. Few minutes after this exchange, the rude host we previously dealt with returned from her break, so thank God we barely dodged her. (Side note - it seems to me H really want 1 FSH appt per person per trip. Of course, there are exceptions to any H rule but I think those who got online appts will not likely be granted another if they applied online again.) We were told to wait w/o a designated time so we browsed wallets for my hubby while we waited. When we received a text that our leather SA was almost ready, we informed our SLG SA. The SLG SA then send us off to our leather SA. Hubby tentatively picked out a card holder.
Our SA was nice and took us upstairs. She asked what we were looking for. We gave her my wishlist and 20mins or so she returned with some orange boxes. One of them in small bag box size which was a good sign. She said she had something for me even though it is not exactly what I was looking for. “I don’t have the colors you are looking for but something close to it,” she said. Seriously, at this point I didn’t even care if it is not the exact color, I was just thankful I was offered something. She opened the dust bag and lo and behold, I saw the most beautiful bag, my dream bag - K28 craie Sellier GHW. It has the exact specs I wanted on my #1 wishlist. I was in disbelief that she was joking with me that she didn’t have the exact specs and offered me my dream bag. I was so defeated/disappointed and this moment felt like the rainbow after a rain storm, a magical dream. I know, sounds a bit bag crazy but some of you could relate. Still in shock, I naturally got very emotional, teared up, and profusely thanked her. Never in my H journey had I gotten the exact combo specs I wanted and my sweet SA made my ultimate H dream come true. Like light at the end of a tunnel, all efforts we went through were not in vain. If we were offered other colors, we wouldn't have bought the a fourbi 20 she offered. However, due to the light color of craie, I decided it was a good idea to get it to protect the interior. We also picked up other small items and hubby's card holder.
In sum, the reality is it has gotten harder and harder throughout the years, not only getting a BKC but even so just getting an appointment in Paris. Stars have to align to get an appointment, then an offer. Reading success stories here gave me hope but the truth is that there are many times more of unsuccessful stories not being reported. The rejections are difficult and for me it dampers the vacation regardless of being okay going home empty handed. While I’m soooo grateful for this happy ending and dream offer, I don't think I would go through this again.
