Sorry, this took me a while to post. We are back from Paris and the Christmas rush is over, so I have some time to go into more detail about my experience at FSH.
My husband and I were in Paris for about 3 days and tried every day for an appointment at FSH with no luck. I wanted to get a few things other than a quota bag so I figured we could stop in and ask if they had any cancellations since we were already there. It was a Saturday morning in December, around 11:45am when we arrived at the FSH store. We walked in and I asked the first person I saw if they had any cancellations and she directed me to another associate to check for availability. While I was walking over to check I noticed someone right behind me following because she too was hoping to get an appointment. Luckily for us there was one cancellation. The associate gave us the iPad and asked us to put our information down and asked us to wait a few minutes for an SA to assist us. While waiting for our SA I decided to check out the scarf section and got sidetracked with all the beautiful display items. About 10 minutes passed by before I got a call from my husband telling me the SA was ready for us, so I quickly walked back to where we were waiting. The SA greeted me and took us to the second floor where it was quieter. We sat down at a desk, and she asked me what I was looking for and took notes. ‘What colors do I like, what colors don't I like. What's my hardware preference?’ We then chatted for a few minutes before she said she would go check to see if there is anything that she could find for me. We didn't wait long, maybe 5 minutes and when I saw her come back so soon, I felt a bit disappointed but then she said to us "Let's go somewhere more private, I have something that I really think you will like." So, we walked up to the 3rd floor, where there was no one around, no bags in case being displayed so I thought this had to be good! She had 3 boxes with her, the first she opened was a small box... I immediately signaled to my husband "it's a 2-5" and I was right. She pulled out a Swift Birkin 25 retourne in magnolia with PHW. I immediately told her I'd take it. She then offered a fourbi which I was on the fence about, but she and hubby convinced me to get it. The third box was a leather accessory for the Birkin but I wasn’t sure what it’s called. It was a flat piece with a zipper on one side with two holes that goes over the handles of the Birkin (or Kelly) and is like an outer pocket for your Birkin. Hubby insisted I get it but then asked if we had to worry about color transfer since it was black. Our SA went to check and came back advising us that we should pass on it because color transfer is a possibility. After she showed us all the items in the boxes, we told her about how we got engaged on the rooftop of the Hermes rooftop garden and that Michael Coste said he would come see us when we visited the store, so she called Michael to let him know we were there. He came within a few minutes, we chatted for a bit before making our way over to the Hermes Airship (holiday display/workshop) for photos. Afterwards we went back to our SA and she asked if there was anything else I was looking for and I told her I’d love to pick out some twillies for the new Birkin but also a Birkin 30 I recently purchased. After we picked out some twillies I went back through my wishlist (notes in my phone) and asked her for a pair of Story Boots. She checked her phone and told me there’s one showing in my size but usually that means it’s out of stock if it’s showing ‘1’ in their inventory. She left for a few minutes and came back with the Story Boots. She asked me again if there was anything else I’d like while there and I told her I’d love to get a gift for my mom and I had a mini Lindy or mini 24/24 in mind, preferably in a neutral shade like black or gold. She informed me that the mini Lindy isn’t available but would check on the mini 24/24. This time she asked us to move to a different area, somewhere more private and took us to a room where we waited with all the boxes we would be leaving with upon checkout. She left for about what seemed like 10 minutes. When she came back, she said “I have something you’re looking for. I didn’t think it was available.” She opened the box, and it was a mini Lindy in gold with GHW. I tried it on to show my husband, he liked it and said it would suit my mom. Now we are finally ready to checkout. While checking out our SA wrapped my twillies and bagged our items. We were saying our goodbyes and she handed me her card and told us that if/when we return to Paris to reach out to her for an appointment. We thanked her for all her help and for taking care of us. We were getting ready to leave and she said to us “Can you hold on for a few minutes? I have something special for you.” She left us for another few minutes and came back with an orange box and said, “I had to get approval because we usually don’t do this, but I wanted to give you something for Christmas.” We thanked her again for all her help and left. We didn’t open the orange box until the next day, here it was a scarf! How sweet and thoughtful of her.
I truly think that the stars were aligned for us. Our SA from our previous visit left the company and we had to try for the lottery with no luck, there was one cancellation, and we got that slot. I hope that my story inspires someone who is reading to not give up. If you don’t win the lottery and are close to a boutique it wouldn’t hurt to ask if there’s any cancellations. The worst they can say is no.
Thank you for letting me share my story with you.
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