Recent Cartier Mansion 5th Ave Shopping Experience

twinzluvagrl

IG @sincerelyophelia NYC Fashion & Beauty Blogger
O.G.
Jan 22, 2009
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BEWARE*** LONG RANT AHEAD**

Hey guys!

So I am sure some of you has seen my posts before about how I was trying to find a new Cartier location to shop at in NYC due to the lack of good customer service I received there. So I decided to give them a third try (for my anniversary with my SO) and it was the worst that happened to me.

We booked an appt for our anniversary day hoping to pick up a piece - SO made a booking appt online for 4pm, then called to switch to 2pm, and called again to hold a size 15 bracelet + confirm time.

We got there our anniversary day at 2pm and when we were at the door, we found out that they did not switch our appt to 2pm (even after we called to confirm twice...) So we had to wait til 4pm (even though we were supposed to take a day road trip and that means our whole day was basically gone) We decided to wait, since we really wanted to pick it up on our anniversary day, and I even cancelled a business trip to Mexico just to stay in NYC for this special day.

We waited and went in at 4pm and still waited another 20 mins or so for our SA. When we sat down, we found out that they didn't even hold the size 15 for me. And they had none available in stock. I broke down and started bawling at that moment cause it was just so much for me to digest (clearly aware this is an elite first world problem). But my SO and I had give up a staycation, work trip, anniversary day to be there. I couldn't fathom how this could happen after calling twice to confirm.

Our SA this time was thankfully more satisfactory & was very apologetic. However, this definitely left a very sour taste in my mouth... I even contemplated on not getting it in NYC at all and just wait for Rue de la Paix to open again (whenever that is...) to go back to my usual SA in Paris... (or whenever borders open up for EU) But SO wanted to just get it for me, so he kept in touch with the SA and paid a 40% deposit. We will be going back in a few weeks after that SA gets back from vacation (I didn't want to risk seeing another SA...) But again, this is the fourth shopping time I had within this year at Cartier 5th ave, and it only got worse and worse.... The SA said he will make it extra special for us when he's back, so I'll update and we will see.

However, again - this is not something you would expect... My experience at VCA 5th ave has been infinitely better... and even any other shop shouldn't have this type of service. That's just my thoughts, maybe I'm too emotional. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts & if anyone has experiences to share. Thank you!
 
BEWARE*** LONG RANT AHEAD**

Hey guys!

So I am sure some of you has seen my posts before about how I was trying to find a new Cartier location to shop at in NYC due to the lack of good customer service I received there. So I decided to give them a third try (for my anniversary with my SO) and it was the worst that happened to me.

We booked an appt for our anniversary day hoping to pick up a piece - SO made a booking appt online for 4pm, then called to switch to 2pm, and called again to hold a size 15 bracelet + confirm time.

We got there our anniversary day at 2pm and when we were at the door, we found out that they did not switch our appt to 2pm (even after we called to confirm twice...) So we had to wait til 4pm (even though we were supposed to take a day road trip and that means our whole day was basically gone) We decided to wait, since we really wanted to pick it up on our anniversary day, and I even cancelled a business trip to Mexico just to stay in NYC for this special day.

We waited and went in at 4pm and still waited another 20 mins or so for our SA. When we sat down, we found out that they didn't even hold the size 15 for me. And they had none available in stock. I broke down and started bawling at that moment cause it was just so much for me to digest (clearly aware this is an elite first world problem). But my SO and I had give up a staycation, work trip, anniversary day to be there. I couldn't fathom how this could happen after calling twice to confirm.

Our SA this time was thankfully more satisfactory & was very apologetic. However, this definitely left a very sour taste in my mouth... I even contemplated on not getting it in NYC at all and just wait for Rue de la Paix to open again (whenever that is...) to go back to my usual SA in Paris... (or whenever borders open up for EU) But SO wanted to just get it for me, so he kept in touch with the SA and paid a 40% deposit. We will be going back in a few weeks after that SA gets back from vacation (I didn't want to risk seeing another SA...) But again, this is the fourth shopping time I had within this year at Cartier 5th ave, and it only got worse and worse.... The SA said he will make it extra special for us when he's back, so I'll update and we will see.

However, again - this is not something you would expect... My experience at VCA 5th ave has been infinitely better... and even any other shop shouldn't have this type of service. That's just my thoughts, maybe I'm too emotional. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts & if anyone has experiences to share. Thank you!
I have nothing to add but that’s horrible. Even though you say it’s a first world problem, your time and giving up other events is not. Your time is with a lot. Sorry about your experience.
 
From what I know, stock is very low due to Covid/lockdown in France and they can’t hold inventory for you unless you pay beforehand. It sucks though.
Yep, they held inventory for me but just wrong size. And we were open to paying for it first, but again - they did not communicate or do any process properly. Rather unfortunate. :sad: And more so - they not knowing if they had it when we went in - and messing up the appt times. That was more of what led the domino effect.
 
I have nothing to add but that’s horrible. Even though you say it’s a first world problem, your time and giving up other events is not. Your time is with a lot. Sorry about your experience.
Thank you for your condolences. It seems other people have better luck shopping at Cartier at Hudson Yards. I'm just wondering if its a Cartier 5th ave thing, since I have had unprofessional experiences here multiple times.
 
I’m sorry to hear you had such a bad experience especially on your anniversary day. I’m thankful that I have a wonderful SA here in Toronto (can’t say the same for the Hermes boutique across the street though). I’d say that it may be hard for them to be completely on time for an appointment. I had an appointment at 11 am and it took until 12:40 pm to try everything on and finalize the purchase. SA was only able to bring 3 items out for me to try at a time and I was trying a number of ring styles and sizes. He had to walk to the back every time so that added more time. His next client appointment was at noon so I felt really bad they had to wait but another SA helped them. Still felt bad though. But your SA should have let you know if they didn’t have your size so you wouldn’t have wasted time going in that day or at least ordered it for you. Hope the rest of your anniversary celebration went well.
 
Sorry that happened to you! I don’t have a specific SA but have shopped at the 5th a couple times (pre-pandemic) with no issues. Recently started to go to Hudson Yards and even though it’s smaller, I have to say the staff is very friendly! I swapped a love ring that was too big and also asked them to call in a cuff so I could see how it looked (they didn’t have in stock when I went to exchange my ring). They are very accommodating and I haven’t had trouble booking appts.
 
Sorry to hear about your experience at the 5th Avenue location. I’m pretty sure the SA felt extremely bad after you broke down right there and then. Hoping the next time you are both in, you have a much better experience.
 
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I’m so sorry to hear this. I also tend to tie jewelery to special occasions so I understand why you were upset, and that’s also stressful, planning a trip just to have Cartier upend it all. I would try Hudson Yards but I can also give you my SA at 5th Ave if you PM me. She has been wonderful through and through.

Trust me, all of us on this forum understand issues like these. I hope you have a lovely weekend that makes up for it!!! :heart:
 
... just wait for Rue de la Paix to open again (whenever that is...)

September 2022

You know my theory - backed by many good and bad "experiments": The larger the city or store the lower the service. Seems that there is a magic formula of store size + customer service = constant :biggrin:

Never ever use Place Vendôme, and forget Zurich. There are sooooooo many other smaller boutiques which offer outstanding service. Cannot comment on 5th Ave, though. As you are fom around NYC you definitely should try Boston. A nice trip anyway.

Noticed that with other brands like Hermès, too.
 
So funny you said this, I had a really awful experience with them, however it was an order placed over the phone. I specified that I DESPERATELY needed the item by a specific date (they said they would rush it to me) because I had to be out of town for work, and it didn't come in time, and I had to cancel my work trip which was a nightmare. I called and spoke to a manager and they were semi-apologetic, but I refused to leave for work without the bracelet because FedEx hasn't made me sign for ANYTHING this past year (probably because of the pandemic) and I didn't want to leave a $7,000 piece of jewelry on my stoop for a week, unattended.

Normally I wouldn't be so upset but I talked to several people to specify how crucial the timing was, and offered to pay for express shipping and was assured it would be there on time, only to have a nightmare of a hassle trying to track down the package from Fed Ex, to find they sent it with regular shipping.
 
I’m sorry to hear you had such a bad experience especially on your anniversary day. I’m thankful that I have a wonderful SA here in Toronto (can’t say the same for the Hermes boutique across the street though). I’d say that it may be hard for them to be completely on time for an appointment. I had an appointment at 11 am and it took until 12:40 pm to try everything on and finalize the purchase. SA was only able to bring 3 items out for me to try at a time and I was trying a number of ring styles and sizes. He had to walk to the back every time so that added more time. His next client appointment was at noon so I felt really bad they had to wait but another SA helped them. Still felt bad though. But your SA should have let you know if they didn’t have your size so you wouldn’t have wasted time going in that day or at least ordered it for you. Hope the rest of your anniversary celebration went well.

What happened was they booked our time wrong haha. We understand SA's running late. But they booked our appt 2 hours later then expected after confirming twice... was what happened haha. Plus we had items set aside which they said was in stock and held for us and it wasn't there. Which was why it was infuriating. But thankyou so much for chiming in. :heart: I appreciate the well wishes!
 
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Sorry to hear about your experience at the 5th Avenue location. I’m pretty sure the SA felt extremely bad after you broke down right there and then. Hoping the next time you are both in, you have a much better experience.
Yes... it was super embarrassing tbh. But, stress is real. Thank you for the support :heart: I appreciate it.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this. I also tend to tie jewelery to special occasions so I understand why you were upset, and that’s also stressful, planning a trip just to have Cartier upend it all. I would try Hudson Yards but I can also give you my SA at 5th Ave if you PM me. She has been wonderful through and through.

Trust me, all of us on this forum understand issues like these. I hope you have a lovely weekend that makes up for it!!! :heart:
Thank you so much! The new SA is much better, but still can't help but wonder about Hudson Yards. Thank you so much for being so understanding. Again... not too many do understand. So happy to have a community here! :smile:
 
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September 2022

You know my theory - backed by many good and bad "experiments": The larger the city or store the lower the service. Seems that there is a magic formula of store size + customer service = constant :biggrin:

Never ever use Place Vendôme, and forget Zurich. There are sooooooo many other smaller boutiques which offer outstanding service. Cannot comment on 5th Ave, though. As you are fom around NYC you definitely should try Boston. A nice trip anyway.

Noticed that with other brands like Hermès, too.
Yeah that's very interesting! I was thinking that too... because Hudson Yards location in NYC is "newer" so maybe more strict on "good customer service" to build client repertoire. Not sure what it is... But I do remember you saying never to go to Place Vendôme LOL and I recall you said you loved the ones in Germany? (was it you?)