San Francisco Hermes Store
- Thread starter cawowyn
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Hi All!
I'm relatively new to the Hermes community, and I've exclusively purchased with one SA at the SF store. Basically have visited 3 times starting June, and spent about $3k. (Twillies, SLGs, shoes, home goods, leather bracelet) My dream bag is a B30 Etain in Togo with RGHW, but my SA just told me that's only special order for VIPs. The weird thing is that I know people that have scored the exact bag from other stores, but they weren't VIPs. Another strange thing was that a bit ago, my SA had to reschedule my appointment because of protests, and she had set aside twillies and a calvi that I had seen online for me to buy at the original appointment. She asked me if she should ship them to my house or if I'd like to wait to look at them at my rescheduled appointment. (I ended up popping in really quickly that same afternoon she called, because I wasn't sure what they would look like in person. I still kept the other appointment to have time to browse.) However, when my husband and I went was at the store a week later at the rescheduled appointment, he couldn't decide on a a specific style of leather tray. I told him that he could do further research online, and he could call her to have it sent to our house if he decided before we were able to get in the store again. She corrected me by saying that the store policy is that you can only order through her if you're physically in the store, and she can't take phone orders. I thought that was super strange because just the week before, she was going to have stuff shipped to me, and I hadn't been in the store at the time to pay. I would love advice to see if I should keep this SA that I have already invested money on building with, or if I'm wasting my money/time on her. If she's being dishonest and/or she just doesn't like me? Or... Am I being paranoid, and all the stuff she said was true, in your experiences? Thanks for reading, and TIA for the words of wisdom!
I'm relatively new to the Hermes community, and I've exclusively purchased with one SA at the SF store. Basically have visited 3 times starting June, and spent about $3k. (Twillies, SLGs, shoes, home goods, leather bracelet) My dream bag is a B30 Etain in Togo with RGHW, but my SA just told me that's only special order for VIPs. The weird thing is that I know people that have scored the exact bag from other stores, but they weren't VIPs. Another strange thing was that a bit ago, my SA had to reschedule my appointment because of protests, and she had set aside twillies and a calvi that I had seen online for me to buy at the original appointment. She asked me if she should ship them to my house or if I'd like to wait to look at them at my rescheduled appointment. (I ended up popping in really quickly that same afternoon she called, because I wasn't sure what they would look like in person. I still kept the other appointment to have time to browse.) However, when my husband and I went was at the store a week later at the rescheduled appointment, he couldn't decide on a a specific style of leather tray. I told him that he could do further research online, and he could call her to have it sent to our house if he decided before we were able to get in the store again. She corrected me by saying that the store policy is that you can only order through her if you're physically in the store, and she can't take phone orders. I thought that was super strange because just the week before, she was going to have stuff shipped to me, and I hadn't been in the store at the time to pay. I would love advice to see if I should keep this SA that I have already invested money on building with, or if I'm wasting my money/time on her. If she's being dishonest and/or she just doesn't like me? Or... Am I being paranoid, and all the stuff she said was true, in your experiences? Thanks for reading, and TIA for the words of wisdom!
Hopefully someone with specific experience with your store will chime in but, for me and in these examples, I would easily give the SA the benefit of the doubt. For the Birkin, she may just be confused since RGHW on standard bags is fairly new and still pretty rare. She may have never seen/ forgotten that some colors like etain can come with RGHW from standard stock once in a while and maybe her mind just reflexively went to ‘shes asking for a SO.’
As to the shipping policy inconsistencies, with COVID these policies seem to be changing willy nilly and without warning. Some stores aren’t shipping anything via over the phone nor in person due to lack of signatures with Fedex deliveries. Other stores have gone completely the other way and are now shipping everything, including quota bags, because they are so desperate for sales. There are also differences in when they will charge you for shipping. Generally on phone orders for an item that is in stock in the store, they will charge the customer a $25-40 shipping fee. However if you are in store and buy something that they have to ship from a different store, they don’t charge you shipping. So she may have just been trying to save you the shipping fee. They also, before Covid, had weird rules where they could not ship bags or SLGs at all...expect rodeos and leather charms as exceptions, sometimes, maybe... It’s all very H in their revolving and evolving set of policies.
All of this is to say that, if you otherwise like your SA and enjoy shopping with them, I wouldn’t let these two instances put me off or think negatively about them. Good luck!
Hi there! I think it depends on if they have the item in stock at the store (and thus are shipping directly from the SF store stock) or if it's something they need to order online for you (and thus the online store is shipping to you from online stock). Even before Covid if the item wasn't in the store, they could order from online for you but you had to be at the store for them to do it that way.
And to arrowcounted's point, these policies are shifting week to week. Especially given that the SAs are now heading back in 5 days a week things could have evolved again recently. I wouldn't over think it?
Is anyone able to comment on the inventory at the SF store currently? Is it correct to assume that inventory is low due to the pandemic? I am trying to get a B30 or K25 in a neutral color right now but wonder if it is hopeless. Been with my SA at the SF store for 7 years now but mostly bought silks/shawls and recently a halzan, so I wonder if my profile is not diverse enough to be offered a bag. Any advice is greatly appreciated~
I haven't been to SF since pre-Covid, but I think they do have stock. I'll DM you with my thoughts. Xoxo
My thoughts are from the perspective of a long time client at SF similar to @MissIn. From my experience, it's not about having a profile with diverse (or high $) spend to be offered bags. I think it's more about having the right SA with the right connections. With that said though, I do know newer H clients that spend quite a bit (across all categories) and are offered coveted bags. Such is H.
San Francisco shopper here as well, as other wiser voices have mentioned I would give your SA the benefit of the doubt. Covid has thrown the “norm” out the window and store policies are in flux so what may be possible now may change in the next month or two.
With respect to your dream bag, be patient and keep buying the items you love. Your circumstances are unique and you’ll drive yourself crazy comparing yourselves to others. Different stores may set different spend thresholds in order to get an offer; these other clients may not necessarily be VIPs but could be long term clients that Hermes values. They may have a higher spend history, they may just have luck on their side, right place at the right time, etc.
hello everyone, i am just starting my hermes journey and i have noticed that my SA is not very responsive whenever i reach out...
i am communicating through text as this is the form of communication they prefer but i always end up having to call the store to address my inquiry as i would wait for one week and yet still no response.
is this normal? should i change my SA?
any advice would be much appreciated.
i am communicating through text as this is the form of communication they prefer but i always end up having to call the store to address my inquiry as i would wait for one week and yet still no response.
is this normal? should i change my SA?
any advice would be much appreciated.
Hello. I don’t think there’s such a thing as normal these days. It could be the SAs are all working part time and their days are filled with scheduled back-to-back hour long appointments with other clients.
I think just be patient with your journey and SA. It’s like playing the long game. Good luck!
Hello. I don’t think there’s such a thing as normal these days. It could be the SAs are all working part time and their days are filled with scheduled back-to-back hour long appointments with other clients.
I think just be patient with your journey and SA. It’s like playing the long game. Good luck!
@cocomlle , thank you so much for your response
I recently emailed my SA for few things and she told me that they’re receiving their fall shipments now. She was able to locate my Constance wallet few months ago (July).
I’m interested in f/w scarves and shoes, she didn’t mention about the bags, but I’m sure they’re getting bags in as well. Good luck!
I haven’t work with Teri but she’s very nice and sweet. She got my 5 y.o son crayons and coloring booklet when I went to see my SA with him. I think she’s in charge of the twillies section there.
I got a quota bag a couple of weeks ago so I think there is inventory to be had. I feel like your 7 year history with the store and SA is a testament to your loyalty. If you haven’t spoken up about your desire, get going!
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.