Spend threshold for B/K/C

[smoothsailor]

Have you ever had luck securing a QB at the Hawaii store?

Nope.

 

[Genepi]

i needed to read this today. i left the boutique so broken hearted. i never ask for anything but it’s “known” that i’d like a large collection of handbags. all of the styles not just the highly coveted. maybe i haven’t been specific enough to my sa? idk. we’ve built a strong relationship and i shop several times a month. large shop. idk what more i can possibly do? maybe you can advise, i’m certainly not pushy but at the same time, it would have been nice to get “something”….even a charm.

I since your disappointment and frustration! I have also been in your shoes. It is difficult to provide exact advise as things differ from store to store, region to region and reality is generally very different from social media. I have been shopping with H since 2017, I am fortunate to travel and to have residences in multiple countries. In the city where I spend most of my time there is on 1 H store and it is one of the most competitive in the world. The quota bag limit is 1 per year and B/K and C are quota bags and there is a limit of 3 bags per year (whether purchased in store or on the web), so building a collection of 10 handbags would take years under the best of circumstances. The current spend ratio at this store is ~ 3 or 4:1 for a QB and >5:1 for a coveted OB. Patience is crucial.

In my store if you take a non-quota bag you will delay your quota bag offer. SA's will tell you upfront that if you want a B or K 25 then you will have a very long wait as the manager does not like to offer these bags as a first QB offer. There are several H tube personalities that shop at this store and even they are spending in this ratio and get the same info.

For non-quota bags have you tried H.com? It is very, very difficult but you can get bags from there and my SA is very upfront about the fact that it is the best route. I can't get QB from the web, so I have chosen to preserve that relationship for QB.

Have a frank conversation with your SA about what you want and why you have not gotten non QB offers. Perhaps she was not offering you these bags because she did not want to delay your QB offer. Would you rather have an Evelyne or a QB this year? You may not be able to get both.

H is very expensive and you may be spending a substantial amount for your budget but understand H operates in a totally different realm. At my store if I want to go to the front of the line for a QB I need to purchase a 160K sofa. Furniture sells so fast that they cannot keep it in store- and they charge outrageous delivery fees on top of the expensive price tag. I buy what I like and while I spend a lot for my relatively modest budget. I understand and know that my annual spend is no where near 160K so I need to be patient. So in 6 years of shopping I have gotten 2 QB and 2 non-QB or 4 bags in 6 years. To get 10 bags in a year or two I would need to be spending in the 500K range so I explored other options.

There is no other H store in the city so no option to change boutiques.

I cultivated relationships in other cities where I had part-time residences, I travel and I shop H when possible. Airport boutiques are a great place to get non QB. Most of my bags have not come from my "home store". I shop in Paris a few times a year because there are many, many items that I want that are frankly impossible to get at my home store. Both my SA and SM are aware that I shop in Paris, most of their clients are regulars in Paris. Can you shop in Paris on a regular basis 2 or 3 times a year?

I also shop resell- it can often be the best route to get certain items, especially non QB bags as these frequently sell at or below retail. I understand pre-spend requirements are going up and when ratio's are 5 or 6 to 1 it can really make a lot of sense to get the bag you want from a reseller or shop in Paris.

 

[PanyLee]

I have seen mine by accident. Scary.

That feeling is what I am afraid of...lol

 

[Bdbunny]

I’m really sorry to hear of your experience. I was frustrated shopping at my previous boutique as well, and would leave the store disappointed time after time. I thought I had a great relationship with my SA, got texts for new items that came in, shopped large each time I went in like you, but no offers despite telling me it was coming. Enough was enough (because shopping is supposed to be fun right?) and I finally decided to just walk away from a large purchase history (let’s just say well over 5x since my last QB) and started shopping at a different boutique about 2 months ago. I met a great SA, and maybe the stock is better at this other boutique, and maybe he’s newer and doesn’t have a lot of clients, but he offered me a B25 in noir ostrich on my second visit with very little spend history (I had only purchased a couple of inexpensive RTW from him the time before as I was still trying to feel out the store). I just visited for the third time and he offered me a mini Lindy in nata ostrich, along with a touch pegase. I’m not sure of my exact spend at this boutique, but not including leather, I’m guessing I’m around 2.5:1 (1 being a regular B30) currently after my most recent purchases. I’ve shopped with him 3 times in a little over 2 months, and both bags were surprise offers. I don’t have a wishlist but we have talked about what colors and leathers I like. I know this is very unusual and I got super lucky I was randomly assigned to this SA my first visit, but I am so happy I decided to just walk away from my old boutique. I feel like I went from one extreme (a lot of spend and no offer) to the other (not as much spend and 2 offers a month apart!)

Is there another store you can switch to? Or do you travel to another place regularly enough to make that your home store? What about trying Paris?

You sound like how I felt at my previous boutique, and that’s just not how shopping, even at Hermes, should be. I would try some of the great suggestions as far as communicating with your SA that have been mentioned above, but if there is no change, then I would say cut your losses and find another store.

Edited to add: This is just my own experience. I understand everyone has a different situation and every store is also very different. Just wanted to share in case my experience might help you.

So in a very interesting turn of events, my old store extended an olive branch to me and the store manager said she wants to “invite” me back to the store. They recognize that there were in fact a series of unfortunate mishaps previously and want to repair the relationship and move on. It’s a long story and I won’t go into detail about the myriad of mishandled issues, but it was most definitely NOT about “oh I spent X amount and where’s my QB.” I will say I was impressed with how my concerns were handled in the end by H management. They were very professional, handled it appropriately and expediently, and I went from being a disappointed and upset client to a very happy client. They went above and beyond to make certain things happen, and restored my faith in the brand. And let me add that while I do have a healthy purchase history at this location, I am by no means a sofa ordering kind of client. I’m just grateful to move on from the negativity I was feeling before and turn a new page.

 

[jimmyshoogirl]

So in a very interesting turn of events, my old store extended an olive branch to me and the store manager said she wants to “invite” me back to the store. They recognize that there were in fact a series of unfortunate mishaps previously and want to repair the relationship and move on. It’s a long story and I won’t go into detail about the myriad of mishandled issues, but it was most definitely NOT about “oh I spent X amount and where’s my QB.” I will say I was impressed with how my concerns were handled in the end by H management. They were very professional, handled it appropriately and expediently, and I went from being a disappointed and upset client to a very happy client. They went above and beyond to make certain things happen, and restored my faith in the brand. And let me add that while I do have a healthy purchase history at this location, I am by no means a sofa ordering kind of client. I’m just grateful to move on from the negativity I was feeling before and turn a new page.

That’s so good to hear! I’m glad they made things right with you!


Soooo what are you going to do?? I know you mentioned you like your new SA. Will you stay or take the manager up on their “invite?”

 

[smoothsailor]

So in a very interesting turn of events, my old store extended an olive branch to me and the store manager said she wants to “invite” me back to the store. They recognize that there were in fact a series of unfortunate mishaps previously and want to repair the relationship and move on. It’s a long story and I won’t go into detail about the myriad of mishandled issues, but it was most definitely NOT about “oh I spent X amount and where’s my QB.” I will say I was impressed with how my concerns were handled in the end by H management. They were very professional, handled it appropriately and expediently, and I went from being a disappointed and upset client to a very happy client. They went above and beyond to make certain things happen, and restored my faith in the brand. And let me add that while I do have a healthy purchase history at this location, I am by no means a sofa ordering kind of client. I’m just grateful to move on from the negativity I was feeling before and turn a new page.

May I check how you have conveyed your displeasure to the H management?

Hope to learn from it as I too felt many annoyances with the processes of H.

 

[smoothsailor]

In Asia. My SA was telling me more and more people are after quota bags at the store.

 

[addiCCted]

So in a very interesting turn of events, my old store extended an olive branch to me and the store manager said she wants to “invite” me back to the store. They recognize that there were in fact a series of unfortunate mishaps previously and want to repair the relationship and move on. It’s a long story and I won’t go into detail about the myriad of mishandled issues, but it was most definitely NOT about “oh I spent X amount and where’s my QB.” I will say I was impressed with how my concerns were handled in the end by H management. They were very professional, handled it appropriately and expediently, and I went from being a disappointed and upset client to a very happy client. They went above and beyond to make certain things happen, and restored my faith in the brand. And let me add that while I do have a healthy purchase history at this location, I am by no means a sofa ordering kind of client. I’m just grateful to move on from the negativity I was feeling before and turn a new page.

That is indeed interesting. But are you going to go back? Your new store has been giving you a lot of offers right?

 

[acrowcounted]

So in a very interesting turn of events, my old store extended an olive branch to me and the store manager said she wants to “invite” me back to the store. They recognize that there were in fact a series of unfortunate mishaps previously and want to repair the relationship and move on. It’s a long story and I won’t go into detail about the myriad of mishandled issues, but it was most definitely NOT about “oh I spent X amount and where’s my QB.” I will say I was impressed with how my concerns were handled in the end by H management. They were very professional, handled it appropriately and expediently, and I went from being a disappointed and upset client to a very happy client. They went above and beyond to make certain things happen, and restored my faith in the brand. And let me add that while I do have a healthy purchase history at this location, I am by no means a sofa ordering kind of client. I’m just grateful to move on from the negativity I was feeling before and turn a new page.

I’d honestly feel so insulted. I’d have taken whatever grail offer they gave you (assuming I wanted it) and then ghost them. You spend a crap ton of money at H and it took you walking away and spending all that money with someone else (which they can clearly see records of) for them to come back and be like “oh we’ll fix it, please give us back your whale spending power”. Also, it’s kind of an FU to the store that you moved to as they’ve treated you well the whole time and splitting your loyalty will indirectly hurt them. Thanks but too little too late, imo.

 

[Bdbunny]

That is indeed interesting. But are you going to go back? Your new store has been giving you a lot of offers right?

I’d honestly feel so insulted. I’d have taken whatever grail offer they gave you (assuming I wanted it) and then ghost them. You spend a crap ton of money at H and it took you walking away and spending all that money with someone else (which they can clearly see records of) for them to come back and be like “oh we’ll fix it, please give us back your whale spending power”. Also, it’s kind of an FU to the store that you moved to as they’ve treated you well the whole time and splitting your loyalty will indirectly hurt them. Thanks but too little too late, imo.

Yeah, I feel that way too.... unfortunately, in another turn of events, the amazing SA from the new store just got transferred to a different store that is even farther away!! The "H journey" is apparently a very bumpy ride....full of twists and turns... We do like shopping with him, so we will probably visit him at least once or twice and see how it goes. It's gonna have to be a full day kind of field trip.

I did take the bag, and I also had to place my SO there... Since I'm not eligible for another QB this year anyways, I plan to slow down my spending for the rest of the year (maybe learn how to say no), and just enjoy all the fun things I got this year for now... DH says he'll believe it when he sees it...

 

[corgimom11]

Yeah, I feel that way too.... unfortunately, in another turn of events, the amazing SA from the new store just got transferred to a different store that is even farther away!! The "H journey" is apparently a very bumpy ride....full of twists and turns... We do like shopping with him, so we will probably visit him at least once or twice and see how it goes. It's gonna have to be a full day kind of field trip.

I did take the bag, and I also had to place my SO there... Since I'm not eligible for another QB this year anyways, I plan to slow down my spending for the rest of the year (maybe learn how to say no), and just enjoy all the fun things I got this year for now... DH says he'll believe it when he sees it...

My personal advice would be to figure out pretty quick which individual store/SM you like working with the most and stick to that. Remember that while it's great to have a good relationship with your SA, the SM is the one approving your offers and it's generally based on your historical spend at that particular boutique. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I feel like if you have a good relationship at the store level -- if my SA was to leave or change stores, would I be disappointed? Yes, but I would be. But I would personally stick with my local store as I like working with the SM, they have treated me well, and there are other SAs at the store I'm open to working with.

 

[Bdbunny]

My personal advice would be to figure out pretty quick which individual store/SM you like working with the most and stick to that. Remember that while it's great to have a good relationship with your SA, the SM is the one approving your offers and it's generally based on your historical spend at that particular boutique. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I feel like if you have a good relationship at the store level -- if my SA was to leave or change stores, would I be disappointed? Yes, but I would be. But I would personally stick with my local store as I like working with the SM, they have treated me well, and there are other SAs at the store I'm open to working with.

Yes totally agree with you @corgimom11 !! I would do anything you suggest if you can tell me how to get that Faubourg bag!!

So the other interesting thing is that the floor manager from the new store got promoted to be the store director at the other store, and she was the one who wanted to bring along my SA, who also got a promotion with the transfer. They clearly have a good working relationship, since she approved the B25 in noir ostrich on our second visit with very little purchase history, so I am incentivized to continue working with them as a pair.

Well, like I said, I plan on slowing down my spend and just ride it out and see how things evolve over the course of this year... I'm in a very relaxed place, now that I got my 2023 top wish list item (as well as several other nice QB and non-QBs this year), so I'm not in a hurry. I feel like the dynamic has finally shifted in my favor and I'm just gonna sit back and relax and see how things shake out...

P.S. the SM at the old store says she wants me to work directly with her for now until she can find a suitable SA to "service" my needs... her words, not mine.

 

[880]

My personal advice would be to figure out pretty quick which individual store/SM you like working with the most and stick to that. Remember that while it's great to have a good relationship with your SA, the SM is the one approving your offers and it's generally based on your historical spend at that particular boutique. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I feel like if you have a good relationship at the store level -- if my SA was to leave or change stores, would I be disappointed? Yes, but I would be. But I would personally stick with my local store as I like working with the SM, they have treated me well, and there are other SAs at the store I'm open to working with.

@corgimom11 ’s advice is super practical, and stores that acknowledge mistakes may be able to turn over a new leaf and do better in the future. But, I’m more emotional than that lol. I stopped shopping the boutique close to cold Turkey when my Hermes and chanel SAs left (there is an enormous world of vinatge and resale), and it took years later; becoming an OG here; and personal referrals to SAs to even begin to tempt me back to boutique shopping. Having said that, I dont think I would stray far from my current SA in the US . I do have an SA at FSH however who has made very nice offers. ( nothing as spectacular as that of @corgimom11 of course

@Bdbunny , you are in an enviable position and can take the time to see how it goes and figure it out. I am so happy for you ( and suddenly my emoticon bar is working again lol

 

[880]

So the other interesting thing is that the floor manager from the new store got promoted to be the store director at the other store, and she was the one who wanted to bring along my SA, who also got a promotion with the transfer. They clearly have a good working relationship, since she approved the B25 in noir ostrich on our second visit with very little purchase history, so I am incentivized to continue working with them as a pair.

@Bdbunny , this is the newest third store? Have you thought about moving closer (lol)

 

[wearehappyyo]

For those in Singapore, If I were to collect my QB today but have already gathered enough prespend for next QB before this, can my SA submit for next QB today? Or need to have some gap of a few weeks or months?