The Buying Experience...

[gail13]

So, I posted a few pics last night of some Tom Ford bags that caught my eye at NM. I loved them. What I didn't love was the lack of knowledge from the SA.

At first, a few of the bags were not priced correctly-I saw a med Jennifer Bag which I loved that was priced the same as the large shoulder bag-about a $500 difference. The SA tried to tell me the price was right. She didn't speak great english, but I'm used to that. I was hoping however she could tell me something about Tom Ford or the bags themselves-but no.....and of course the price was wrong which we found out after I pushed the issue. One of the totes was mis priced also.

The tote bag I was interested in comes with a shoulder strap but it was missing. She wanted me just to order a new bag and try it on at home-really? Order a $2900 bag and see if you like it with the strap? No thanks.

I asked about Tom Ford and the quality but she knew nothing. It left me wanting to run straight to a Tom Ford store where I could get some better info. I have since read on another TPF thread, that the bags are made in the same place Hermes bags are; thus the leather feels the same....hey that's important info!

Anyway, it was very disappointing. I know I can ask for another SA but I got better service that night from Fossil and Henri Bendel. Don't you want to be educated or at least have a great experience?

 

[ipsum]

I have since read on another TPF thread, that the bags are made in the same place Hermes bags are; thus the leather feels the same....hey that's important info!

Sorry to hear your experience. I'm surprised they don't educate their SA better.

Do you know where I can find the post of your source about
"bags are made in the same place Hermes bags are"?
I'm thinking of buying one of TF's bags.

 

[ipsum]

Nvm, I think I found it:

Btw, I forgot to mention ~ when I visited the Tom Ford boutique in our Neimans, the SA told me that Tom Ford uses the same tannery that Hermes uses and uses a lot of the same materials that Hermes uses! That would explain why you feel it's so similar to your Birkin!

I believe maybe your SA was new to the job?

 

[Sparkletastic]

So, I posted a few pics last night of some Tom Ford bags that caught my eye at NM. I loved them. What I didn't love was the lack of knowledge from the SA.

At first, a few of the bags were not priced correctly-I saw a med Jennifer Bag which I loved that was priced the same as the large shoulder bag-about a $500 difference. The SA tried to tell me the price was right. She didn't speak great english, but I'm used to that. I was hoping however she could tell me something about Tom Ford or the bags themselves-but no.....and of course the price was wrong which we found out after I pushed the issue. One of the totes was mis priced also.

The tote bag I was interested in comes with a shoulder strap but it was missing. She wanted me just to order a new bag and try it on at home-really? Order a $2900 bag and see if you like it with the strap? No thanks.

I asked about Tom Ford and the quality but she knew nothing. It left me wanting to run straight to a Tom Ford store where I could get some better info. I have since read on another TPF thread, that the bags are made in the same place Hermes bags are; thus the leather feels the same....hey that's important info!

Anyway, it was very disappointing. I know I can ask for another SA but I got better service that night from Fossil and Henri Bendel. Don't you want to be educated or at least have a great experience?

I found the same issue when I went to NM to look at Balenciaga and Prada bags. I knew far more than the SA's.

Same with Saks when I was curious about an AMcQ bag.

I think the issue is the SA's who aren't in dedicated brand boutiques have to service so many brands that they don't get depth of knowledge. I know I saw the Saks bag SA in sunglasses during a second visit.

It's frustrating as a shopper, but some SA's are there just because it's a job. I can't fault them entirely because I doubt they're making a ton of money working for the dpt. store and they may have no intrinsic interest in handbags. Kind of like if I took a job in hardware. LOL!

I'm sorry you didn't get the info you needed. But I'm glad we have TPF as back up.