Treatment in Hermes Stores

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#2,251
xiangxiang0731 said:
The policy is written on the back of your receipt and it doesn't state you have a right for an exchange. In the UK, exchange and refund of non faulty goods is a privilege, not a right. It is always subject to store's discretion. Employees from head office or other SAs don't set the policy, nor do they all fully understand how concessions operates. And none of them have to worry about HoF H concessions sales target.

You are not throwing 2 X £4570 if you return the green L to Harrods. You get your money back almost instantly.

And I can see why the HoF in Glasgow has a different client base compared to Harrods. Harrods is a large store with high volume of clients, a lot of them are tourists who prefer brighter colours. Glasgow is a LOT less touristy and serves mainly local customers who in general prefer conservative styles.

The bottom line is, is it good customer service? Probably not. But is it against H policy? I don't think so.
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Agree totally w/ XiangXiang! Great post.
 
#2,252
nit_ang said:
Fyi, Harrods' policy is to accept exchange/refund in maximum 1 month. And yet in my receipt it says that full refund can only be obtained in 14 days, and exchange can be done in 3 months - meaning that Hermes has its own policy.
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Concessions operate differently than standalone boutiques, yet both are owned by the brand (typically). Concessions (if the dept store has leverage) are required to follow the rules of the dept store (markdown/promo periods, loyalty programme, returns, etc.). Sounds from your receipt Hermes may keep its policies despite being a concession.

So, the Harrods policy is different from Hermes, is different from House of Fraser. HOF doesn't need to adhere to Harrods' policies, but naturally they may, out of goodwill/customer service. Im assuming your receipt says Harrods at the top?

What you were trying to do wouldn't work even in the U.S, I don't think. I wouldn't be able to buy a Chanel bag from Bloomingdales and exchange it at the chanel concession at Saks. Definitely couldn't exchange it at the chanel boutique. Again, all by policy, I'm sure people have done this before, at managers' discretions.

One last point, the SM shouldn't have yelled at you or raised his/her voice. That isn't part of any store's policy, and isn't good cust service.
 
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#2,253
Wait, why does your receipt say something different from xiangxiang's receipt? Your previous posts are to prove that the Harrods concession operates under Hermes rules. But, xiangxiang has a receipt from a standalone boutique.

I guess maybe unless H changed their return policy recently.
 
#2,254
QuelleFromage said:
Sorry you are going through this. In the end you may be dealing with franchise store vs. boutique issues, but IMO it doesn't matter what the fine print says. You reserved a bag; it was "un-reserved"; you bought another with understanding you could exchange. Good customer service would allow you to do so.
I do not believe that customer service equals what the SM or other "is required to do". That is baseline. Customer service is about what they WILL do and that is where the service is either great or mediocre. Good business should exceed both legal requirements and customers' expectations.
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:tup: Very well said.
 
#2,255
nit_ang said:
Fyi, Harrods' policy is to accept exchange/refund in maximum 1 month. And yet in my receipt it says that full refund can only be obtained in 14 days, and exchange can be done in 3 months - meaning that Hermes has its own policy.

I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't want throwing 2 x £4570 just to obey with what the store manager wants and not what the policy said.
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Nit_ang, it's unfortunate that you have had to deal with this. I've read through your posts and I am still a bit unclear. Why not just buy the blue lindy at Glasgow and get the refund from Harrods? I still have my recent Harrods receipt for my most recent H scarves purchases and it states "Unwanted good may be returned for a refund or exchange if returned and in their original condition within 14 days with proof of purchase..."

While a store manager should NEVER be rude to any customer, I am trying to look at it from the manager's perspective. There appears to be a rather simple solution and perhaps the manager's stubbornness was because she was also unable to see why this simple solution couldn't be reached? I suppose if I were her, I would also question why you simply couldn't return the green Lindy and get a refund and then buy the blue at Glasgow. And maybe throwing all the legalese customer-rights statements made her defensive and dig her heels (definitely not the right thing to do but maybe she was as frustrated as you were in that situation.)

Regardless of what Hermes London said (the bag wasn't bought at their boutique in the first place so am a bit unclear as to why they were contacted in the first place?) you would still get your money back.

I do understand your point about customer rights and I am sure it was frustrating to be told different and wildly contrasting information by various SAs but I'm a bit unclear why you didn't opt to just say Ok let's just stop this to-ing and fro-ing, I'll buy the blue bag, go back to Harrods and get my refund. You live in London so returning the brand new and unused bag w/in the 14 day period would not have been an issue.

Maybe I missed something in your story? I do hope this resolved to your satisfaction and you end up with the bag you really want.
 
#2,256
I want to add it's likely a factor that the manager didn't even ask to see the Lindy you bought in London. Again, from her perspective, she probably has had experiences where people say they have bought item X in another store and want to return it and the item is either used or fake. I am not saying this is what you were doing (at all!) just that it's very likely this is not an uncommon scenario at a lot of high end stores, not just Hermes, especially in the post-Christmas period where people receive unwanted gifts or those not to their taste. It's also possible she may have been unable to pull up your London purchase because both stores are department store concessions and that information may not have been available to her to confirm your purchase.
 
#2,258
I recently visited US for my honeymoon and luckily went to every shop i could,to see beautiful bags and accessories up close(Hermes,Tiffany,Bergdof Goodman etc) All SA were sooo polite,even though i looked like a tourist (i mean no heels and not a very fancy outfit,since i was a tourist).Back in Greece,were i come from,the SA tend to have a certain "face" and act like they own the place.If you are not properly dressed,they might not even come near you.I find this awful.They must be polite,smile and offer assistance.That is their job!
 
#2,259
Leah said:
I do understand your point about customer rights and I am sure it was frustrating to be told different and wildly contrasting information by various SAs but I'm a bit unclear why you didn't opt to just say Ok let's just stop this to-ing and fro-ing, I'll buy the blue bag, go back to Harrods and get my refund. You live in London so returning the brand new and unused bag w/in the 14 day period would not have been an issue.

Maybe I missed something in your story? I do hope this resolved to your satisfaction and you end up with the bag you really want.
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Perhaps she wasn't able to carry that much in charges at the same time? Just a suggestion, curious and following along here like everyone else...:smile1: I am not even suggesting that this would then become the burden of the store, however I do think this customer service was lacking some common courtesy.
 
#2,260
Leah said:
Nit_ang, it's unfortunate that you have had to deal with this. I've read through your posts and I am still a bit unclear. Why not just buy the blue lindy at Glasgow and get the refund from Harrods? I still have my recent Harrods receipt for my most recent H scarves purchases and it states "Unwanted good may be returned for a refund or exchange if returned and in their original condition within 14 days with proof of purchase..."

While a store manager should NEVER be rude to any customer, I am trying to look at it from the manager's perspective. There appears to be a rather simple solution and perhaps the manager's stubbornness was because she was also unable to see why this simple solution couldn't be reached? I suppose if I were her, I would also question why you simply couldn't return the green Lindy and get a refund and then buy the blue at Glasgow. And maybe throwing all the legalese customer-rights statements made her defensive and dig her heels (definitely not the right thing to do but maybe she was as frustrated as you were in that situation.)

Regardless of what Hermes London said (the bag wasn't bought at their boutique in the first place so am a bit unclear as to why they were contacted in the first place?) you would still get your money back.

I do understand your point about customer rights and I am sure it was frustrating to be told different and wildly contrasting information by various SAs but I'm a bit unclear why you didn't opt to just say Ok let's just stop this to-ing and fro-ing, I'll buy the blue bag, go back to Harrods and get my refund. You live in London so returning the brand new and unused bag w/in the 14 day period would not have been an issue.

Maybe I missed something in your story? I do hope this resolved to your satisfaction and you end up with the bag you really want.
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rainneday said:
Perhaps she wasn't able to carry that much in charges at the same time? Just a suggestion, curious and following along here like everyone else...:smile1: I am not even suggesting that this would then become the burden of the store, however I do think this customer service was lacking some common courtesy.
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Yes, that is correct rainneday, I wasn't prepared to spend another £4570 (even though I will get the other £4570 almost instantly). I also didn't see why I have to be able to do so, while the policy is clear. Should I be the one who feels sorry for not being able to pay for another L bag to obey to what the SM wants? :sad:


mistikat said:
I want to add it's likely a factor that the manager didn't even ask to see the Lindy you bought in London. Again, from her perspective, she probably has had experiences where people say they have bought item X in another store and want to return it and the item is either used or fake. I am not saying this is what you were doing (at all!) just that it's very likely this is not an uncommon scenario at a lot of high end stores, not just Hermes, especially in the post-Christmas period where people receive unwanted gifts or those not to their taste. It's also possible she may have been unable to pull up your London purchase because both stores are department store concessions and that information may not have been available to her to confirm your purchase.
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She didn't even ask for my receipt, let alone went to her computer and check whether any purchases has been made. :confused1:
 
#2,261
Leah said:
Nit_ang, it's unfortunate that you have had to deal with this. I've read through your posts and I am still a bit unclear. Why not just buy the blue lindy at Glasgow and get the refund from Harrods? I still have my recent Harrods receipt for my most recent H scarves purchases and it states "Unwanted good may be returned for a refund or exchange if returned and in their original condition within 14 days with proof of purchase..."

While a store manager should NEVER be rude to any customer, I am trying to look at it from the manager's perspective. There appears to be a rather simple solution and perhaps the manager's stubbornness was because she was also unable to see why this simple solution couldn't be reached? I suppose if I were her, I would also question why you simply couldn't return the green Lindy and get a refund and then buy the blue at Glasgow. And maybe throwing all the legalese customer-rights statements made her defensive and dig her heels (definitely not the right thing to do but maybe she was as frustrated as you were in that situation.)


Regardless of what Hermes London said (the bag wasn't bought at their boutique in the first place so am a bit unclear as to why they were contacted in the first place?) you would still get your money back.

I do understand your point about customer rights and I am sure it was frustrating to be told different and wildly contrasting information by various SAs but I'm a bit unclear why you didn't opt to just say Ok let's just stop this to-ing and fro-ing, I'll buy the blue bag, go back to Harrods and get my refund. You live in London so returning the brand new and unused bag w/in the 14 day period would not have been an issue.

Maybe I missed something in your story? I do hope this resolved to your satisfaction and you end up with the bag you really want.
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Agree with this. Why not return your bag to the store you purchased it from?
 
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