Treatment in Hermes Stores

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#2,266
nit_ang said:
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:

She didn't even ask for my receipt, let alone went to her computer and check whether any purchases has been made. :confused1:
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Ok nit_ang, I honestly still do not understand your rationale for not taking what seems to be a very obvious solution to some of us, and one which would not make you lose any money technically and give you exactly the bag you want.

However, you have every right to make the decision you did for your own reasons.

BUT by that SAME logic, the Manager can also adopt the same mindset which is, she is going to do what she feels is right this situation, and in her mind, she probably feels her decision is also 100% correct as she wants to ensure the items in the boutique she supervises sell quickly. If she feels green bags will not sell well, how could anyone dispute that?

At that level, I imagine she is also fully aware of any Hermes customer's rights and she knows what policy she can and cannot enforce in the boutique she manages. Maybe she could have explained the policy in a manner that was more satisfactory to you but it appears, based on your version, that the situation was a bit stressful and heated?

We can all analyze all the Hermes store policies word for word but at the end of the day, a SM can make or not make things happen. They do have that much decision making power.

Unfortunately, in this situation, regardless of what you may perceive are your rights as a customer, it is the Manager who holds the cards since the end result was you did not end up getting the bag you wanted.

I'm sure many of us will be curious to hear how Hermes corporate will help resolve this issue for you.

Edited to add: Does anyone know what a Comm Developer is? I've actually never heard of this term or title? Curious to know what they do, what they oversee and how much decision making power they have?
 
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#2,268
Leah said:
Ok nit_ang, I honestly still do not understand your rationale for not taking what seems to be a very obvious solution to some of us, and one which would not make you lose any money technically and give you exactly the bag you want.

However, you have every right to make the decision you did for your own reasons.
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Hi, I meant I didn't have enough money in my bank account or credit card to pay another £4570. Not all of us have that much money laying around, you know. :smile1:


Leah said:
Edited to add: Does anyone know what a Comm Developer is? I've actually never heard of this term or title? Curious to know what they do, what they oversee and how much decision making power they have?
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xiangxiang0731 said:
I have never heard of this either. I would like to know too.
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I didn't know it before either, but I googled the Commercial Developer's name and found his name on Linkedin with that job title. This is what it says on his profile:

Commercial Developer
Hermès
January 2014 – Present (1 year 1 month) | London, United Kingdom
Customer Service Management across the UK and Ireland
Customer Relationship Management
Store Performance Analysis
Commercial Strategy
Budget Management
Digital Projects implementation across the UK and Ireland
 
#2,269
nit_ang said:
Hi, I meant I didn't have enough money in my bank account or credit card to pay another £4570. Not all of us have that much money laying around, you know. :smile1:






I didn't know it before either, but I googled the Commercial Developer's name and found his name on Linkedin with that job title. This is what it says on his profile:

Commercial Developer
Hermès
January 2014 – Present (1 year 1 month) | London, United Kingdom
Customer Service Management across the UK and Ireland
Customer Relationship Management
Store Performance Analysis
Commercial Strategy
Budget Management
Digital Projects implementation across the UK and Ireland
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I think you should return the green one and tell the SA in London you want a blue one and ask her to keep an eye out for you if they recieve one in the store. You have several stores in London and hopefully one will turn up there. You just have to be patient.
 
#2,270
The title sounds like he's scouts for new opportunities to open stores, concessions, etc. the job functions immediately below his dates are more customer service-oriented. Maybe he does everything?

Edit: Or maybe it's a title for overseeing operations of stores?
 
#2,275
Legally, I'm almost 100% sure Xiang, chincac and Vigee are correct. I had had the same nuisance from Gucci a few years ago trying to exchange a man's lizard wallet from Sloane St and exchanging it for a more robust one in Harrods (that Sloane St sold out of). Harrods only made the exchange 'as a gesture of good will' because they knew me at both stores and involved a 3 way conversation by phone but I still got my wrists slapped. It was all explained to me but extremely complicated (I won't even go into the except fors and the clauses) but basically stand alones are stand alones and concessions are concessions (except in the case of most Harrods promotions and sale starting dates). I'm sure HoF operates in a similar way.

However, nit_ang, knowing that you journeyed from London to Glasgow just to see the bag the SM could have at least been civil and apologetic to you. Perhaps the SM had another customer in mind for the blue if it was not sold :shrugs:. Outside London the Lindy is not as popular as other H bags for the same reason as Xiang gave about colour but don't know if I believe that Scotts don't like perfectly well-mannered Malachite. I can see a real fluro or very pale colour being harder to sell but a beautiful, mid rich-toned hue?

Bad news for me. I'll often be going to H in Glasgow in the near future, and I love green bags, very annoying the SM has something against the colour green, in particular one of the nicest colours H makes. Next time I'm in I may ask if I can be considered for a Malachite Lindy :sunnies
 
#2,278
nit_ang said:
Hi, I meant I didn't have enough money in my bank account or credit card to pay another £4570. Not all of us have that much money laying around, you know. :smile1:













I didn't know it before either, but I googled the Commercial Developer's name and found his name on Linkedin with that job title. This is what it says on his profile:



Commercial Developer

Hermès

January 2014 – Present (1 year 1 month) | London, United Kingdom

Customer Service Management across the UK and Ireland

Customer Relationship Management

Store Performance Analysis

Commercial Strategy

Budget Management

Digital Projects implementation across the UK and Ireland
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Read through your story and feel sorry for the circumstances you are now facing for a supposedly long awaited bag :( Agree with the others that I would have bought the color I liked and returned the other one, but as it doesn't seem feasible for you, I can only send you best wishes that you find a speedy resolution before you leave UK

lulilu said:
If you don't want the green one, return it before the period expires. Then go buy the blue if it's still there.

Personally, I would prefer malachite.
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Me too! Blue sapphire is nice classic color but I would love malachite on a lindy!
 
#2,279
If I were in this situation, I'd just return the green Lindy to the London and forget about buying from the Glasgow store. I can't talk for anyone else, but when I spend any significant amount (and I believe anything H costs a significant amount), I demand a good shopping experience AND a product I like. I may like something but if the SA treats me badly, I walk away. I work hard for my money and value it so much that I actually remember the shopping experience of EVERY single luxury item I have ever purchased. Looking back, I noticed that the items I ended up parting with were easier to let go when the SA treated me badly, I felt rushed into buying it, etc. In turn, I also end up rewarding good SAs with repeat business, as I did last night when I purchased a blouse from a very sweet SA at Isabel Marant. She not only made sure I got the item I wanted, but she actually chatted with me about my personal life, too.


The cost of the Lindy is a significant amount of money to me, and it sounds like it is for you, too. If this were me, no matter how much I wanted the blue, I'd hate to have the possibility of owning it, but cringing when I thought of how rudely I was treated by the Glasgow SM. Also, I'd hate to be stuck with a color I didn't like. So what would I do? I'd drop the situation with the Glasgow store and return the green Lindy to Harrods. As someone who recently moved a long distance, I'm not understanding why you'd want to have this on your hands right now, as moving can be really stressful. I'd want to just wipe the slate clean, be patient, and wait to purchase the H item I really want when it's available and when I have a great SA to purchase it from. I'm not someone who wants to rush just cuz I fear I'll never find it again or whatever. I believe if I'm meant to have it, I will.


Please don't take this post as an attack on you. I'm simply trying to offer you a solution that I think will actually help.
 
#2,280
nit_ang said:
Hi everyone, I want to share my experience with Hermes.

So, let me tell you the whole story from the very beginning. I've been searching for a Lindy bag for around 2 weeks and have contacted every stores in London, Manchester, & Glasgow almost every morning/day.

Finally, on 20 January (around 12pm), I was able to book a Lindy 30 in Blue Sapphire in Hermes Glasgow store to collect on 21 January. After I got this info, I directly booked a return ticket from London to Glasgow (fyi, I live in London).

On 20 January around 5pm I got a call from Hermes in London (Harrods) and an SA offered me a Lindy 30 in Green Malachite. She told me that I have to make a decision in the next 15-30mins, and if I refuse, she would put the bag on display for others to purchase.

I then called Hermes in Glasgow (at around 5.15pm) to confirm my reservation for the bag. An SA told me that she couldn't find my reservation, but informed me that the bag is still there, so "hopefully" it'll still be there to purchase on 21 January.

With the risk not getting any of the bags, I decided to purchase the one in London, and was told by the SA that I can exchange the bag with another bag in any Hermes store, or even return it for a full refund. I asked her whether it will be the managers' discretion or is it Hermes policy to accept such exchange, and she said that it is my right as a customer. I confirmed this detail with Hermes store in Manchester and another Hermes store in London.

Today (21 January) I went to Glasgow and I brought the Green Lindy with me. When I enter the store and asked about the Blue Lindy, the SA said "Oh you're Miss Xxx (my name)?" And I said yes. Afterwards, she then proceed to take the Blue Lindy from the display and showed it to me. When I told her that I wanted to do an exchange, she said that I'm allowed to do so and she is going to prepare the bag for me.

A couple of minutes later, the SA came out and told me that I couldn't do the exchange, because the Blue Lindy was reserved to be bought, not exchanged. I told her about the Hermes policy, and afterwards she disappeared to speak to the manager.

After another couple of minutes, the store manager stormed out and spoke rudely to me. She said that she wouldn't accept such exchange because blue is a very popular color and that the she wouldn't be able to sell the green one in Glasgow. She also said that it is not Hermes policy to accept exchanges, but it is up to the manager's discretion, and that Hermes policy only applies to stand-alone stores (Hermes in Glasgow is located inside a department store). Then, she said that the only way I can get the Blue Lindy is to purchase it, and she didn't care what will I do with the green one. She gave me time to think, and left.

I was very offended, so I went out of the store and called Hermes in London (Sloane Street) and discussed about this event. An SA told me that it is Hermes policy to accept exchange in 3 months, given that I have the original receipt, box, and the bag is in saleable condition, despite the color of the bag, and what happened to me in Hermes Glasgow was weird and inappropriate. He then contacted the Commercial Developer about this matter and told me that either him or the Comm. Developer will contact me later on.

To make the story short, when the Comm. Developer contacted me after he investigated the real story of this incident, he said that according to Glasgow store manager, she couldn't accept an exchange because the bag was reserved by someone else, and not me. I think this is absurd, because if it was true, why would the SA showed the bag to me after she knew my name, and the manager asked me to purchase the bag?

I told the Comm. Developer the whole story again from the very beginning, and gave him all the small details. I even told him that I could screen shot my call log if he needs more proof. He said that the will investigate the matter further and offer me a solution.

I am very much offended and surprised by the way I was treated. I bought a bag from a very reputable brand, for more than £4000 and I was treated like rubbish. How can a store manager defy the company policy and used her power as a manager to make certain things different according to her "discretion"?!

We'll see what will the Comm. Developer do to solve this matter.
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I'm sorry you were treated so poorly. No matter who is right/wrong, it's never ok for a store manager to treat a customer with impatience. It's especially distressing because H items are so expensive and we all want to make sure that we get the right color/size and have a pleasant buying experince and a bag that makes our hearts sing. That's why we buy H items to begin with - right?

In any event, I hope things work out for you. For what it's worth, I actually prefer malachite to blue saphir in a Lindy. Lindy's look fabulous in pops of color and I think malachite accomplishes pop but still appears neutral.

Think about what you really want - is it really about color or is it a more about principle? Either way, don't settle and if this is just too souring, perhaps return both and another one will come along. Lindy's are not hard to come by in the US so perhaps a trip here would make sense!!
 
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