Geogiegirl...I am so sorry this happened to you. As you said, things happen and break down (although I would have imagined that for such a grand opening, Hermes would have done better and fixed something so necessary as an elevator). The problem is the lack of consideration on the part of the doorman, the SA, and the manager. An apology and simple acknowledgement goes a long way, and it's perplexing to me that some people in the service industry forget that. I wished the doorman would have opened the door for you right away, before you even reached it, that the SA and manager would have been apologetic for the situation, acknowledged your feelings, offered better solutions to the problem, and made you feel comfortable and welcomed. Shame on them.
Please keep us posted on the situation. I hope they do something to fix this. 💐💐💐
Hello LovEmAll - I hope you are ok?
I agree with everything you say. Courtesy costs absolutely nothing but it ALWAYS goes a very long way!
I just feel very sad that Hermes somehow thought (or certainly gave the impression that they thought) it was perfectly okay that those with mobility problems were not able to access the store just as long as the majority of people visiting (those who were able bodied) could do so. As I said previously, if there had been a problem with the entrance door or with the stairs, I imagine the need to get someone in to attend to fixing THAT problem would perhaps have been rather more pressing...
As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes.
Really sorry for what happened to you especially you rode 5 hours to visit the store. I've to shake my head because it is another classic story of Hermes. It seems that while there are happy customers, the ratio to bad service is pretty high and I too feel that the other French luxury houses have better service especially LV. Their sales reps go out of their way to show me the bags and are trained well with a lot of knowledge of their product. As much as I like H products, I've to take a deep breath every time I go in.
I hope that you hear from management very soon. Like other US members said, we've very strict laws in the US but I've noticed that H is one of those stores that are hardly thoughtful of those situations.
Keep us posted.
Thank you so much for your support chkpfbeliever.
I had thought the journey would be most worthwhile with a very special 3 day shopping trip at the end of it. Had I known there would be no access for disabled for all three of the days I was there I quite simply would not have made the journey.
The journey was extra special as this was the last journey I will be able to make for some time with my son as he starts a new job in the next few weeks so will be living very many miles away from me, making such a shopping trip all but impossible!
As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes.
Georgiegirl 27, I was mortified to read about your experience and I am so sorry you had to go through this. I hope Hermes will do something quickly to rectify the insensitive approach taken by their staff.
I have had my own disappointing experiences in that store and they have also not proven to be child friendly in some instances.
If anything good should come out of this, I hope your experience will ensure nobody has to ever go through anything so unpleasant in that boutique again.
Hello Leah,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I am hoping that too!
I consider myself to be a strong minded person, but when you arrive somewhere like that on an occasion such as it was, to be told that your disability effectively means you are excluded from looking through the store, it actually felt very hurtful indeed that no one at Hermes seems to have thought it was important enough to make sure we had access - important enough that is to make the lift an ESSENTIAL priority in the many many months of work that took place in refurbishment. If however it was literally a 'minor glitch' - something that cannot have been foreseen and could not have been prepared for, then I am sure that a company as large, as prestigious and as financially sound as Hermes had the means and the ability to summon URGENT assistance from on call lift engineers. The fact that three days after the lift STILL is not working just makes me feel they must genuinely NOT care about providing access for those with mobility difficulties.
As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes.
Geriogirl27. I under elevators can break but they could so easily have dealt with this situation if they wanted to. I understand you might not have gotten to browse all goods but they could have offered you a seat and gone and collected some of their latest/popular scarves, jewellery, bags etc for your viewing and it would have been a start. My store is small so not all are on display but if I see a leather bracelet I like, they open the storage drawers and looks what other colours and sizes they have and so we work through what I like and is available. So yes, they should just have brought down some things and then after discussions, could have gotten more precise things.
Thank you Nahreen - I totally agree.
My son and I were also saying that knowing the lift was not working (for whatever reason), a good and effective Store Manager would have taken the decision to allocate an area on the ground floor with comfortable seating, a table, and a welcoming atmosphere and would have said to anyone in my position that this area had been specially set aside so that no one with mobility difficulties would be excluded in any way and that any item of interest would be brought down by his staff and shown in the privacy and comfort of that allocated area ... not rocket science...
(As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes).
Sometimes DH and I stroll into different stores on trips etc... just to feel the vibe. We usually leave laughing because the SA's (if they don't already know you) are usually pretty awful. We recently went into the Toronto shop and had one of our worst H experiences EVER. After being ignored for 10 mins with one other person browsing the scarves we asked how the weak Canadian dollar was affecting prices. A tall asian woman with horrendous breath proceeded to go on a 20 minute rant about how...
- Canadians should never shop anywhere else besides Canada because the government will catch you trying to evade the taxes. She was totally yelling at us.
- She can not compare any prices for us AT ALL because they have no B's, K's, Constances or CDC's. (Sheesh)
- They never know what the price of an item will be until it lands in the shop. Ok maybe true.
- She asked what pieces I had already and when I started telling her she laughed and said there was no such thing as Barenia Gator B.
.... i have unicorn I guess. I had full intention of buying a dinner service for 12, there is no way I'm buying it here.
Toronto store.... Boo.
In my opinion this is just not acceptable behaviour coming from a luxury goods house. I will repeat that my local Hermes could not be kinder or more attentive and were actually excited FOR me when I said I was arranging to make a special trip to London for three days so that my son and I could have a wonderful shopping experience before he left to start his new job... I can honestly say that my local Hermes staff were I think, as shocked and upset as I was about what happened.
As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes.
Sorry to hear about your experience. This is why I don't pop into H stores when I travel - I don't want to taint the wonderful H experience I get in my local store
Just want to point out that if you are looking to buy a dinner service for 12, you are better off buying this at your home store anyway.
Thank you so much MrsJDS.
I agree... and unlike 'spoiled brat' (quoted above), I won't be buying a dinner service or anything else for that matter from Hermes until this has been properly addressed. I don;t think I am being unreasonable when I say that I think that is the least I deserve after what happened?)
(As of close of business today - still no response whatsoever from anyone at Hermes).
THANK YOU LADIES xx
The silver lining would be a prompt, and apologetic reply from the management! Certainly there will be unexpected situations in a retail setting, but it's how a company decides to respond, that is so telling. Clearly they fell short in the boutique, and now they have a second chance. Sending best wishes, and keep us posted! 
