Very disappointing service at Hermes Manhasset

[pursemember]

Edit again: never mind, I just re-read the original post and realized the SM DID say there was a buy quota. So I guess it just comes down to the priority of the customer, or the availability of particular combos...

i assume the combi leather color was just not offer from readin the sm wants to put it in later could mean the sm maybe even wants o use a SO quota for that articular bag.
of course tha is only guessing or me readint things into it but i do not fin the sm particularly rude etc and i wholeheartly agree with mrsspakles . i often read things on here and i am astoundad at what is expected demanded etc from stores and sa´s in particular.
and i also agree most regular poster on the h board are those who are alos frequent h customers aka also get priprity inb the stores so please do not take the stories on here to personal and assume the same apllies to you when you are a "freshmen" customer

 

[amuse bouche]

Sometimes they ARE looked down upon. There's something I've noticed only while I've been in an Hermes store, and it's the active avoidance of the customer. I mean the SA is working at avoiding the person/people that have presented themselves at the door. They walk in, they look around, walk to the back of the store (if they even get that far) and almost rush out. They felt the attitude, and they bolted. Most likely never to return. The utter snobbishness that can be part and parcel of Hermes is the one thing that really makes me want to slap some Hermes execs right upside the head. I just haven't gotten this at Cartier, LV, David Yurman, Tiffany, Charriol...etc.

Obviously, I am not going to argue with your own personal observations, but I will say "attitude" is not exclusive to H. One can get a bad SA at the pharmacy.

I personally don't think that just because one has bought an item, there should be fawning involved. If that's how a person has to get his/her strokes, then so be it. To me, it's a store. Do they have what I need? Great! If not, I'll go somewhere else, but my self-esteem is not tied to how I am treated in a retail establishment.

 

[amuse bouche]

Ok, update: I took the advice of some TPFers and went down to the store this evening... the SM was there and on the phone when I got there so I was just looking around the store. By the time she got off the phone a client of hers walked in so she was showing her a bag. As soon as she saw me she said "Oh, I know you left at least 5 messages for me but I've been so busy I didn't even get a chance to look at the book. Can you wait for 10 min? I'll look as soon as I'm done with this customer" Ugh! OK....

so, I waited about 20 min at the store while she finished with her customer and went to go take a look at the buy....

she didn't place my order! Oh well.... she said she'd try to put it in later but I'm just so disappointed with the service that I'm not sure if I'd like to patronize this store anymore...


I'm not sure what to think b/c it's true she prob. was very very busy but if a customer leaves a message she could at least call back to say that... she could have just called and said "sorry I couldn't take a look as I'm really busy at the moment but I didn't forget about you" That's it... and I don't think that's unreasonable at all. It's not like I was asking her to track down or find me a birkin... just tell me if my order was in.

I'm sorry to hear this. It doesn't sound like she handles things well. Was her promise to try to put the order in later convincing? Maybe she will make the extra effort because she knows she botched this one? Or maybe she's not really interested and other routes should be pursued?

 

[xiaoxiao]

I am truly sorry to hear they you feel you are being mistreated! No one deserves to feel like that!

I am not a VIP or anything, so I am afraid I cannot offer you some inside insights to how a H store works or add to what already has been said by everyone here. But keep your head up! At the end you are a customer, and at this economy and especially the third quarter, liquidity will become increasingly important. Money not spent is certainly not wasted, kwim? And also, there are many wonderful resellers here who offer new and pre-loved birkins and kellys of your liking, so there is light at the end of the tunnel sort of speak!

Good luck and hope you will forget this unhappy experience soon!!

 

[pyrexia]

Obviously, I am not going to argue with your own personal observations, but I will say "attitude" is not exclusive to H. One can get a bad SA at the pharmacy.

I personally don't think that just because one has bought an item, there should be fawning involved. If that's how a person has to get his/her strokes, then so be it. To me, it's a store. Do they have what I need? Great! If not, I'll go somewhere else, but my self-esteem is not tied to how I am treated in a retail establishment.

Great words, Asa

I think nowadays there's such an emphasis on service that everyone expects to be treated like the Queen of England and be fawned over by SAs every single time, and when it doesn't happen (or they perceive it doesn't happen), they raise a stink. And I personally find that very sad because customers pick on the smallest things to raise an official complaint when a small matter could have been resolved on the ground.

 

[mlgnlg]

MrsS, totally agreed with you.

We need to be a little patient. But once in a while, I would ring my SA, gently asking her about the items that I am looking for. SO generally, it works well for me and her ( my SA ). And yes, as what MrsS had mentioned, they are not that at all happy when people asked them about placing order on the immediate entrance.

At every visit, I learnt new things,and I would thank the SAs! It makes the relationship between you and them happy....( not too happy for wallet ) but you do get to dance with the Hermes ribbon once you get the items that you desired...know what I mean?

 

[sarnia]

Seems to be an ongoing problem with some of the Hermes shops. A few weeks ago "KWittman" posted in this forum that her SA was saying nasty things about another client.

 

[Lime]

That is ridiclous and such a disservice to you, sadly this a is common thing i hear from people i know.Its incredible how many stories of arrogant and unproffesional behavoiur from H boutiques there are.Of course we cant generalize but its a fact plenty of H SA's.etc are beyond snobbish and stupid!

 

[sarnia]

xxxx I don't know what that means?


what's wrong w/ you that you need to call names like that?
only warning

 

[Mindi B]

Just ignore him. (This particular sort of illness thrives on attention, even negative attention.)

 

[MiaT]

.
Are you a regular customer at your H store? If you are not, how can you expect a hug (figuratively speaking) from a stranger who hardly even know you?

Mrssparkles - this is an excellent point.

I believe many of us "forget" that we are dealing with human beings in the stores. They are on their feet all day, maybe the person that they had to deal with just prior to you (figuratively speaking) was a nightmare customer...and they still need time to downshift so to speak.

I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Customers should expect good service with any industry dealing directly with us as consumers. Yes, I am aware, and have experienced fantastic service and also shameful service in a variety of stores. I have noticed that in higher end establishments, customers tend to "demand" respect. I like to think that it goes both ways when dealing with another person.

Just my humble opinion.

(Now I don't mean to point fingers at any one person here. That is not my intention).

 

[lilpicotin]

Obviously, I am not going to argue with your own personal observations, but I will say "attitude" is not exclusive to H. One can get a bad SA at the pharmacy.

I personally don't think that just because one has bought an item, there should be fawning involved. If that's how a person has to get his/her strokes, then so be it. To me, it's a store. Do they have what I need? Great! If not, I'll go somewhere else, but my self-esteem is not tied to how I am treated in a retail establishment.

So, I don't think the OP, nor other posters who said they felt brushed aside by Hermes SAs, wanted to be "fawned" over. In this particular case, the SM gave the OP a time frame in which to reasonably expect an answer to the request she placed - and the SM was two weeks late. In fact, the SM didn't even call back, the OP had to go to the store and intercept the SM. Obviously, we all have different expectations when we talk about time, but to me, 2 weeks is a really long time not to get back to someone. This isn't "fawning" over someone, and this is not getting your "strokes" off of customer service - this is just common courtesy. And yes, the SM was busy, but we're all busy, and this was just a callback to say yes or no - would have taken a couple of minutes.

I'm not "fawned over" at ANY store - but I do expect, and usually receive, common courtesy. I've mentioned before that there's one BV store where ALL of the SAs go out of their way to find what they think are out of stock items for me if I ask about it - not once, not twice, but many times over a period of several years - and I don't even buy from them every time! I'm definitely not a "high-ticket" or "regular" customer. Are there other BV stores where the service is not the same? I'm sure there are, and I'm sure there are H stores where the service is impeccable - I hear about it all the time on this forum. So I'm not saying SA snobbery is either limited or endemic to H.

I think part of the problem when we as tPFers discuss this issue is that there are some customers, regular or occasional, who have had consistently very good experiences at their H stores, and that colors their experiences when they go to other H stores or hear about other H stores on tPF. Then there are other tPFers who have had really average or poor experiences, and perhaps we don't report them all, but that in turn colors our reading of other H experiences. If we're H newbies - and we all start out as H newbies - and we've had poor experiences, we're less likely to go on and become regular, high-ticket customers, and more likely to keep our distance.

I do wish the tPFers who've had good experiences with H wouldn't tend to the conclusion that the rest of us are just whining, or need to be "fawned" over, or the like (and I'm not picking on asa's comment in particular, it's just a trend of thought I'm observing). Everyone brings up good points to consider when discussing H customer service, but that doesn't need to lead to suggesting/assuming that the customer is at fault. I can honestly say that H has been hardest to get into as a brand for me because of the way I've been treated, and I don't ask for much - I don't mind being left alone while I browse, and all I want at the end of the day is to pick up the item that my heart desires. I do think it's odd that H SAs will just stand around (I've seen 3-5 SAs at any given time, at different H stores), gossiping with each other, not bothering to ask if I need help, but whatever, that's just average lack of attention for any retail store. What I DON'T expect is for the item to be plucked out of my hands and told not to touch things (scarves and small agendas!!) that are reserved for people actually interested in buying them.

 

[amuse bouche]

So, I don't think the OP, nor other posters who said they felt brushed aside by Hermes SAs, wanted to be "fawned" over. In this particular case, the SM gave the OP a time frame in which to reasonably expect an answer to the request she placed - and the SM was two weeks late. In fact, the SM didn't even call back, the OP had to go to the store and intercept the SM. Obviously, we all have different expectations when we talk about time, but to me, 2 weeks is a really long time not to get back to someone. This isn't "fawning" over someone, and this is not getting your "strokes" off of customer service - this is just common courtesy. And yes, the SM was busy, but we're all busy, and this was just a callback to say yes or no - would have taken a couple of minutes.


I should have been more clear, I was in no way referring to the OP's situation. I was responding to what I perceived as a certain amount of whining, BUT see below.

I'm not "fawned over" at ANY store - but I do expect, and usually receive, common courtesy. I've mentioned before that there's one BV store where ALL of the SAs go out of their way to find what they think are out of stock items for me if I ask about it - not once, not twice, but many times over a period of several years - and I don't even buy from them every time! I'm definitely not a "high-ticket" or "regular" customer. Are there other BV stores where the service is not the same? I'm sure there are, and I'm sure there are H stores where the service is impeccable - I hear about it all the time on this forum. So I'm not saying SA snobbery is either limited or endemic to H.

I think part of the problem when we as tPFers discuss this issue is that there are some customers, regular or occasional, who have had consistently very good experiences at their H stores, and that colors their experiences when they go to other H stores or hear about other H stores on tPF. Then there are other tPFers who have had really average or poor experiences, and perhaps we don't report them all, but that in turn colors our reading of other H experiences. If we're H newbies - and we all start out as H newbies - and we've had poor experiences, we're less likely to go on and become regular, high-ticket customers, and more likely to keep our distance.

With this, ITA. I have been fortunate that I have received great service in all the H stores I've visited, so I must keep this in mind.

I do wish the tPFers who've had good experiences with H wouldn't tend to the conclusion that the rest of us are just whining, or need to be "fawned" over, or the like (and I'm not picking on asa's comment in particular, it's just a trend of thought I'm observing).

Fair enough.

Everyone brings up good points to consider when discussing H customer service, but that doesn't need to lead to suggesting/assuming that the customer is at fault. I can honestly say that H has been hardest to get into as a brand for me because of the way I've been treated, and I don't ask for much - I don't mind being left alone while I browse, and all I want at the end of the day is to pick up the item that my heart desires. I DON'T expect the item to be plucked out of my hands and told not to touch things (scarves and small agendas!!) that are reserved for people actually interested in buying them.

I will say that wherever I go, I do try to be reasonably friendly myself. I know I would rather assist a cheerful person. In any case, I'm shopping, so why wouldn't I be happy?

 

[merika]

I think part of the problem when we as tPFers discuss this issue is that there are some customers, regular or occasional, who have had consistently very good experiences at their H stores, and that colors their experiences when they go to other H stores or hear about other H stores on tPF. Then there are other tPFers who have had really average or poor experiences, and perhaps we don't report them all, but that in turn colors our reading of other H experiences. If we're H newbies - and we all start out as H newbies - and we've had poor experiences, we're less likely to go on and become regular, high-ticket customers, and more likely to keep our distance.

I do wish the tPFers who've had good experiences with H wouldn't tend to the conclusion that the rest of us are just whining, or need to be "fawned" over, or the like (and I'm not picking on asa's comment in particular, it's just a trend of thought I'm observing). Everyone brings up good points to consider when discussing H customer service, but that doesn't need to lead to suggesting/assuming that the customer is at fault. I can honestly say that H has been hardest to get into as a brand for me because of the way I've been treated, and I don't ask for much - I don't mind being left alone while I browse, and all I want at the end of the day is to pick up the item that my heart desires. I DON'T expect the item to be plucked out of my hands and told not to touch things (scarves and small agendas!!) that are reserved for people actually interested in buying them.

People are different, and their attitudes are different also - again it all depends on how much they think they want something. So at one end of the spectrum there maybe posters who walk in a store and 'demand' something and be annoyed when it is not offered. Or the total opposite - the customer who puts up with bad treatment or rudeness hoping and hoping that she'll be offered something and fearing that if she offends the SA or the management she will not be offered anything, ever.

I actually find a well-balanced outlook among members who have several different stores to choose from or visit, sometimes in different countries. This gives them ample opportunity to pick and choose who they can work with. Most of those people take the time and pick their SAs and their stores well, and their store experiences and what they are offered reflect this.

 

[mrssparkles]

I will say that wherever I go, I do try to be reasonably friendly myself. I know I would rather assist a cheerful person. In any case, I'm shopping, so why wouldn't I be happy?

asa, you're the most courteous person I have ever met. And the way you go about in your friendly manner, I think it's awfully hard for a SA not to be nice back to you.