My 'unpopular opinion' may I feel tend to be the opposite.
I actually deplore the new-ish (I've noticed it more post-pandemic) Hermes sales model of 'upselling' and advising clients that they have not spent enough to 'qualify' for a bag offer.
I find it very distasteful-
I realise that building a profile based on loyalty and and buying across various catagories has been an integral part of their sales model for some time BUT I feel that in the last year the upselling and push to spend spend spend has become more agressive to the point of belittling customers by saying things like "you have'nt spent enough"..well maybe they've spent what they can comfortably afford.
Or maybe they've just spent money on what they love or WANT to own.
Having just read the 'Hermes relationship' thread and seeing posts from members lamenting their Sales assistants and leaving the brand (granted one was due to unforseen circumstances) I wonder if this pressure to upsell and make clients spend more is having a negative impact on the staff and causing the SA's with integrity to leave the company.
I speak as someone who works in sales and has recently left a company after 12years because I did'nt agree with my company's more recent focus on numbers being more important than loyalty and relationship building-4 of my team have left in the past year (long term staff members) to join other companies because we cared about our clients and our relationships with them and did'nt just want to push push push them to buy in order to make our targets.
My own SA left Hermes this year and I have'nt found a replacement because I want shopping to be relaxing, sociable & fun!
I find life pressured enough-I dont want to feel pressure when I'm spending my hard earned cash on 'stuff' I dont really need.
I feel sad the way that the popularity of the brand and leathergoods in particular seems to be creating a toxic shopping and selling enviroment.
I hope this post makes sense-the client/sa relationship is something I care deeply about and the fact that I want to leave a shop feeling happy I wouldnt want to leave a shop feeling 'not good enough' or that I'd been pressured into buying something I did'nt really love.
Whilst there are standard sales techniques of upselling, story-telling, suggesting add-ons etc (as is common throughout luxury) I think H staff training in upselling or suggesting add-ons must be the most inconsistent, random and unsuccessful (if they were trained in that way).
As an H client, I've always led the conversation in asking to see fine jewellery, RTW, hats etc. No one suggests a silk if I've come in to a store looking for a wallet. If I ask for a certain cw of a silk, often I'm told another store in London has one and off I go.
I'm sorry for your situation, that's indeed short-sighted of your former company, but all retail work to KPIs. As has been said in many threads, the higher performing H-stores get preferential treatment which in turn will make their clients happier. No SA/SM likes turning clients away or not being able to fulfill their wants. If an SA suggests something a client can buy as a viable alternative rather than letting him/her walk away empty handed, it's not upselling, the SA is trying to help the client.
IMO, I think H SA's leave H for many different reasons. Some because it's generally so
full-on front of house, and more specifically some very demanding clients that literally treat SAs like servants. I've worked in a couture house and with high-jewellery so I know how even
Vendeuse are treated, I cannot imagine the constant full-on throng of 'hungry' customers that flow into city H stores day after day. I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few suffered from burn-out. I also think some new SAs quickly find out it's not going to lead to the glamorous life they were hoping for.
Like most luxury houses, I think like you, H should spend a lot more time and effort training staff - and not just to maximize profits. There is for sure, so much waste of good sales people through lack of retention.
