Worst shopping experience in Paris Serves

[Corrine Hsu]

That is exactly what I expect from Asian H stores. They didn't get the commission and it is only a Petite H item, why would they want to waste time to help you? I would write to the store manager at Sevres and take photos of your boxes and items and explained the situation. Why would one customer take the trouble of writing if the item is there? why not claim both charms are missing instead of one? You think that for good faith, H would just replace it but that is typical H. While a lot of VIPs here have good experience with H, I must say that they have one of the worst CRMs in the luxury market.

Let me clarify, it's a manager from Paris Sevres store told me he checked CCTV and nothing issued and can't do anything for me now.

Their attitude shows they don't care about client who is not VVIP. Because I can't bring more money to them.

 

[Corrine Hsu]

See it doesn't happen to one person. Others are chiming in their experience so it is not unusual that the craziness at the checkout counter mean mistakes can happen and H should have apologized for the inconvenience and send out the replacement the next day instead of telling a customer that the CCTV doesn't show anything wrong.

Exactly, I called the Paris Sevres store by myself, and they don't even call me back once.

If I trying to take advantage from them, why I only claim a Petit H charm is missing and not silkin wallet (I also went to George V store to purchased two silkin wallet.)

They just think I'm Asian and it's far away from Paris. I believe my issue is not first case but also not least because they are covering each other from manager to employees.

 

[Corrine Hsu]

But that doesn't mean that they can proof that that specific purchase footage has been checked. I feel like the response is just an easy way for them to address the customer and it shows a lack of trust. It is only a small item so that could have replaced it without any question just for good faith. If it was Nordstrom or Amazon, they would have shipped out the replacement next day.

Yes. Nordstrom, Amazon and other luxury brands trusted every client, will not ignore you if you are not a VVIP.

But not Hermes, they only take care VVIP. [emoji35]

 

[Carrierae]

When I was in my 20s, I bought a watch from Kate Spade on their website but the box was empty. I freaked out because I thought they wouldn’t believe me....since I’m sure people try this trick to scam the company. They ended up replacing it without an issue. I thought for sure they wouldn’t replace it.

I agree with the group consensus...it’s a charm. It’s cheap enough to replace with no issues...and light enough that they could have missed it....but why didn’t the SA bring it up to someone when she/he saw it wasn’t included in the box?

 

[JA_UK]

@Carrierae
It was the OP that discovered the box was empty not the SA. At the store you select the items you want from a tray then the SA once you’ve paid, goes to box and wrap your items and returns to you with said items in a bag. This is done out of view from the customer. The SA may have been distracted and forgot to place that item in the box, there also may have been more than 1 SA back there wrapping items.

 

[Carrierae]

@Carrierae
It was the OP that discovered the box was empty not the SA. At the store you select the items you want from a tray then the SA once you’ve paid, goes to box and wrap your items and returns to you with said items in a bag. This is done out of view from the customer. The SA may have been distracted and forgot to place that item in the box, there also may have been more than 1 SA back there wrapping items.

I think there was a misunderstanding. I know the OP discovered the mistake, but so should have the SA...even if they didn’t have means to contact the customer. For example, if you are wrapping three items and one of them doesn’t make it into the box, wouldn’t the SA see that a few minutes later...put it aside...knowing that they messed up and the customer will probably be back? They could have had multiple SAs, but if a charm was left out...wouldn’t they be asking each other who it was for?

I only bring this up because I own a retail store. One time, we forgot to include a customers gift card in their receipt folder (it was in addition to some clothing they purchased). We saw the mistake after she left, but had no way to contact her....so we set it aside with a sticky note for our staff. Luckily, she caught our mistake while getting coffee shortly after and called the store.

We have random items lingering on our cash wrap area and our employees are constantly asking each other why it’s set aside before putting it back. Not any malicious thought with the SA...it just seems there would be a good chance of discovering her mistake after the OP left....but it could have been very chaotic, and an SA could have put away without asking.

Still...very disappointing how the store handled the situation. IMO, their charms probably have the highest margins and take minimal effort to produce....so it’s odd that they aren’t just sending another one. It would probably cost more money to waste manpower on this than just replacing it without hesitation.

 

[pinkiestarlet]

It's so disappointing to hear how Sevres is treating their customers, no matter how big or small a purchase is, it is still money spent and that warrants after-sales service. To OP, I do hope your home store in Taiwan can solve this for you, good luck.

 

[JA_UK]

but it could have been very chaotic, and an SA could have put away without asking..

Yes this could have happened and the OP’s SA may have been none the wiser if she/he was distracted. Also at that store the till is away from the counter where the items are stored and it could be that that the SA after locating suitable boxes could have forgotten to put in one of the items before heading over to the till. The barcodes they scan aren’t on the items themselves. But as a sanity check you would hope they open the box and show the contents before they leave the till to wrap the products. Anyway there is no excuse to treat a customer so shabbily they should just send her a replacement. I hope her local store helps her to find a resolution.

 

[DaBish]

I work in retail and a similar situation happened and it wasn't easy to spot where it went wrong on camera.
We reviewed the footage and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Then we slowed down the footage and watched frame by frame. It wasn't until we watched frame by frame that we spotted it.
The SA had the item in question underneath a box and wrapping paper. When she moved the cut ends of paper, she accidentally threw away the item in question along with the bits of paper. It was an accident and not malicious.
It took 5 hours of manpower to watch the tape over and over again to sort it out. This item was worth 16k .
Accidents happen but they should've immediately gave the customer a new item especially since it's not a high value piece.
They really shouldn't treat customers like this!

 

[Lemonmint]

OP so sorry to hear that this happened to you. It must be really distressing to go through this, and to be treated like that by Hermes.

I remember when I purchased something at Burberry, their wrapping area was open and visible to the customer. I could watch him put the exact item in the box before he tied it with ribbon and put it in a shopping bag. I think all luxury seller should make the wrapping area more visible to the customer, if anything, for the customer's peace of mind.

 

[Carrierae]

I work in retail and a similar situation happened and it wasn't easy to spot where it went wrong on camera.
We reviewed the footage and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Then we slowed down the footage and watched frame by frame. It wasn't until we watched frame by frame that we spotted it.
The SA had the item in question underneath a box and wrapping paper. When she moved the cut ends of paper, she accidentally threw away the item in question along with the bits of paper. It was an accident and not malicious.
It took 5 hours of manpower to watch the tape over and over again to sort it out. This item was worth 16k .
Accidents happen but they should've immediately gave the customer a new item especially since it's not a high value piece.
They really shouldn't treat customers like this!

This also happened with my store keys, lol. We couldn’t find them anywhere despite my tile chip said they were last seen in the store. Luckily it did have a tile chip...because we found them in the nearby dumpster outside! [emoji23] They were unpacking boxes and must have been swept up in all the plastic...then sent out to the recycling dumpster! So yes, accidents happen all the time! [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Hopefully they found the $16k item!

 

[PJW5813]

OP so sorry to hear that this happened to you. It must be really distressing to go through this, and to be treated like that by Hermes.

I remember when I purchased something at Burberry, their wrapping area was open and visible to the customer. I could watch him put the exact item in the box before he tied it with ribbon and put it in a shopping bag. I think all luxury seller should make the wrapping area more visible to the customer, if anything, for the customer's peace of mind.[/QUOTE]

I fear you may be right. There was a time when it was appropriate for luxury stores to distance the customer experience from the mundane aspects of shopping, like paying and wrapping. Payment cards were taken to some little room where the payment docket was created and it would be brought back to you, with your card, in a leather folder.
After signing you would be presented with your beautifully wrapped and boxed items.
With the high risk of fraud none of us should now loose sight of our cards. There is a growing concern that the item wrapped might not be perfect, like the one shown and examined - even if it is brand new, from the stock room and untouched by customers.

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

I think one of the main problem with the hermes store in paris is they are having a very heavy traffic of ppl coming in to the store.

 

[meowlett]

Let me clarify, it's a manager from Paris Sevres store told me he checked CCTV and nothing issued and can't do anything for me now.

Their attitude shows they don't care about client who is not VVIP. Because I can't bring more money to them.

This is horrible. If there is really no issue, why would a customer call from half way around the world? And for a small item that they can easily replace.
VIP or not, we are all at the mercy of the stranger SAs while we are traveling.

Hope that someone from H will fix it for you.

 

[papertiger]

I went to Paris Serves store on Sep 29. I purchased three Petit H charms ( 2 ice cream and 1 witch), 3 items were perfectly wrapped in gift boxes, hence I didn’t open them until I returned to Taiwan. I realized the “witch” charm was missing when I opened the box with nothing inside.

I contacted the customer service centre but the answer from them was that they have checked the CCTV, but no issues were found. I tried to contact the store but no one has answered my phone calls for more than 4 days already.

It is a terrible shopping experience for me with Hermès. Although the charm I purchased is not a big item, it means a lot to remark this trip with my good friends. The box I brought back was empty.

Anyone can give me some advice about how can I get solution?
Many thanks in advance.

My heart goes out to you CH. What should have been a pure treat has now seemed to turned sour. Keep your hopes up that it will be sorted out but if your local store cannot help you, perhaps write an email to H HQ in Paris, letting them know factually what happened and asking them to rectify the situation or pursue a refund through your CC. Fingers crossed everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.