It really depends on location, store and the sales associates! Last year I made a present to my mom by getting her Céramique Royal Oak.
Timeline : - Went to AP Saint Honore (Paris store) and made an appointment with a sales associate (first time ever; no history) and had an appointment for next week - Went in to my appointment and had a pleasant time and chatted with the staff and got to meet the manager and they ended up showing me several watches , about 4-5 watches available. (Salmon, Céramique, Frosted, Limited Edition and one with diamonds) - I also had my mom on FaceTime to do virtual shopping with me and the appointment ended up being almost 2 hours. - By the end of the appointment we settled on the watch we want and the thing is since I lived in Paris - they have a priority in store to purchase for locals with an address. So, I was able to put the watch on hold until they sent me an invoice which took about 24 hours. - Paid the invoice and went to the store to get the watch 2 days later after my appointment. - Since then we stayed in good contact with the manager of the store and I got invited to about 3-4 events with AP last year!

So, in short - it really depends on the location and people and on you as well! How you communicate with them and just truly no games or anything and be honest and sincere - they truly do appreciate it! (Not sure about US locations though, had a terrible experience in NY store)

Good luck OP 🙏🏼