Sorry to hear about your experience.
I am also not a high roller and have never been in a Hermes store or purchased online.
Fortunately my experience was a complete opposite to yours.
Communication and expectation setting was great and the watch was available when agreed.
Agree completely about the crown and the possibility for cross threading when screwing the crown back in. It seems even more tricky to wind than my Speedy Pro, and as you say, screwing down does seem harder than it needs to be.
I'm lucky that I don't find the clasp uncomfortable - it sits quite well on my 16.5cm wrists - even on the last strap hole it's still a tiny bit bigger than I would have liked, but is comfortable. I would like the opportunity to have more strap choice available. I did get a 3rd party strap but the lug design makes the strap sit too far from the case and looks rubbish.
I don't use the date and find it superfluous.
Love the dial font and colour, the shape and the size - reminds me almost of a PP Aquanaut.
I think it's something different at a nice price point. So far at least
