Did you read my post about Amazon? Well here’s one about a company I hadn’t heard of. Zappos sell shoes on the web. Stupid idea. I remember when it all went down at boo.com during the dot com bubble! No one thinks buying shoes online is a good idea. What if they don’t fit? You need to go to a shop to try them on to make sure you like them. The fact a shop has a really limited selection is just something you have to accept.
Zappos storefront is so-so… but they do have 133 pairs of etnies to choose from. I notice across the top that shipping is free… and returns are free too… for 365 days! A whole year! Oh, and the reviews from their customers aren’t simply good, they’re outstanding:
Zappos.com: 3 steps to great customer service
Zappos has otherworldly customer service
Check the comments:
” Zappos really does go above and beyond, and I’m just as comfortable there shoe shopping as I am in the store.”
It seems they have the problems I thought existed sorted by getting products out to people very quickly, very efficiently and by making returns easy and free. They do in fact have a giant warehouse next to a UPS depot and phone-based customer service is available 24 hours a day. Their philosophy is explained on their site.
So far, not bad. What makes them so interesting? How about the fact that they pay their new employees to leave? Employees get four weeks training at full salary and then are offered $1,000 to quit. Why?
“Because if you’re willing to take the company up on the offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for… and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later.”
Here’s a great quote:
“Companies don’t engage emotionally with their customers—people do. If you want to create a memorable company, you have to fill your company with memorable people.”
… and this is making them money. In 1999 gross profit was next to nothing. In 2002 it was $32m. In 2005 $370m and they have a target of $1bn in 2008. Tony Hsieh, the CEO, says that:
“Our business is based on repeat customers and word of mouth. We view the money that we spend on customer service as marketing money that improves our brand.”
Why I am interested in this? Because here is a company that not only could not have existed a few years ago but is making the network work for its customers, both on and off-line. How on it are they? Out of 1,600 employees 327 are on twitter. They’re that social; this article explains it well. Each one of those employees is a public expression of commonly held values and creates a palpable feel that people make this organisation.
Every year each employee is asked to write a few words for a book that describes the company’s culture to better express what they do and who they are as a group. You can buy a copy here. I remember doing this for myself back in October 2005 shortly after joining what was then Spannerworks; if you want to see what I wrote then let me know. It would interesting for us all to do a similar thing to see how we understand ourselves. ‘Know thyself’ as the old quote goes….
Oops. Forgot to post the link to the Zappos blog.
