Zappos' Exceptional Customer Service Case

Name 3 things that makes Zappos customer service so special. (Remember, customer service is more than the people that talk to customers on the phone. It is whatever makes the experience better for customers.) 1) The fact that Zappos offered free shipping (both ways) to its customers in 1999 is proof of great customer service. This makes it easier for customers to purchase their products, since they now know that the price the product is listed at, is the price they pay the product and that there are no hidden costs. They also know that they can return its products for free, eliminating the risk of ordering something that does not fit. 2) One of the biggest problems with buying shoes online is to know if the shoe will fit or not. Zappos went to great lengths to help their customers find the right size by enabling their customers to print a shoe sizing template. This made it easier for their customers to order shoes online and is an example of great customer service. 3) Zappos CLT (call/contact center representatives) is known to provide great customer service. The CLT workers are known as problem solvers for its customers and can help with questions that they could not find the answers to online. They do not have a script, since Zappos want the conversation to be as natural as possible and do not mind them spending much time talking to customers. These workers will even help people who cannot find the desired shoes on Zappos, by looking up these shoes at competitor’s website in order to help them. Occasionally they will send flower to its customers on their birthday or provide certain customers with a lifetime of 1 day shipping out of now where. The way these people help its customers with all sorts of problems/questions, makes their customer service special Zappos uses a differentiation strategy. Remember, they are not competing on having the lowest price, but 75% of customers are repeat customers – there is strong loyalty, based on customer service. Name 3 organizational choices Zappos made that helps them provide superior service. 1) One organizational choice that Zappos made in order to provide superior service, is that they only hire people who smiles a lot and that they perceive as happy. By hiring happy employees and keeping them happy, Zappos have managed to create a unique culture where people want to work, which results in superior service. 2) Another organizational strategy choice that Zappos have made is to make a list of core values that all the employees has to follow. One of these core values that is highlighted is value number 7, which says: build a positive team and family spirit – and encourage managers to spend 10- 20% of their time socializing with the members outside of the work. These core values are so important to Zappos, that they are willing to fire employees based on whether they live up to these core values, independent if they are doing their job well or not. This is an important part for Zappos in order to keep their employees happy and creating a great working culture, which is essential for the in order to provide superior service. 3) Another way Zappos is ensuring that their employees deliver superior service is by making all employees, no matter position, to go through four weeks of paid training, where the main focus is call center training. If you do not pass these 4 weeks of training; you will not keep you job at Zappos. a. Their focus on all of their employees to fit into their culture and being happy at the workplace is emphasized by offering entry level employees the opportunity to reach the highest level of management. This can be achieved by the employees by participating in something called “The Pipeline”. This require the employees to undertake 25 hours of core level training, which include 160 hours of initial new hire/customer loyalty training, but they will also be taught in effective communication, coaching, how to overcome conflict and stress management. b. This is offered so all employee has the opportunity to progress within the company and to make sure that parts of the higher ranked management has truly knows the culture of the company and how it is to work at different positions within the firm. Company culture is very strong at Zappos and help the firm to both make decisions and to sustain their competitive advantage. Considering all that you learned in the case, would you like to work at Zappos? Why or why not? (There is no right or wrong answer, but please explain why.) I would have liked to work for Zappos due to the way they take care of its employees. Looking at the videos and reading about how management perceive the working culture at Zappos, it seems to be a great place to work. There is a strong emphasize on the employees to be happy and to become good friends with each other, which creates a great culture within the company and motivates the employees to perform their best at any time. From this reading it appears to me that there is not a too strict working culture, but that there is room for having fun, doing activities at the office and that one gets paid more than fair as well. Zappos also offer training that enables the employees to progress within the company, which is important to me. Considering all this, I would have loved to work at Zappos and participated in such a culture as it would make my job both fun and rewarding.