Zappos, an American online shoe retailer, is building a brand all about customer service
Who would have thought that shoe shopping would work online? Zappos, an online shoe retailer based in Las Vegas, is building a brand with a personality that shoe-shoppers can't get enough of. Zappo's chief executive Tony Hsieh is determined to create a service-orientated culture at the online retailer. "We want Zappos to be known as a service company that happens to sell shoes, handbags, anything and everything," he said. The shoe company has 1,300 staff.
Bloggers have been buzzing about Zappos following the revelation that it offers new staff money to quit. When Zappos hires new employees they spend four weeks on an intensive training period immersing themselves in the culture. For staff joining the corporate office, they must spend four weeks on customer loyalty training, which translates as a month in the call centre before starting their actual job.
Back to the offer. After this probation period, Zappos offers its new employees money for the time they've already worked plus a $1000 bonus if they quit today. This offer enables Zappos to ensure its new employees are committed to the organisation and also willing to offer the kind of customer service they want. (Around 10% of new call-centre employees take the money.)
The 24 hour call centre is crucial to Zappos' success. Its call centre employees are empowered to do whatever they need to do to keep customers happy. There's no script, no time limits on calls and they tell a "joke of the day" to people who call the hotline. They're also encouraged to use twitter, the microblogging service, to record the mundane highlights of their day.
Zappos expects to generate sales of more than $1bn this year, up from just $70m five years ago. Part of the reason it's successful is because it's got the economics right. It has a huge inventory - around four million pairs of shoes in a warehouse in Kentucky and it offers free delivery and free returns, with a 365 day return policy. It promises four-day delivery but most of the time manages to deliver the next day.
So given all this, it's no surprise to hear that on any given day, 65% of Zappos shoppers are repeat customers, according to the company. Yet another example of the importance of brands ensuring their values trickle down to employees.