Zappos, for those of you who haven\u2019t heard of it (I hadn\u2019t), is an online retailer with a reputation for world class customer service.\u00a0 It started out selling only shoes but has since branched into lots of other stuff as well.\u00a0 It went from a startup to $1 billion in sales within 10 years.\u00a0 Anyway, Zappos founder and CEO, Tony Hsieh, has written a book, \u201cDelivering Happiness,\u201d in which he describes how he launched Zappos and how his unflinching focus on customer service evolved.\u00a0 Below I offer a few highlights from the book, so if you\u2019re interested in some thoughts about how to up your customer service game, please read on.<\/p>\n
In Hsieh\u2019s view, it all starts with core values.\u00a0 Strong core values beget a great culture, and a great culture begets a great company.\u00a0 So Hsieh spent a lot of time, working with employees, to distill Zappos\u2019 core values.\u00a0 Here they are:<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Deliver WOW Through Service
\n2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Embrace and Drive Change
\n3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
\n4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
\n5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Pursue Growth and Learning
\n6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
\n7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
\n8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Do More with Less
\n9)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Be Passionate and Determined
\n10)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Be Humble<\/p>\n
The key is, these aren\u2019t just nice words to hang on the Zappos conference room wall.\u00a0 Hsieh works relentlessly to build these core values into everything Zappos does.\u00a0 They drive how Zappos hires, fires, and interacts with both customers and suppliers.\u00a0 For example, new employees at Zappos go through an extensive initial training period, much of which is devoted to indoctrinating new employees into the company\u2019s core values.\u00a0 At the conclusion of the training, for any new employee who can\u2019t embrace the company\u2019s core values, Zappos will offer that employee a check for $2,000 to quit.<\/p>\n
Zappos maintains a fulltime call center even though very few calls result in a sale.\u00a0 Furthermore, they don\u2019t measure call times.\u00a0 They want their people to stay on the line as long as it takes to give the customer a WOW experience.\u00a0 They don\u2019t use scripts so that their people treat each call as a unique customer service opportunity.\u00a0 And most interesting, they don\u2019t ask their call center people to upsell.<\/p>\n
Zappos makes customer service the responsibility of everyone, not just that of one department.\u00a0 And costs associated with customer service are \u201cinvestments in building a customer service brand,\u201d not expenses to be minimized.<\/p>\n
Each year, Zappos publishes its \u201cculture book\u201d which is a collection of stories, submitted by employees, about how the core values of the company\u2019s culture have impacted their work and their lives.\u00a0 Each employee gets a copy.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s more.\u00a0 Much more.\u00a0 But if you want it, you\u2019re going to have to read the book.\u00a0 Hopefully, I\u2019ve whetted your appetite to do just that.\u00a0 A word of caution, however.\u00a0 The first part of the book is about Tony Hsieh\u2019s early life, his pre-Zappos business adventures, and coming of age in San Francisco.\u00a0 But be patient, it does set the stage for his later ideas about values, culture, and customer service.<\/p>\n
Almost all of us in business talk about good customer service, but in Delivering Happiness, you\u2019ll learn about a company that does much more than talk the talk . . . they eat, sleep, and breathe customer service, and take it to a whole new level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zappos, for those of you who haven\u2019t heard of it (I hadn\u2019t), is an online retailer with a reputation for world class customer service.\u00a0 It started out selling only shoes but has since branched into lots of other stuff as well.\u00a0 It went from a startup to $1 billion in sales within 10 years.\u00a0 Anyway,<\/p>\n