Do you smile over the phone? Zappos does.
I got the opportunity to visit the Zappos.com offices while I was in Vegas attending the Affiliate Summit, and I have to say (cue the geek) it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
Zappos is the world’s largest shoe store. It’s cool, innovative, and powerful, but there’s something else that Zappos is. Zappos is customer service and there’s a lesson to be learned here by anyone interested in making what their company does and what their company is the same thing.
The magic that Zappos has captured isn’t merely selling shoes online, it’s the way they sell shoes online. They list almost every shoe on the planet, and will ship it free in both directions and offer standard overnight delivery service. And when a transaction needs some hand holding, Zappos will blow you away with their customer service. I was a guest the day I visited their office, but I was treated by every single employee as if I were one of them, or better yet, a customer.
The tour started in the lobby. We had to wait a bit for Meghan (our friend Gerard’s fiancée) to meet us. Meghan is an assistant buyer at Zappos, but she, as well as every other Zappos employee, is also a Zappos historian able to recall a remarkable, Wikipedia-sized knowledge base of Zappos trivia at the drop of a hat.
For example, in their lobby they have this flat screen TV displaying video of constant streams of shoe boxes moving down conveyor belts, and Meghan and the guy (I believe Cameron was his name) that worked at the front desk discussed back and forth how tall a certain mechanical component in the warehouse was. Do your employees know, or even care about details like that?
Beyond the lobby, we walk through large rooms separated into small vicinities by cubicle walls. The main room where all the brands and business is managed was a colorful feast for the eyes. Posters and streamers were hanging every where, and above each desk hung the name of the person that worked at that station. At least half of the people that worked on each row stopped what they were doing to give us a quick nod, smile and hello as we passed. They all made eye-contact and seemed genuinely happy to see us. And why shouldn’t they be so proud? As far as I’m concerned they have the second best job in the world, working for the second best company (my job and Voodoo being #1 respectively).
The tour ended in the cafeteria, and if I was a little geeky in the beginning, I’ll definitely be a little “fat kid†right now. We showed up to Zappos on sandwich day (btw, Zappos employees eat free everyday), but these weren’t your average bologna or pb&j’s. I got two, one with turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce, and a second with roast chicken and provolone. It took me a minute to pick a drink since they had everything you could think of, and next to the drink machine, free vending machines. I snagged a Klondike bar from the ice cream cooler on the way out, and did a really fat kid thing by smudging chocolate all over my shirt by the time I made it back to the car.
The point I’m making here isn’t to describe touring an office (even though if you ever get the chance, take it!), but to share true insight in to why I believe Zappos’ executives have created such a unique working environment. Their employees are happy and probably look forward to coming in to work everyday. This undoubtedly translates into great customer service experiences. After all, can you tell when someone is smiling over the phone?