Big shoes to fill in customer service
Perspective: Untying Zappos' secrets
By Inman News, Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
Flickr image by Jen SFO-BCN.Imagine a huge call center, rows and rows of cubes, multiple computer screens, headsets. And then imagine it looking like nothing you have ever seen before. Every workstation was decorated, with creativity having no boundaries.
Every wall was covered with awards, staff photos, signs, skateboards and numbers. What struck me most were the numbers, biggest sales day ever, least amount of time to answer and successfully complete a call, revenue growth year over year. All in plain sight for every employee to see. As well as every onlooker who tours through. These are proudly displayed and acknowledged. Every minute of every day.
As Jerry artfully toured us through two buildings, staff applauded us, sang for us, danced for us, took our photos as we took theirs and just seemed honestly happy. They also seemed proud. We saw adults with Batman capes, goth hairstyles, and everything in between. We witnessed people working very hard yet still having what appeared to be fun. Go figure ...
Chief Executive Officer Tony Hsieh sits right out in the call center, as does Chief Operating Officer Alfred Lin (see article). Their workstations are decorated to look like a jungle. The only person who has an office is "Dr. Vik." He is the Zappos in-house coach, modern-day medicine man and shoulder to cry on.
With free food offered in the kitchen, the empowerment to express yourself, and knowing you are part of arguably the coolest company in existence today, it didn't appear as though anyone was in need of any coaching. Except maybe me! But occasionally we all need a hug. And Dr. Vik is happy to oblige.
As our tour concluded, we received a bag of stuff including a copy of the Zappos "Culture Book" and a Zappos daily planner (they seem to have an interesting balance between high-tech and traditional). Then out of nowhere, and right on time, Zack appeared and drove us back to the hotel.
Flawlessly executed. A day to remember.
So, you are probably wondering what the secret is: the secret to providing exceptional customer service. As it turns out, there is no secret. We all know how to provide exceptional service. It's just that some of us are on the team that chooses to do it, and others are on the team that has decided not to.
Sherry Chris is CEO and brand president for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, a part of Realogy Corp. Zappos CEO Alfred Lin will deliver a keynote presentation during the upcoming Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, which runs from Aug. 5-7. Click here for details.
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Submitted by Kevin Schmidtchen on May 26, 2009 - 3:42am.
Good article. Impressive stories. Here in our business of Real Estate I think the major components you need are;
1) Knowledge
2) Communication skills
3) Listening
4) Compassion
5) Hard Working
It is hard to go wrong if you possess these and use these skills.
Kevin Schmidtchen
Sotheby's Int'l Realty
Santa Barbara, CA
blog: www.santaBarbaraRealEstateVoice.com
Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on May 26, 2009 - 5:23am.
Great example for all of us to follow in our own business.
Robert A. Hulme
Realtor, GRI, e-PRO
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Loan Officer
Mortgage Xpress
www.SpringvilleRealEstate.us
www.LehiRealEstate.net
Submitted by Harrison K. Long on May 26, 2009 - 8:17am.
Thanks for this good article about secret to the best customer service, which is what our business is all about ~ and our primary focus. We choose to learn and provide excellent customer service. The first part of that is asking questions to learn and understand what the customer wants and expects.
Harrison K. Long
Realtor & broker, Explore Properties Group
Coldwell Banker Previews, Irvine, CA
949-854-7747
949-701-2515 cell
www.ExploreOCHomes.com
http://twitter.com/hklong
http://activerain.com/blogs/hklong
Submitted by Randi Busse on May 27, 2009 - 7:34pm.
The reason that Zappos is so successful is because they know they are not in the shoe business. They are in the customer service business. They just happen to sell shoes. The same can be said for the Ritz Carlton. They are in the customer service business and they happen to provide luxury hotel accomodations.
When a business, any business, realizes that they too are in the customer service business, it is then that they will be sucessful.
It's all about the experience you provide to your customer and your prospective customer that they are buying. The actual product or service is only a piece of the sale.
These two companies should be studied and copied. They got it right.
Randi Busse
Customer Retention Specialist
www.workdevgroup.com
Submitted by Kathy Toth and Team on May 31, 2009 - 4:18am.
Glad to know another company emulates the Ritz - ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Having all REALTORS see that is why we are in business is another story. This is a consumer centric buisness and unless the client is satisfied, there will be no referrals at the end of the rainbow.....Making a positive impact on others lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan Real Estate www.KathyToth.com info@KathyToth.com Keller Williams Ann Arbor Market Center; follow on twitter @annarborrealtor
Submitted by Joe Loomer on May 31, 2009 - 5:09am.
Sorry folks, gotta disagree here - what Sherry got was a great tour of a great company, and saw and sucked in some of the great culture. Didn't see this having anything to do with untying there secrets. Some real life examples of a layman being on the end of a great customer service example would have held my interest more. Like the story of the lady who's mother passed away and she needed to return some shoes (and Zappos not only came to the home to get them, but sent flower arrangements).
This just seemed like you got a great "Dog & Pony" show..... I would expect the same experience if a CEO of ANYTHING wanted to tour our firm.
Augusta GA Homes
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
Joe Loomer (USN Ret.)
Associate Leadership Council, Growth Chair
Keller Williams Realty Augusta Partners
www.augustalistingexpert.com
jloomer@kw.com
direct: 706-627-2650