At Zappos. Twenty years ago, we began as a small online retailer that only sold shoes. Today, we still sell shoes — as well as clothing, handbags, accessories, and more.
That "more" is providing the very best customer service, customer experience, and company culture. We aim to inspire the world by showing it's possible to simultaneously deliver happiness to customers, employees, vendors, shareholders, and the community in a long-term, sustainable way.
In what ways does it build its relationships with business customers? They give free tours, but do not seek out businesses. Helping develop other businesses by sharing their Zappos culture creates good relations. Does Zappos make shoes? At Zappos. Twenty years ago, we began as a small online retailer that only sold shoes. Today, we still sell shoes — as well as clothing, handbags, accessories, and more.
What is Zappos competitive advantage? Zappos competitive advantage stems from its exceptional customer service. This is sustainable providing Zappos does not have to compete on price. The fact that Zappos pays its staff well, provides overnight delivery and has a free returns policy does add to the price of its goods. Who are zappos competitors?
Zappos is an online retailer specializing in shoes and apparel. What makes Zappos successful? Even though free shipping of both orders and returns has cost us more, it has enabled us to keep our customers longer. It became increasingly difficult to hire customer service personnel in San Francisco; many locals viewed customer service as a temporary job.
After brainstorming with several other employees over lunch, Hsieh decided relocating to Nevada would be the best move forward. Although the choice to take the company out of San Francisco came as a big shock to most employees, 70 of the original 90 employees picked up their lives and moved to the desert. Being in an unfamiliar town with unfamiliar people, Zapponians would hang out with each other outside the office.
Culture in the workplace becomes a top priority — even more important than customer service. Five to ten new agents were hired every two weeks. Due to this rapid growth, there were customer service employees among the employees. Customer service was unique from the beginning. There are no scripts and no time limits on phone calls. One customer interaction lasted almost six hours. Did they talk about shoes the entire time?
Probably not; but the opportunity to create deep and emotional connections with customers, whatever the topic of conversation, was smiled upon. Having one job interview is tough enough; having two job interviews at the same company can be downright stressful.
In , two different types of interviews were instituted: one for business and one for company culture. The business interview ensures that the candidate has enough talent and proficiency to do the job. Being identified as a culture fit holds significant value since employees spend a lot of time together both on and off the clock.
Hiring people that become good coworkers and good friends is of utmost importance. During the first three weeks of the program, new employees absorb the company culture, customer service program, inventory management system, and work with an experienced employee in the customer contact center.
In San Francisco, Hsieh, Swinmurn and Mossler interviewed each candidate that came through the door to ensure the proper fit for the company. As the company continued to grow in Henderson, this became too time-consuming.
Someone from the Legal Department suggested creating a list of core values to serve as a guide when making hiring decisions. Tony reached out to all Zappos employees, asking for their input on core values. The holidays are stressful at the best of times, so Zappos took a little pain away from their customers. That is right folks, any order placed by 1PM PST Monday-Thursday will be delivered the next business day and overnight orders placed anytime Friday or Saturday will be delivered on Monday.
Because the warehouse was located so close to the UPS Worldport, this guarantee was a promise Zappos could make, but few other online retailers could.
Now that the core values were established, what better way to pursue growth and learning than to add to the inventory? In total, Zappos stocked over 3. Then in the contact center, you have to coach your agents towards those values. Zappos does. So we generally try to stay away from policies, we just ask our reps to do whatever they feel is the right thing to do for the customer and the company.
We kind of have to untrain their bad habits. It takes tons of training and coaching or untraining, according to Hsieh to empower employees to make in-the-moment decisions that benefit customers AND the company.
The key here is to support a strong coaching and training culture rather than on strict policies and procedures. And that kind of restrictive environment leads to a negative customer experience.
And, that often means connecting with customers outside of their short customer service interactions. In fact, Zappos has a dedicated space on their website where agents can share their customer stories. And, with tales of surprise packages and thank you cards, you see how much agents love making a positive impact.
0コメント