Zappos Gives Comfortable Feet And Something To Talk About

Customer service is one of the best ways to get people to talk about your business. Happy customers want to tell people about how happy they are. In fact, I myself just had a late night Dunkin Donuts run because I was completely parched. The man made me my iced coffee then turned around to grab the donuts I had ordered. By the time he turned back around I had drank ¾ of my coffee. He said, “Dude, you need a refill.” And he refilled it free of charge and I just wanted to scream how terrific it was. A refill was exactly what I needed! It’s actions like this that make people feel honored as customers. It was so great that I just wanted to tell somebody, “Just because Dunkin is a giant corporate chain doesn’t mean they can’t have the personal touch!” So anyways, when I came home I ran across this customer service story in my WOMMA newsletter and thought it was too good to pass by. It’s about Zappos.com. The story is so touching it has been covered by some very big blogs including the consumerist.

Zappos.com has a good reputation. They realize that shoes are a hard item to order over the internet because you never know if they are going to fit. You potentially could end up paying twice as much for the shoes due to shipping charges as you attempt to find ones that work. As a solution, the Zappo’s policy is that all customers always get free shipping and handling. Shoes can be sent back and forth 18 times and it’s free for you all the way. Trust me I’ve done it.

This policy makes them a very customer friendly site. However, their nice front doesn’t end at this policy. The company has shown that customer relations is a quality they carry throughout all actions. The story I reviewed oringinally came from her blog found here. This woman ordered many pairs of shoes for her mother hoping at least a pair or two would fit. Her mother passed away and she failed to return the shoes her mother had not wanted within the 15-day window period. Zappos contacted her via email about the return. The woman replied what had happened and that she would get around to it when she could. Zappos replied by saying they would personally send UPS to her house and take care of the shoes so she wouldn’t have to leave the house. Then not too long after this the woman returned home to a beautiful arrangement of flowers from who else but Zappos.

This company went far beyond what could ever be expected of a large, busy business. A quote from the Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh , “Customer service is an investment, not an expense.” I think it’s wonderful that Zappos acts as a real person would and knows that a bouquet of flowers is so much more than just a bouquet of flowers.

http://www.getelastic.com/good-customer-service-still-the-best-word-of-mouth-marketing-strategy/
http://www.zazlamarr.com/blog/
http://multichannelmerchant.com/news/zappos_08072007/