Zappos began selling shoes and other products online in 1999, became profitable four years later (the beginning of a still-unbroken run of annual earnings gains) and reached more than US$1 billion in sales by 2009. That was a big year for Zappos in other ways as well. The company was rewarded with Business Week’s Customer Service Champ designation, inclusion on Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau. Also in 2009, Amazon purchased Zappos for 10 million Amazon shares, worth almost $928 million at the time. Zappos’ employees divvied up $40 million in cash and restricted stock and were given assurances that the Zappos management would remain in place.
At the top of the list of Zappos’ values is “Deliver WOW through service.” In fact, Zappos describes itself as a service company that happens to sell shoes and other products. This value is reflected in such niceties as a 365-day return policy with free shipping both ways, 24/7 customer phone lines, live online help, and customer product ratings — none of which is all that weird. But things do become, if not weirder, then at least different, when seen from the perspective of Aaron Magness, Zappos’ director of business development and brand marketing. He told me, “I read about how Zappos is focused on customer service. It isn’t. It’s focused on company culture, which leads to customer service. We don’t talk about customer service; we allow it to happen on its own by having the right people.”
Filed under: Best practices, Century XXI Corporation, Culture, Leadership
