Wise Words From a Customer Service Manager

''We don't think about call handling time. Every customer is different and every answer is similarly different. If a call takes 20 minutes to resolve it takes 20 minutes. If it takes 5, it takes 5''

Customer Service Manager Schuh

A leaf out of another on line shoes retailers customer service bible?



In the dictionary, under Customer Service it says Zappos Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

In The Dictionary, Under Customer Service It Says 'See Zappos' Part 3

Practise What You Preach

And that's something Zappos certainly do. Here are some examples of how they go the extra mile

Zappos sent flowers to a woman who had ordered multiple pairs of shoes to cope with her medical condition*

A Zappos employee went to a local mall ( that's shopping centre to us Europeans) to buy a lady her favourite shoes as they had run out of stock at Zappos**
There are no scripts in the call centre and there is no maximum call time***

What about customer testimonials? Here are a few

I have never experienced such fantastic customer service as I have from your phone order specialists. This was the third pair of shoes (from my original order). I spoke to a Customer Loyalty Representative and I truly felt like I was speaking to a friend. He asked me about my day and what I was going to do and actually commented on it! I was looking for a very specific style of shoe and actually went into a Clark's store to try them on. They fit like a glove and I knew I would order them through Zappos! I received them the next day, wore them yesterday and they are perfect. I don't know how you hire your people, but you should give the entire industry a class on Superior Customer Service and how to delight your customers

This will not be a lengthy thing. I just want to tell you that I have had numerous contracts with your organization. In every instance, I have to tell you NEVER and I mean NEVER have I been treated better. Please, please check your records of my phone calls with your people and give every one of them a huge ‘atta boy’. I will close this by saying I am 75 years old and never have I had better service and the politeness of your people just make it even better. THANK YOU FOR BEING THE TYPE OF ORGANIZATION YOU ARE AND PLEASE DON'T CHANGE. Thanks again

All taken from the Zappos testimonials page

And this plug for a book gives another view

Easy to see why Amazon bought them

* http://consumerist.com/2011/01/zappos-customer-service-reps-kindness-warms-our-cold-hearts.html

** http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2662-The-Zappos-Effect-5-Great-Customer-Service-Ideas-for-Smaller-Businesses
*** http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-12-04/a-shine-on-their-shoes

In The Dictionary, Under Customer Service It Says 'See Zappos' Part 2

It starts at the top

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh states that if we're serious about building our brand  then "customer service shouldn't be just a department. It should be the entire company." If they get the culture right, everything else will file into place.
Everyone hired has to go through two interviews, and there's really more stress put on being able to fit into the culture just as much as performance. In fact, if you treat the bus driver poorly on the shuttle ride from the airport, Zappos won't hire you.

"Everyone hired into our headquarters goes through the exact same training as our call center reps," Hsieh said *

Our philosophy has been that most of the money we might ordinarily have spent on advertising should be invested in customer service, so that our customers will do the marketing for us through word of mouth.**

Business Insider interviewed senior brand marketing manager Michelle Thomas and director of customer loyalty Rob Siefker about Zappos' CRM-oriented corporate culture.

Zappos offers free returns no questions asked. This is part of the company's appeal but it must also be a significant cost. How does it helps or hurt Zappos' margins? Does the company ever discusses reining it in or outsourcing it?

Siefker: Returns are part of our business model. In fact, we encourage customers to order multiple sizes if they’re unsure of what to order, and then they can return the size that doesn’t work for them. It’s really how you want to look at it, but providing this service is an investment we make in order to provide the best possible service for our customers. We have customer reviews and we add details for products in order to help customers with their shopping experience, and that assists them with their shopping.

Does it prevent your from discounting or otherwise competing on price?

Michelle Thomas: In the end, we’re trying to provide the best possible customer experience, and do so in a fun and high touch manner. We have great customer friendly policies, an amazing selection, and super fast, free shipping

Have you ever considered moving call center services to a foreign country or anything like that?

Siefker: No, we haven’t talked about that at all. In 2004, the company headquarters was moved to Las Vegas and growing the call center was a big part of the decision to move. We wanted everyone to remain close, and we wanted to make sure we reinforced our service culture.

How long does it take to train a Zappos call-taker?

Siefker: All new hires in Las Vegas go through four weeks of initial training. This is for everyone, no matter what job they will actually do after the four weeks. It incorporates a lot things, and a big focus is on helping our customers. We do this because we want everyone to have the experience of talking with our customers, and it also helps us during the holidays when we need everyone to put in hours to help our customers. Contact center employees have an additional three weeks of training after the first four weeks, so for them it’s a total of seven weeks before it’s full speed ahead in the call center.

Zappos uses its customer calls in its advertising. Was that your idea or your ad agency Mullen's idea? What is your annual advertising budget?

Thomas: For the “Happy People Making People Happy” campaign in 2010, we did use customer calls as a way to demonstrate the need to support the three C’s: clothing, customer service, and culture (we’ve since added a 4th C for community). During the initial RFP process, [ad agency] Mullen took a deep dive into the culture and sat in on actual customer calls. They were inspired by the power of our Customer Loyalty Team and simply found a way to take one of our best assets and best branding devices and make it fun and interesting. In fact, we just broke our longest call record with an eight-hour and 47 minute call! 
 
The focus of your advertising is often on customer service, rather than on shoes and shoe brands. Discuss the challenge there -- after all, people shop for shoes because they want shoes, not because they want good service.

Thomas: We definitely have a lot of layers to our communications strategy and use different media to message different things. One definite challenge is that we are still seen as a shoe retailer when in fact we sell much more than that! Our product catalog spans from clothing to footwear to house wares to beauty to accessories and even sporting goods! Perceptions are not easy to change overnight unless you’re willing to be bold. The one constant is that we are a service company that happens to sell __________ (fill in the blank). Our biggest efforts revolve around building likeability around our brand so that consumers turn to a brand that they trust, find reliable, and have an emotional connection with. That’s where service comes in***

*Read More :  http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/zappos-ceo-company-culture-is-higher-priority-than-customer-service/59245 

** Read More  http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-i-did-it-zapposs-ceo-on-going-to-extremes-for-customers/ar/1 
***Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-09/news/30606433_1_customer-service-zappos-center-services#ixzz22SvtqK9J

Part 3 Monday Practise What You Preach

In The Dictionary, Under Customer Service It Says 'See Zappos' Part 1

Customer Service is not just a mission statement although it helps if it's part of your core values

As it is for Zappos

1. Deliver Wow Through Service

Core Values Frog (or CVF for short) thinks anything worth doing is worth doing with WOW. To WOW, CVF differentiates himself by doing things in an unconventional and innovative way. He goes above and beyond the average level of service to create an emotional impact on the receiver and give them a positive story they can take with them the rest of their lives.

2. Embrace And Drive Change

CVF can not only handle constant change, but expects it and embraces it with open arms. CVF never accepts or becomes comfortable with the status quo, but is always thinking of ways to change processes, perspectives, and opinions, hopefully for the better. Without change, CVF can’t continue to provide the superior service that is the Zappos Family trademark.

3. Create Fun And A Little Weirdness

CVF has a sense of humor; he knows that it’s good to laugh at yourself every once in a while. Work shouldn’t be synonymous with drudgery; CVF can find fun and weirdness even when the rubber meets the road and we’re getting lots done. Being a little weird requires being a little innovative, and CVF is always looking for a chance to fully engage in his work and bring out the fun and weird side of it.

4. Be Adventurous, Creative And Open-Minded

CVF is bold without being reckless. He’s not afraid to make mistakes, because after all, that’s often the best way to learn. CVF takes risks and is open to his friends taking risks too, as long as we learn from them as a team and use them to make better decisions in the future. CVF believes in a gut feeling; everyone can develop a gut feeling about business decisions as long as they are open to new ideas and the possibility of failure.

5. Pursue Growth And Learning

CVF S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-S himself both personally and professionally. He never feels stuck in a rut, as there are no dead end jobs at the Zappos Family of companies. CVF knows that inside himself and every Zappos Family employee is more potential than we even realize. CVF works to constantly unlock that potential, both in himself and his co-workers. We’ll “never get it right,” but that’s the challenge we gladly accept. The only way CVF can solve new problems that arise is by learning and growing himself to meet them head-on.

6. Build Open And Honest Relationships With Communication

CVF is an open book; his honesty when interacting with others leads to strong relationships built on trust and faith. He can use these strong relationships to accomplish so much more than he could otherwise. It’s not easy getting there! CVF always acts with integrity, is compassionate and loyal, and is a good listener. At the end of the day it’s not what we say or do, but how we make people feel that matters the most. CVF cares about others, both personally and professionally.

7. Build A Positive Team And Family Spirit

CVF wants to build not just a team, but a family. CVF as a manager serves those he leads by removing obstacles and enabling his direct reports to succeed. The best decisions and ideas are made from the bottom up, and CVF wants to foster that on his team. As a team member, he takes initiative when he notices issues and collaborates with his team to address them. Beyond that, we watch out for each other, care for each other. We work together and play together, because our bonds go beyond the typical co-worker relationship.

8. Do More With Less

CVF is always on the lookout for how to make himself more efficient and improve our operations at Zappos Family companies. There is always room for improvement and CVF always feels a sense of urgency when making those improvements. CVF wants us to not only be great service companies, but the greatest service companies in the world! We strive to set and exceed our own high standards for getting more done with the same or even fewer resources than before.

9. Be Passionate And Determined

What keeps CVF going? It’s passion for our business and our culture. We’re inspired because we believe in what we are doing and where we’re going. We don’t take “that’ll never work” for an answer. A lot of people told us that selling shoes online would never work; imagine if we had listened to them! CVF has a positive and optimistic attitude, because this inspires everyone around him.

10. Be Humble

CVF knows that despite all the great things the Zappos Family has accomplished in the past, there will always be challenges ahead. No matter what happens, CVF is always respectful of everyone. CVF loves to celebrate our individual and team successes, but not in an arrogant or boastful way. We believe in a quiet confidence, as in the long run our character will speak for itself.

http://about.zappos.com/jobs/why-work-zappos/core-values

 Part 2 Tomorrow - It Starts at the Top