Zappos Insights

Motivation is Not the Answer

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:37:00 GMT

12/17/2012

My high school history teacher told me that nothing happens without inspiration. That deep down, when someone comes up with an idea, it’s because they were inspired. If that statement is true, then it may also be true that the key to motivating ourselves is to find out what inspires us.

It constantly amazes me how many people I meet who say they want more information on how to motivate their team members. I believe that motivation is necessary; however, when I feel that I need to motivate myself, it’s usually to do something that I really didn’t want to do in the first place. It may seem that motivation is a good thing, and it is, if it’s coming from the right place.

When we feel that we need to motivate our team members, is it for the same purpose of getting them to do something they don’t want to do, or that they don’t believe in? Team members should not be motivated to perform for the fact that if they don’t something bad will happen. Team members should be motivated to perform because they believe that what they are doing has a purpose. On the flip side, when team members are inspired, they will waste no time finding out what they need to accomplish the goal. Motivation is very short-lived, which is why people constantly seek it. Inspiration is timeless.

In the workplace, motivation is usually extrinsic. People are motivated for the hopes of a promotion, raise, or recognition. Inspiration in the workplace is something that every successful company has, and needs. The word inspiration means to be in spirit. When you are inspired, you are tuned in to that idea with your entire being.

Take Steve Jobs for example. Apple is one of the largest tech companies in the world. Steve Jobs was known for motivating his people, but he also inspired them in a way that very few others have. His team members believed in him and the company’s mission so much that they have been able to create a multibillion-dollar business with selling only a handful of actual products. When you think about it, Apple sells a phone, an MP3 player, two types of laptops, and three types of desktops. Of course, each product comes with various add-ons, but they really don’t have the selection that other electronics companies have.

So how can it be that Apple is so successful with such a limited product inventory? The answer isn’t just inspiration, but it does have a lot to do with it. The idea of creating the very best products in the world is an inspiring idea. Even though consumers may not think that Apple products are the very best in the world, Apple employees most certainly do. The company’s goal was not to be filthy rich, and create products that are designed to break and wear down to get constant re-buys. The idea was simply to be the best.

At Zappos, we want team members to get their motivation from the inspiration of the higher purpose of the company. We want people to believe in the idea of living and delivering WOW. That’s what inspires us and, in turn, motivates us to constantly try new things and be as innovative as we can. We want the Core Values to breathe inspiration into our team members.

At the Zappos Family All Hands meetings there are usually guest speakers. Some have spoken at TED talks, some are seasoned presenters, and some are just getting their careers started. The one thing that all of the presenters have in common is a very inspiring message. More often than not, the days that follow the All Hands are spent reliving the meeting and discussing what we thought of the speakers and how we can implement some of what we have been told into our everyday lives. That’s the power of inspiration. To have a large group of people start brainstorming on new ways to be innovative and efficient. Not because the CEO came out and gave a stereotypical “half-time pep talk,” but because a complete stranger stood in front of the company and made everyone in the room believe in what he/she is doing.

Holiday Helpers 2012

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:06:48 GMT

12/11/2012

It's that time of year again when the team members of the Zappos Family really band together to show what the Core Values; "Deliver WOW Through Service", and "Build A Positive Team and Family Spirit" really mean. We would like to introduce you to some of the team members serving up the WOW this holiday season. Enjoy!

The Importance of Core Values

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:44:26 GMT

12/10/2012

The Zappos Family Core Values are the benchmark for everything that we do as a company. We hire and fire based on them, and every decision made will have the Core Values in mind. It’s who we are; not just as employees but as people.

I came across this video of Steve Jobs, and wanted to share it because I believe the point he makes is so important.

What Does It Mean To Be a Guardian of Culture

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:40:24 GMT

12/07/2012

Check out this quick video of our Zapponians explaining what it means to be a guardian of culture!

Five Tips To Take Your Calls From Good To Great

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:55:24 GMT

12/05/2012

All of us have felt that chill go up our spines when we realize that we have to call the customer service department for support or answers. Wouldn’t it be great if we could pick up the phone and know that we would have a friendly conversation with the person on the other end?

Here are five tips for customer service representatives that can transform calls from good to great.

Answer the phone with a smile

It may sound corny and funny, but it works. When people smile they have a natural tone that is inviting and friendly. I know that when I call an 800 number I can’t stand it when people answering the phones sound like they hate their jobs. I immediately think that they really don’t care about helping me. Answering the phone with a smile can change the whole dynamic of the call from the get-go.

Use the customer’s first name

Have you ever spoken to a customer service representative who used your first name throughout the call? How’d it make you feel? Here at Zappos we have found that we can create a more personal emotional connection by using the customer’s first name. Typically friends and family members don’t call each other Sir, Mrs. Mr. etc., so when we call our customers by their first names it has the potential to create a temporary friendship over the phone.

Fill the dead air

Dead air can kill any chance of making a connection or even a good experience with a customer. It is so awkward, and when dead air happens nobody quite knows what to say. The customer is patiently waiting for an answer or a response while the team member is typing away. This is an opportunity to have friendly conversations with customers. Just asking someone how his/her day is going or how the weather is can take the call from good to great and give the customer that warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that the rep they are speaking with actually cares about the situation.

Ask permission

One of the things that I cannot stand is when a customer service rep says, “hold please” and places me on hold before I have the opportunity to say anything. By asking the customer’s permission to place the call on hold, we help the customer feel in control of the call, and the majority of customers will be happy to oblige. Then, to take it to the next level, thank the customer for waiting upon returning to the call.

Offer additional assistance

A great way to end a call is to offer additional assistance. By offering additional assistance, reps allow the customer to end the call. Additionally, this gives the customer the chance to address any other issues. Plus, it’s a nice thing to do!

All in all, the best way to take calls from good to great is to be courteous and polite.

It's Customer Service Week!

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:45:22 GMT

10/04/2012

In 1992 the U.S. Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event, celebrated annually during the first week of October. Well, it’s the first week of October, and as the U.S. Congress called it an “event,” we have taken it a step further by rolling out several events throughout the week.

Having a culture focused on customer service makes for some fun times for the team members of the Zappos Family. This year we went with a royalty theme.

With our workforce continuing to grow, a group of innovative thinkers thought it would be a good way to disseminate information in the one area where every single employee is sure to visit at least once during the day—the restroom. In every single restroom in our offices we have a weekly update known simply as “The Whizz.” This week’s Whizz reads as follows:

King Llama (we like llamas) The Great has proclaimed this October 1st–7th as a week of appreciation and recognition of your service. By order of the king, a celebration will take place every day this week filled with fun, food, and prizes fit for his majesty to say thank you for being Zappos Royalty.

Monday’s events included a Royalty Parade and the Royal Treasure Chest. The Royal Treasure Chest event was held in the lobby of one of our buildings where team members could come and pick one key out of an entire jar. If your key opened the locked treasure chest, you got to pick a prize.

Other events this week include the prize tornado. You know, those boxes like a telephone booth that blow paper all around, and you have to try to grab something.

There will also be a turkey leg-eating contest and a dessert smorgasbord held later in the week.

So Customer Service Week is really like the kickoff to the holiday season here at Zappos. It’s a lot of fun and gives us a great opportunity to appreciate the hard work that everyone puts in to WOW our customers, both internal and external.

A Memorable WOW Experience

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 21:03:25 GMT

09/19/2012

The Zappos Family loves sharing WOW stories. In this WOW story Valerie shows just how empowered Zapponians are to create memorable experiences. Take five minutes to read this blog about how Valerie made one little girl's birthday very special.

The holiday season, for most, is a time for giving and sharing joy; however, one of the reasons I love working at Zappos is that it doesn’t have to be the holidays to share a little magic.

During this particular holiday season I was working in the call center on a specialty team called the FACE Team. FACE stands for Folks Answering CEO Emails. This day was just like any other day helping Tony answer the copious amount of e-mails he receives on a daily basis. However, one e-mail in particular will always stick with me.

A gentleman e-mailed Tony to let him know about the previous weekend’s events. Every December Zappos.com sponsors the Zappos.com Rock 'n’ Roll Vegas Marathon. The marathon takes place under the neon lights on the Las Vegas strip. This gentleman went on to explain the plan was to take his daughter to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay for her 10^th birthday. For the sake of this story, we shall call her Heather. Unfortunately, due to road closures and the marathon, Heather and her dad never made the show. My heart broke for them, and I knew I had to make it up in some way. One of the things that I absolutely love about Zappos is that we are all empowered to do what we can for the customer. You don’t have to ask for permission to do the right thing for a customer. With that being said, my initial idea was to send them to a showing of The Lion King on a different day; however, the dad had a different idea in mind. He wanted to bring Heather to Zappos to take a tour.

I had just become certified to give tours of the office a few days before and hadn’t given a real tour to anyone yet. I was quite nervous to say the least. I e-mailed the gentleman back and told him I would be more than happy to give them a tour of the office. We were even having a big Holiday Hurrah party in the parking lot of the headquarters that evening if they wanted to attend.

The big day arrived, and I couldn’t wait to meet Heather and her family. When they arrived in the lobby, I could have spotted that smile from a mile away. Heather was so excited to be here. I had a bouquet of balloons waiting for Heather to carry on the tour so everyone at Zappos would know it was her special day. The tour was a group of five, and we began our journey. As we walked through the office people were wishing Heather a happy birthday and even dishing out high fives.

When we reached the call center, we headed towards the FACE team and on one of the desks there was a birthday cake with candles and some small gifts. When Heather walked closer to the birthday cake, she read the writing on the cake aloud, “Happy Birthday Heather.” She brushed it off for a brief moment and then realized, “Wait, that’s me!” I then lit the candles, and the entire Resource Desk and the surrounding teams sang happy birthday to Heather. At that moment I realized it wasn’t about just giving a tour or trying to provide a great experience for the family; it was about bringing a little bit of humanity back into the world.

I feel so honored and blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of this company and this particular WOW story will remain with me forever.

Four Peer-To-Peer Ways Zappos Employees Reward Each Other

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

09/10/2012

In the Zappos Family, peer-to-peer employee rewards programs help build a positive team spirit. Zapponians have the chance to acknowledge others who are excellent examples of the culture and have done a super awesome job.

A Zapponian can be recognized for their efforts if they go above and beyond to help out another team member or WOWing a customer. By having employees reward their peers, it shows appreciation for the hard work they’re doing.

While managers can certainly reward employees, we leave it up to the employees to nominate their peers.
In remaining true to our core value “Do More With Less,” we try to keep our programs affordable and scalable.

Here are four of Zappos’ employee rewards programs:

Zollar Program
Employees can earn Zollars or "Zappos dollars" for participating in training by answering questions or volunteering to help out. This play money can be used to redeem Zappos branded schwag, such as a gym bag, desk fan, or water bottle, which is only sold through the company’s internal Zollar Store. Zollars can also be used to redeem movie tickets or they can be donated to one of the charities that Zappos partners with on behalf of the employee. It gives employees a warm, fuzzy feeling that every time they spend Zollars it can help others out which, in turn, makes the employee happy for being part of something bigger than themselves.

The Zapponian who awards the Zollar to another employee has to fill out the recipient’s name along with the reason of why they are giving the Zollar, which makes the recognition meaningful. Any employee across the company can give and receive Zollars.

Master of WOW Parking
Another way to recognize a Zapponian is to award them the “Master of WOW Parking.” It’s hot here in Vegas and getting a covered parking spot closest to the entrance at one of our three buildings for a week is a treat.

In order to nominate an employee, all they have to do is submit a brief story to the ZCON Team (Zappos’ concierge) on how they were WOW’d by a fellow coworker. WOW parking is chosen once a week (usually Friday) for a one week period (usually the following workweek). Any Zappos employee can award the parking spot to a lucky employee. It can be given to a teammate, team lead, someone who opened a door for them, someone who always smiles, or maybe to the person who magically cleans the restrooms or the break room.

Coworker Bonus Program
Employees can reward each other with a $50 coworker bonus. That’s right! Zapponians can show their fellow coworkers how much they appreciate them with moola. So, you might be wondering, how does this work? Bonuses are obviously given for work-related reasons. Each Zapponian can give one bonus per calendar month, but they can receive more than one as long as they are from different employees.

Managers, supervisors, and team leads are not eligible to neither receive bonuses from their direct reports nor issue one to them. This bonus system isn’t abused since it is monitored and subject to withholding at the time of payment.

Having employees give bonuses allows both the giver and the receiver to spread happiness.

Hero Award
The Zappos HERO Award works in conjunction with the Coworker Bonus Program. A Zappos HERO is an employee who embraces our core values to the fullest and lives to deliver WOW to their fellow Zapponians. Our heroes are nominated by employees and chosen by the leadership team which is made up of all the heads of departments along with the CEO, CFO, and “no title.”

To nominate a coworker for this super prestigious award all one needs to do is give a coworker bonus to someone deserving. The most outstanding example of a core value leader will not only receive the $50 bonus from their nominating coworker, but will also get their very own Zappos HERO cape (because, really, a cape is a necessity for all heroes) and a $150 Zappos gift card!

From the Desk of the Culture Kitten

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:15:43 GMT

08/31/2012

Every Zappos employee has their own perspective on what it's like to come to work every day. In this blog post, see what the Zappos Culture is like through the eyes of Zappos Insights' very own Culture Kitten—Dani G.

As I walk through the office and look at things like a headless mannequin wearing a red duct-tape dress, a conference/meeting room with skateboards and graffiti on the walls, and a grassy knoll with patio and director’s chairs, I’m filled with glee and extremely delighted to work for such a company. Creativity is definitely one of our strong points here at Zappos. The fun-filled and exciting decorations around the office, and especially on our call center floor, keep us all young at heart. Where else can you go on Tuesdays to have a taco with Team Taco while you walk the runway with Andre’s Angels, who can be found next to La Cosa Nostra? These are just a few of the teams on our call center floor.

Being a Culture Guide for Zappos Insights, I meet up to 120 people daily who come to get a sneak peek into our culture. I’ve only been giving tours of our headquarters for close to six months, and it still amazes me that people are fascinated with what we do and how we do it. Who said that suits, ties, below-the-knee pencil skirts, button-up shirts and blouses, pantyhose, and 3” heels had to be anything more than just a fashion statement? Coming to work in your pj’s at 4 am or 3 pm is totally the norm around here. Just make sure to wash your face and brush your teeth before clocking in, please and thanks.

Our culture has consumed me so much that I live it outside of work. I share with our tour guests quite often how I find myself holding the door for others, passing a paper towel to the lady at the other sink in the restroom, and I even walk down the aisles of any store looking others in the eye, smiling, and saying hello. I’m often given the, “I don’t know you” look, but there are the occasional few who smile back surprised and they return my friendly hello. Could it be that they, too, are happy at work and their work culture has affected their everyday lives like mine has?

We know that everything we do here won’t work for every company in the world. I, personally, would be filled with excitement if I walked in to my bank and saw streamers and license plates as name plates hanging from the ceiling. How fun! What if you needed to buy a new car and walked onto the showroom floor only to witness and take part in a goal celebration parade? How would you react? What about if you called your car loan company to make a payment, and the rep told you, “thanks for calling in to make your payment today; however, don’t worry about this month’s payment, it’s on us. Thank you for being such an awesome customer!” Wouldn’t that just blow you away? Maybe one day one of these things will happen. Until then, I will continue to spread the word about the awe-inspiring culture that I am so humbly honored to be a part of.

Sharing Great Calls

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:23:29 GMT

07/03/2012

Recognition is a big part of keeping a moral high in any organization. Here at the Zappos Family we are constantly pushing ourselves to find new ways to recognize our team members for the great job that they do. In the spirit of Core Value #8, "Do More With Less," we combined customer feedback into a new team member recognition program that we have dubbed “Sharing Great Calls.”

Sharing Great Calls puts responsibility on team members to inform their Leads when they have calls that make real connections with customers. The Leads will e-mail the customers from their personal email addresses and ask for feedback on the experiences. Here are some of the replies that the Leads received from customers.

“Beth was awesome! I called her at 0400 Texas time in the middle of my shift as a nurse. As much as I love my Alegria shoes, they squeaked with every step! You can only imagine how awful that is when I sneak into a postpartum mom's room to check on her newborn baby. SQUEAK . . . SQUEAK . . . SQUEAK! Not fun when sleep is so precious at that point in her life :) Without hesitation, Beth checked on your inventory and shipped a new pair immediately. They arrived Tuesday, and I sent the squeaky pair in the new pair’s box back to you. I work again tonight, so we will see if the new ones are quiet. Otherwise, Beth and I might be talking again at 0400!”

“Amy was so helpful and efficient this morning when I called her with quite a predicament! I am on vacation at a place where we exercise all day, and I forgot my exercise shoes!!! I gave her the SKU number, and she got them ordered for me and shipped overnight at no cost!! Amazing, and I truly appreciate her courteous understanding and excellent customer service! Please thank her again for me!!”

“Last week I called and spoke with Dray about a return. He quickly looked it up and let me know that it was received and then asked how I wanted the refund. I told him I wanted it as a store credit, that I was actually enjoying trying shoes that I might like primarily because of Zappos' return policy and friendly attitude. I feel no hesitation now in even purchasing and trying out shoes I normally would avoid because of the cost. With a credit, the Zappos policies, and the friendly attitudes, it all encourages that freedom. Your team member, Dray, was cheerfully upbeat, professional, and very helpful the entire time. I also made the suggestion that Zappos put the UPS tracking number on the return request confirmation e-mail because it makes it simpler to track the return without having to go back to the Zappos account and find it on the purchased item page. He said he would submit that suggestion. All in all, my phone contact with your customer service representative, Dray, was a most pleasant and successful interaction. I always recommend shopping at Zappos to all my family and friends. My son already is an enthusiastic customer, too. The whole experience is absolutely contagious :)!! Thanks for asking, and thank you for your fine service, too.”

When the customers send in these replies we post them to the company splash page for everyone to see. It’s really special to know that we can get great customer feedback, and recognize specific team members who delivered world-class customer service.