Mbazappos the Company That Is Powered by Customer Service

Once the merchandise has been selected, another department is in charge of taking pictures and preparing information that the customers can see and read when they access the Zappos.com website. After a customer picks out merchandise, a department oversees the processing of the payment and the shipping of the merchandise to the customer. Should there be any issues or concerns, a customer service department is available to assist customers.

Zappos is an online shoes retailer that started its business in the year 1999. Later on the company had expanded its business to include the beauty products, clothing and even the housewares within its leading e-commerce website. This case emphasizes on the customer service department of Zappos Company and initially the business focused only on the drop ship method. Later on the company also increased the variety of the products. The company had also created a bricks and mortar storefront to expand the business and increase the sales of the business.

Excellence in customer service is a big phrase touted by every business owner in the United States, regardless of service offered. Jackson Health System (JHS) in Miami, FL is no stranger to how important customer service is and has become. County hospitals such as JHS are being affected like any other organization that receives money from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), if not more because they receive more money from government entities then from the private insurance sector. I asked four assistant managers, searched in the intranet and internet, made quite a few phone calls, and asked my emergency room director: What is the customer service model used by JHS? I did not get a clear answer and finally my director whom paused at the question, gave me a simple response, stating the system uses HCAHPS, which stands for Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, and their results to adjust our customer service practices. That is not the answer I expected, yet that was the only real answer I received. What is HCAHPS and how is it used, and just how does this form of customer service practice affect reimbursement? I will discuss the answers to these questions and explain in detail how this large hospital organization provides excellence in customer service.

Zappos has made the online shopping experience very safe and easy. The marketing strategy used by Zappos has to be one of the best one in any market. Zappos took was given to them and turn the focus to the customer experience. The entire idea was to make the shopping experience better so that customers would return. The promotion of a fun and hip culture for the employees is a big reason this strategy is working. Employees are in good moods and so this passes on the customer. The Zappos atmosphere is fun. There are no sales goals for employee because Zappos wants the relationship between the employee and customer to be genuine.

For Tony Hsieh, the Zappos brand is less about a particular type of product and more about providing a good customer service. This means that he largely cares about the welfare of his employees and customers. An evidence of him being such an altruist leader was when the blog search engine Land called him “the

Tony Hsieh graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a computer science degree and went to work for the computer software giant Oracle. Then he quit.

The threat of new entrants into the online shoe/apparel market is relatively small due to the fact that Zappos is such an established brand and has specialized their business model. It would be far too expensive for a new company to copy the characteristics of Zappos including their next day delivery and large overhead. The fact that Zappos was losing money initially illustrates this difficulty. Another issue that would create a high barrier to entry is Zappos commitment to the consumer through overnight shipping. Zappos stated that the overnight shipping caused them to leave their warehouses open for the entire day. Any other company would

The CEO of Zappos Tony Hsieh depends on two focus areas to manage a successful business, customer service and culture. Zappos commitment to the highest level of customer service is legendary in the industry. Hsieh believes that his organization could be prosperous, regardless of the product they are selling, based solely on the customer experience. The culture is the main foundation of Zappos, and that culture is built on fun and family, which is evident in the organizations ten core values (Zappos. 2016). This assignment will answer the case analysis questions regarding Tony Hsieh’s unique leadership style and how Zappos can have continued success under new leaders (Schermerhorn & Bachrach. 2015. p. 457).

Zappos started out by selling shoes online to become the world’s largest online retailer of shoes. Subsequently, in their quest to boost sales, they moved beyond footwear to become an E-tailer that sells ‘anything and everything’.

Understanding Zappos high regard to corporate culture and customer satisfaction, they take screening for new employees very seriously and have methods to select only those individuals that will promote their corporate philosophies. Even with Amazon.com’s acquisition of the online retailer in 2009, Zappos.com culture and customer loyalty are as strong as ever.

Zappos.com, established in 1999, has rapidly become a strong competitor in online apparel and footwear sales. With the original corporate vison of offering the absolute best selection in shoes; the vision has evolved over the past several years to include the goal of being the retailer that “provides the absolute best service online -- not just in shoes, but in any category” (Zappos, 2014). The online retailer stocks millions of reasonably priced footwear products; carrying thousands of hard to find brand named shoes, handbags, apparel and accessories via the company website and 7,000 affiliate partners. In recognizing their rapid success, Zappos credits it to their commitment to the customer, stating,

When was the last time you walked into a department store and stood at the counter waiting to be waited on? Two sales associates were in clear view, chatting away about their personal lives. Trying to be patient you stood quietly waiting for them to notice you and offer you a helping hand. After a while, you started to think, “Do they see me, or are they still on break?” “What’s going on there?” Later, you get annoyed in this situation; will you start off on the right foot with the person who is serving you? It depends! How you initially approach service providers influences the entire interaction as its outcome. Don’t let your time pressures or frustrations run away with you. You want to give the message to the service people that you view them as allies rather than obstacles. Even if you greet the sales person and ask for help, there may be times when the people are simply having a bad day, or it might be more complex, so if you stand in their shoes your interaction will be more effective. One of the biggest mistakes customers make is expecting the service provider to be a mind reader. Making clear requests saves you time and lessens the service person’s frustration so ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT and be specific with details if applicable.

History, products and services-in 1998 Nick Swinmurn was walking around a mall in San Francisco looking for a certain pair of shoes. Problem was he had to keep going to different stores because apparently if one store had the right color but not the right size or had right size and not the right color. Frustrated that he couldn’t get the shoes he wanted he went home and tried to see if any mom and pop stores selling online had the shoes, turns out none did and nick realized there weren’t any major retailers online who specialized in shoes. So seeing both a need and an opportunity, nick quit his job and started an online shoe retailer, shoesite.com. Not wanting to prevent business from being able to expand into other product categories, he needed to change the name of shoesite.com. he asked now CEO Tony Hsieh about using the word Zappos as the new name which comes from the spanish word zapatos which means shoes. then after some brainstorming they decided on Zappos. Sure enough, as Zappos has grown, so has its selection. Founded in footwear, today’s offerings continue to evolve and include clothing, accessories,

In today’s time, online shopping is a growing trend. Developing new and exciting ways for buyers to buy and receive items without having to step foot into a mall or shopping center. It becomes more convenient for the busy people in the world. Whether its grocery shopping or clothing, you can buy it online without hassle. Zappos is an online clothing and shoe company that has shown great progression from when they began. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, has run his company with an approach to serve products in the finest timely manner and with great service. On his quest to rise to the top, can Zappos CEO continue with the same mentality he has had with the company since the beginning?

Amancio Ortega, had a simple idea of linking customer demand to manufacturing and manufacturing with distribution, when creating ZARA in 1975 in la Coruña, Spain Zara came under the holding company Inditex in the year 1985 and is today the biggest fashion brand of the group. Zara believes that the prime factors for running a successful business are quick response to customers, use of computers, and disintegrated decision-making (McAfee, Dessain, & Sjoman, 2007)