Last summer I ordered a pair of running shoes from Zappos.com. Shipping is always on the house at Zappos when you go with standard shipping. That’s a big WOW for me and it’s one of the reasons I frequently order shoes for me and my family from Zappos. A couple of hours after I ordered my running shoes, I got the following email:
Whoa, Nellie! Have We Got A Surprise For You!
Hello Myra!
Although you originally ordered Standard Shipping, we’re upgrading the shipping time frame for your order. It will ship out today, so you’ll get it even faster than we originally promised! It’s kind of like we waved our magic wand!
Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It’s our way of saying thanks for being our customer.
We hope this has brightened your day a little! Thanks for shopping at Zappos.com!
With Love,
The Zappos Customer Loyalty Team
Whoa, Nellie! is right. That email made my day. And at 10:16am the next morning, I went for a run in my new running shoes.
Zappos is all about customer service. The company’s toll-free number is prominently displayed on every single web page. Live people answer their phones…24 hours a day. All products come with a 365-day return policy. (You read that right.) The company regularly invests in surprise and delight to keep customers like me smiling when we get such perks as overnight shipping for free.
Take a look at this video that I show in my customer service workshops. It’s a behind–the-scenes look at what WOW means to Zappos’ employees. After you watch the video, think about how you might put WOW into your organization.
Customer Service Week is a national event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service and honoring the people on the front lines of the service revolution. Customer Service Week was begun by the International Customer Service Association in 1988. In 1992 the U.S. Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event.