The University of Zappos.com

I still have to do a summary post about my trip to Vegas for BlogWorld Expo 2009, but the tour I took of Zappos.com deserves its own little blogdiddy. Thursday afternoon, thirteen of us crammed into a shuttle to the Zappos compound in Henderson. We had no idea we were in store for so many laughs and so much inspiration!

Zappos’ award-winning customer service is no surprise, the online retailer and its brilliant CEO Tony Hsieh have been featured on the covers of Fast Company, Inc., and many others. Their value is undeniable (just ask Amazon, who recently bought the company). What I wasn’t aware of, was their goofy, colorful, productive and absolutely infectious company culture.

The first thing I spotted walking in the door was a free coffee machine disguised as a robot like in Spaceballs. Then I noticed the free popcorn in the old-fashioned popcorn machine by the reception desk, followed by the toys, awards and props strewn about. “What is this place?” I thought to myself, as I knocked over a gold-painted column crafted from cardboard. Note: do not lean on these.

After drinking free coffee, registering for our tour, receiving free water bottles and gifting the friendly reception ladies with SocialVibe Pink Balls, bracelets and stickers, our tour began with a quick history of how Zappos got its legs.

Soon after, we were led by a giant Zappos flag up the stairs, past a class schedule of courses offered to employees to further their skill set and enhance their work experience. On to the epic call center, where all the award-winning service takes place. A few fun facts about their call center:

1. It never closes.
2. The reps do not use scripts, ever.
3. They have no time limit on calls. The longest recorded customer service call lasted 5 hours and 25 min. What patience! What dedication!
4. After their initial training, call center employees are actually offered $2,000 to quit, to test their passion and desire for the trade and the company. Our guide told us that less than 1% of employees take them up on this offer.

I quickly noticed that the entire office had a very bubbly, positive feel to it, and not only because their Marketing head was running around screaming with delight notifying the employees about a very exciting upcoming television spot for the company. Zappos.com’ headquarters are extremely cheerful and bright. They aren’t super glamorous like the Google campus, or anything, on the contrary it is mostly boring gray office carpet with icky cubicles – but the kicker here is that they are decorated within an inch of their lives with shoes, knickknacks, magazine cut outs, etc., looking more reminiscent of a kindergarten classroom than a multi-billion dollar company. I loved it.

We made a quick stop by Dr. Vik’s, Zappos’ in-house doctor (yes, full-time). He provides life coaching – both work and personal related – or as they call it, a “checkup from the neck up.” We took polaroids of us sitting in his office throne with crowns and tiaras atop our heads.

Next we were off to the cafeteria, where all the employees are treated to snacks and drinks all day long, as well as a complimentary catered lunch (which one of our guests happily helped himself to…. no names, ahem).

Later, we learned about the company’s innovative technologies for sorting and shipping merchandise – including a portability system called Kiva and the world’s largest carousel, measuring over 800,000 square feet, or the size of 17 football fields. UM, WOW.

Did I mention there is no cost for shipping? And that customers have 365 days to return merchandise, free of charge? Or that their shipping facilities are located in Kentucky, which means only 2-3 days to get to most US locations? Or the fact that it is just down the street from a huge UPS center? Oh. Well it’s true.

We also learned that until recently, the company relied on simple word-of-mouth marketing versus larger campaigns. They’ve just broken into TV commercials and sports sponsorships in the past couple of years. Here is one of their creative TV spots:

We perused the rest of the offices – the marketing department, various apparel and shoe departments, conference rooms, NAP rooms (because of studies indicating that well-rested employees are more productive, naps are encouraged on breaks), the Zappos Insights department (where other companies can come and learn how to apply the Zappos values and culture to their own organizations), and even “monkey row,” where the CEO and other executives sit (among the other employees – no walls or corner offices here!)

I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

It wouldn’t be Zappos without shoes.

More shoes.

Really big shoes.

Hanging shoes.

Autographed shoes.

A scantily clad mannequin.

Now that’s a conference room.

Conference table collage.

Sesame Street decorations.

This row of cubicles – yes cubicles – is where their CEO sits. And the other execs. They call it “monkey row.”

The nap room, complete with LOLcat.

The Insights department, where companies can come and learn the way of the Zappo.

What? It’s just a pirate, getting his bones shined.

The best part was, when the tour was done, they encouraged us to take free inspirational books on everything from marketing to management from their library, including the official 2009 Zappos company culture guide.

I have never walked away from a place with so much envy in my life! I highly suggest you all take a chance to explore how the Zappos.com company culture operates (they even have a blog where you can read about it), and replicate it as much as possible. I guarantee you will have much happier, more motivated and satisfied employees.

Just take a look at their Ten Core Values:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

AWESOME advice! Imagine how different your life would be if your business operated on the same values?

I’m royalty at Zappos.

Huge thanks to the wonderful @Sloane, KiVA Fellow and world-traveling-do-gooder, for setting the whole tour up.