create fun and a little weirdness!!

In keeping with the core values of Zappos, "create fun and a little weirdness" has to be my personal favorite. Found the Leningrad Cowboys quite by accident and now have to have a daily dose of their outrageous music. The volume should be on HIGH because you will be dancing, singing and laughing out loud!

Sissy, the older

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lNFRLrP014

the Zappo Sisters

The Zappo Sisters on an annual sister trip. Sister trips are for the sisters only and include dining, talking, dining, shopping, dining, activities unique to the area, dining, talking, writing, and dining. This was afternoon tea celebrating Sissy's (in black) 55th year.

Sisters Get "ZAPPONIZED"!

Cinderella’s motto was: ”One shoe can change your life.” The Sisters’ motto is: “One shoe store has changed our lives!” Discovering Zappos.com years ago has been the “land of dreams come true” for two Southern sisters with feet as difficult to fit as Cinderella’s! (Think size 5.5 and 6N…) The added bonus of seeing hundreds of shoes from every conceivable angle without leaving the comfort of our homes can only be topped by Zappos saving the best surprises for last: free shipping both ways and delivery the next business day. Can you say INSTANT gratification? If you think that Zappos’ customer service cannot rival that of Disney, think again. I tested it in 2005, by ordering 57 pair of shoes and sending back 56. Wedding shoes have to be perfect and when I explained that I could not find the right shoes, customer service encouraged me to keep ordering until I was ecstatic.

The real reason for this note is to thank the “team members” in charge of shipping and receiving who spend their days inside the Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Zappos facility. My sister’s birthday present to herself and a sister surprise for me was a visit to Zappos. Forget Disney…this was a true fantasy adventure loaded with perks.

Prior to our flight to Louisville, while selecting magazines at the airport, Sissy found one with an article about Zappos and their CEO, Tony Hsieh. At that point, I had no idea of the significance of ‘the find’ except that we both love Zappos! Just before boarding, Sissy gave me the itinerary of our adventure for the day and many screams later, we arrived in Louisville. A quick twenty minute drive had us at the front door of the shipping/receiving/outlet of Zappos. Ever wonder how your shoes magically arrive the next day? Hmmm… Louisville is the hub for UPS. (Hsieh must be another word for ‘genius’!)

On arrival, the plasma screen in the lobby was flashing a HAPPY BIRTHDAY greeting to my sister. I mean that was cool enough but little did we know that this was only the beginning of a wild afternoon with the Zappos’ groupies (team members). Sissy asked everyone who materialized in the lobby to sign her magazine while we awaited Stefanie, the representative who created this magical event. Her energy came through the door before she did and we seemed to hit warp speed as she ushered us through the security “phone booth” and into the Inter Net Café where team members were yelling “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”; waving pom-poms and directing our attention to a birthday cake, crown & huge Zappos’ bags filled with goodies for us. We thought just taking a tour was wonderful but obviously they must have thought we would not be excited enough. After much singing, signing (the magazine) and cake eating we were introduced to the elusive Craig. His “great Oz aura’” was ratcheted up when he offered to take Sissy’s magazine to Las Vegas and ask Tony Hsieh to autograph it for her!

Then it was tour time with Byron and Jill. As a member of the photo department, Jill creates many of the incredible photo shots of shoes, apparel and other items found on the web site. Nine shots of each shoe in every color, any way you do the math that’s a lot of shots! She had been asked to create a photo journal of our visit and as an aside, to answer all my questions. Believe it or not, as we passed through the photo department we interrupted a staff meeting (where someone was wearing a pirate hat and parrot) and folks stopped the chatter to yell, “Happy Birthday”.

Byron was the enthusiastic tour leader who was educating and entertaining us about how each area of the facility functions. At several locations, Sissy was encouraged by Byron to test her skills in the multiple roles of Zappos’ team members. Her favorite job was that of “picker”. She loved the idea of being paid to walk up to 14 miles per day. If you thought that the shoes you order get to you by an automated method; think again. Real people pull, pack and ship those babies! Being a nerd, I was fascinated by the “Kivas”, the robots of Zappos. There are 70 of these little orange critters scurrying from station to station in a room the size of a university football stadium and each one has its own name, courtesy of members with senior status. It is impossible to describe the “innards” of this facility but think of your own closet, clutter and all, and then of a closet with the capacity to house four, or more, football fields four stories high. And…items are not stored by size or brand name but using a system (somewhat like that used by my brother-in-law in his closet without obvious rhyme or reason). We figured this system must be Zappos’ secret weapon.

Following our personalized tour, we had time to visit the outlet store where boxes of designer shoes in our sizes had been pulled to complement the shelves and shelves of other shoes in the store. Sissy was especially taken with a pair of Marc Jacobs denim heels with zippers and bling. I couldn’t get over a pair of “clear” mules (think ‘glass slippers’) with 5 inch heels. Meanwhile, dear Jill was snapping away and laughing as we tried on the most outrageous, the most expensive, the most beautiful and even a few conservative pairs. If I had more grace while hobbling across the floor, I would have come home with RED stilettos!

Customer service really does give Zappos the edge; every member we met had energy, enthusiasm and devotion not only for the job and Zappos but for their colleagues. Maybe someday we will meet Tony Hsieh. Then we could thank him for encouraging his team members to exceed the customer’s expectations in any and every way possible. The folks in Shepherdsville earned our respect and gratitude. Stefanie, thank you, thank you, thank you for creating an experience that certainly qualifies as “the adventure of our year” and a birthday extravaganza that no one can top! Overall it was a fantasy come true where our every thought was anticipated and fulfilled. Customer service exceeded excellence.

And yes, we called and e-mailed everyone we knew about our visit as soon as we got home that evening.

Totally devoted to Zappos…Valerie & Alicia (the birthday girl)

P.S. You must have a reservation to tour the facility.

for pictures of us visiting the Fullfillment Center in Kentucky, go to Zappos.com/blog and ask for "Sisters Get Zapponized"