Comments on: Brand Behaving Badly: Stop Pretending To Be a Happy Customer

By: Kudos to Zappos for pulling up the astroturf | Spaight Talk

Kudos to Zappos for pulling up the astroturf | Spaight Talk — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:52:56 +0000

[...] and then failed to respond to my three e-mail inquiries on the topic. So, I wrote this post about brands behaving badly and pretending to be happy customers, without disclosing that it was a Zappos thing, because I [...]

By: admin

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:24:01 +0000

Karen, thanks for your comment, it’s a good point and very intelligently stated. I hereby acknowledge that, in a way I am *overanalyzing” your stories, to make a point to others about some of the challenges that social implementation throughout an organization presents. Overall, I still think you guys do an awesome job. Keep it up : )

Sue

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:46:12 +0000

I, like Sue, am a Zappos employee too. If you noticed, the pranks being played happened in the corporate office in areas where people were working in an office setting, not in the KY fulfillment center. We are working around conveyors, forklifts, and various other types of mechanical equipment to process inventory and get orders out to our customers in the most efficient way possible. Dropping ping pong balls on people’s heads would absolutely not be permitted. Do we still “create fun and a little weirdness”? Sure we do, but in ways that do not interrupt the important work we have to do. I began as a full time employee with Zappos over 2 1/2 years ago, then found work in my professional field – so I have stayed on in a part time capacity because I love this company and want to continue to be a part of it. As employees of such a great company, we do have to live up to the integrity of the brand, both in and out of the workplace.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:16:18 +0000

Ashley,

“By keeping his employees happy, Tony really sets standards for how he wants us to keep our customers happy.” You are so right. Enthusiasm is infectious, whether from employees to customers or customers to other customers. And true, there are not many companies that have figured out how to make that a reality.

I promise, I will give Zappos a try this holiday season.

Thanks for stopping by. : ) Sue

By: Ashley

Ashley — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:08:49 +0000

Sue,
I hope you really do give us a try! I am a Zappos employee, and this is the best job I’ve ever had.
Here in KY, we are reaching peak season. This is really our time to shine. I will say, we do have to cut back on the “fun and weirdness” a little during this time, but it is all in interest of providing excellent customer service. However, we do have one rule that seems to never fade, even during peak season. That rule is, a happy employee is a good employee. Most everybody who works here WANTS to come to work every day. We all WANT to do the best we can every day. How many companies can say that?
By keeping his employees happy, Tony really set standards for how he wants us to keep our customers happy.
I’m excited to serve you, Sue. I hope you really enjoy your experience with Zappos as much as I have!

By: admin

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:32:49 +0000

Rob,

I suppose it could have been just an oversight on the part of your employee. Which is one of the challenges of encouraging many employees to participate: making sure they all “get it” without boxing them into “rules” that are too restrictive.

But whether or not your employee realized that he or she was not being transparent, which we don’t know, the way that Tony and you handled the situation is, in my opinion, a great example for other companies to follow and has completely restored my faith.

The fact that Tony cared enough to look into the matter in the first place, and the honest, sincere, human “mea culpa” in your response, combined, are exactly what this is all about in the first place: being people instead of faceless corporations.

You’ve heard me, and its time I gave being a Zappos customer another try and find out what all the fuss is really about.

Thanks for caring enough to respond.

Best,

Sue

By: Rob Siefker

Rob Siefker — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:50:50 +0000

Dear Sue,

My name is Rob Siefker and I’m the Sr. Manager for the Customer Loyalty Team (CLT) at Zappos. Thanks for writing your post, although I’m sorry someone from our team wouldn’t be transparent or forthcoming with their response to your original blog. I doubt the intent of our employee was to be misleading, but unfortunately it came across that way. I wouldn’t claim that we’re perfect, but it’s part of our culture to strive for customer service excellence. In this case, we didn’t put our best foot forward.

I’m thankful for your blog because it is a learning opportunity for us. We certainly don’t condone “astroturfing”. It’s the opposite of what we want to accomplish as a company. We’re going to remind everyone at Zappos about how important our interactions with people are to our service culture and brand. We’ll use this as an example, and hopefully it will resonate.

Thanks for your temperance and transparency. Your experience will help us be better in the future, and we appreciate that.

All the best,
Rob

p.s. I’d never heard of the term “astroturfing”. Thanks for that tidbit of information.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:13:39 +0000

Great observation Tamsen, and becoming more true by the second, isn’t it. The more brands interact, the more our perceptions are shaped by the collective of representative individuals. And if you’ve only interacted with one person from the organization, that is going to trump all of the “hearsay”, reputation, or buzz, in a heartbeat. That doesn’t mean we should be totally unforgiving, if this person steps forward and says “my bad.” I will be sending him or her a link so we shall see.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:10:21 +0000

Jessica, you may be right. Rule #1: Don’t lie.

By: Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:41:57 +0000

What I await, rather breathlessly, is when “brands” realize they are not, actually, something intangible. I see them, instead, as the collective interactions of people with a company (which is itself comprised of people).

The person to person interactions are where it all happens–where a brand is built, and where it breaks down.