Posted on November 4th, 2009
jeffv
Zappos.com is an online retailer that employs the motto of “wowing their customers through service”. After taking a tour of their facility, I can promise you that they also create a sense of “awe” seeing how they work first hand. Located in Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas, the corporate offices house all of the “teams” that make Zappos go. This includes the Customer Loyalty specialist, the direct Marketing team and other essential office positions. You can’t help but realize that you are not in your normal stuffy office environment right off the bat. Upon walking in the entry way, you come face to face with Rosy, a mock up of the Jetsons housemaid robot, that will faithfully serve you several kinds of coffee. The walls are painted a rich maroon color and the staff greets you with a boisterous hello. After signing in on the wall mounted computer, you can parooz the bookshelfs with many helpful and inspirational books that help Zappos maintain the lifeblood of their company, its corporate culture (pay close attention to these books as Zappos will let you take one complementary at the end of the tour).
A big shout out to our tour guide, Jonathan Wolske (follow on Twitter), an energetic, fun and extremely knowledgeable culture guide. Jon not only answered all our questions on Zappos but was also able to provide us with up to date info on the newest cell phones and showed us quite possibly the coolest cell phone application ever. A Star Wars light saber app that allows your phone to sound just like a light saber. But I digress.
Zappos corporate culture is not just pretty words on a poster, this is a way of life for this company and it shows throughout. The first stop was the legal team which affectionately is known as the Hall of Justice. Adorned with numerous super hero references including one chilly employee who was wearing a cape, you immediately get the sense that this is an office that believes in having fun. Each office featured an awning and over the Christmas season, will be decorated to look like a storefront. This gives the appearance that you are walking down the street of small town, USA not a half of a billion dollar a year corporation. Each department has its own unique personality that shows in the décor. Whether the Heroes mockup poster for the Direct Marketing team or the Rain Forrest area in the cubes. The thing that really stood out to me was the amazing positive energy that exists. Every employee really seems like they want to be there and contributes to the overall cause. I don’t have time to detail every different conference that we saw or the stairwell that has pens places so you can write a message on the wall, but suffice to say, the Zappos tour is a very unique experience.
Aside from the unique and fun décor, the real treat of the Zappos tour is seeing first hand what it is like to have a company that walks the walk on corporate culture. Zappos has made its name on its commitment to its consumers, but the thing that may not get as much attention is its commitment to its employees. You get a real sense that this company cares about its employees and wants to help them become not just better contributors to the cause but also help them become better people. The vast amount of information that they will share is a testament to their belief in transparency. Sales figures, returns rate and other “top secret” information is freely posted throughout the office.
For me personally, this tour was an eye opening experience. It makes me want to bring back what I have learned and hopefully implement some of the many great ideas into RealTruck. On this occasion, I hope that what happened in Vegas does NOT stay in Vegas.
