I love shoes.
To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of shoes. I got my go-to winter boots, wear-with-jeans boots, a pair of Converse and a few cute heels. But there is nothing better than a new pair of shoes. And recently, I needed to get some new sneakers. It’s all part of this New Years Resolution bidness.
So, after seeing a segment on Good Morning America about the best running shoes (OK, OK, my mom sent me the segment after SHE saw it), I decided to go with the Asics GEL-150 TR. After doing some research, the shoes ended up cheaper on Amazon, but with the free shipping both ways I decided to go with Zappos for the first time, given that there was a distinct possibility I’d have to send them back since who knows with shoe sizes and fitting. Of course I suppose there was the old “go to the store and try that shiz on” route… but if I did that I wouldn’t be writing this post, would I?
Anyways… I placed my order, and after seeing the email that my shoes had been shipped, expected to wait a few days for my new purchase to arrive. I had heard great things about Zappos’ quick shipping, so I was really looking forward to going running in them ASAP.
Well, I waited. And waited. And waited. It was the second week in January, and I had ordered my shoes in the last week of December. Not an eternity, but certainly not what I had expected given the reputation that Zappos has for rapid delivery.
So, I tweeted about it.
Within five minutes (literally), someone at Zappos saw my tweet and contacted me directly, asking for my order number. They quickly notified me that since I had ordered during peak holiday season, UPS was experiencing some slowdowns and they had shipped my shoes Ground. She gave me a new estimated delivery date, and then did something completely unexpected- upgraded me to VIP service, no questions asked. Essentially, every purchase I make from now on at Zappos will be shipped overnight, no charge. Bye.
All that from a single tweet- and I know I am not the first nor will I be the last to extol the virtues of Zappos customer service. It’s unreal.
At the end of all that, I ended up losing the package (someone had mistakenly taken it from my lobby- then returned it a few days later). When I complained at first that someone dang stole my shoes, Zappos saw and sent me another pair. Again, no charge. They even opened up an investigation with UPS for me. When I finally found the missing shoes, they helped me with shipping the replacement pair back.
This shoe saga is long… but if every company could just listen -and act- with the adeptness and compassion of Zappos, the world of marketing would change vastly. I know, I know, we’ve been seeing it all over the place, with more and more brands joining Twitter and taking part in the conversation.
But the core value brands can derive from social media, and something Zappos has tapped into quite deftly, is SERVICE. Sure, brand presence and marketing are important- but customer service turns sometimes-buyers into lifelong advocates. Zappos realizes this, and even incorporates it into their logo (see above).
I know I certainly won’t be buying my shoes anywhere else online from now on.
Also- the GEL-150 TRs are great, if anyone is wondering!
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