Comments on: [Interview] Ask Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:51:20 +0000

The book “the best service is no service” — what are your thoughts on the thesis of that book? Do you agree that eliminating the need for the customer to contact the company is a good thing?

I personally hate dealing with any customer service and wish that companies made it easier for customers to have good experiences. Having to call customer service is a failure in the company and is sometimes made worse when customer service isn’t good. There can be two failures I guess.

By: jamie rozansky

jamie rozansky — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:01:15 +0000

I am a director of operations in a small/midsize company, under 100 people. We pride ourselves on building our business based on customer service. I am so impressed and inspired by your organization, that I would love to know what you do to compansate, and reward your customer service reps. Is there a specific method you use? How do you combat negativity? How do you expand your business and maintain your culture? I would love to be an intern in your office and experience your operation. I have been equally satisfied by all of my personal experiences as a consumer dealing with Zappos. I have never been disappointed, nor experienced anything but consistant friendliness and service. I would love to learn from you, so that I can share your service model in our industry and business. Please feel free to contact me. Thank you

By: Cheri Register

Cheri Register — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:03:47 +0000

Given the increasing diversity of the population in the US, why is it so difficult to buy women’s shoes in sizes smaller than 6? When 5s are available, which seldom happens in shoe stores, they are usually narrow in width. My daughter has a fairly typical Korean body type, with short, medium to wide feet. She can’t be the only one frustrated with trying to find shoes that fit–especially fashionable women’s shoes, not children’s sizes. Someone must want to serve this market.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:28:44 +0000

How do you ensure that the people you hire into Zappos actually believe in your company culture and core values and aren’t just paying them lip service to get through the interview process?

By: Marquis Parker

Marquis Parker — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:17:07 +0000

I’m a frequent shopper at Zappos. As a customer, I noticeably observe Supply Chain and Service Excellence, but I have one question: the site seems to be lagging behind both, in terms of innovation, usability, and current-ness. The site is a way-back of the early nineties; a link-farm of sorts.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m still very loyal to Zappos, but the site is clearly behind, but Fulfillment and Service Excellence are top-notch.

By: Brad Briscoe

Brad Briscoe — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:17:14 +0000

How do you set and monitor quality standards for the shoes and other products you offer so that product quality matches your service quality?

By: Joe Rawlinson

Joe Rawlinson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:59:14 +0000

How do you think great customer service will influence customers in a slow economy when many are becoming more price focused?

Aside from the layoffs that we’ve heard about, how else are you cutting expenses to stay profitable?

How do you balance expense cutbacks with continued investment so you can gain market share over competitors?

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:49:59 +0000

What leadership lessons have you learned in your time as CEO? Also, what mistakes have you made and how did those mistakes change you and change the company?

By: Jeremy Hanks

Jeremy Hanks — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:29:20 +0000

What are your thoughts about drop shipping/supplier direct fulfillment? I’d imagine that at some point as you expand into other categories, you’ll find yourself limited by space and $ that you’re willing to tie up in inventory. How would Zappos approach a strategy to use virtual inventory as a way to provide deeper SKU options for your customers? – Jeremy Hanks, Cofounder Doba

By: Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:05:50 +0000

Have you seen Twilight yet? Did you like it?

By: Ben Shin

Ben Shin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:04:12 +0000

Hi Tony,

Zappos started with the shoe category and is now selling other stuff. In one sense, Zappos is becoming more and more like Amazon. What is different between Zappos and Amazon?

By: kc

kc — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:40:20 +0000

This is a general business question:
What is your advice on working within a de-centralized organization and being charged with growing the e-commerce portion (approx. 15% of the whole) within the realm of a traditional company offering little support or understanding of the business model?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:36:53 +0000

What are your plans for international expansion? Which markets do you see first, and why?

By: chad

chad — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:26:57 +0000

I would like to know what Zappos is doing to monitor your brand on social sites like Twitter and MySpace. How many employees do you have monitoring social sites, and what is your strategic response when something negative is said?

By: Nancy Low

Nancy Low — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:13:56 +0000

I see Zappos participating at leadership events – HOw do you measure your ROI on leadership development within your organization ?