Assignment 1 – Course: Training & Development
Date assigned: October 21, 2020
Submission Date: November 4, 2020 before 12 mid night
Submission procedure: Via email @ ID: rana.idrees@kasbit.edu.pk
Zappos, based in Las Vegas, is an online retailer. Its initial goal has been to be the best website
for buying shoes, offering a wide variety of brands, styles, colors, sizes, and widths. The
zappos.com brand has grown to offer shoes, handbags, eyewear, watches, and accessories for
online purchase. Zappos’s vision is that in the future, online sales will account for 30 percent of
all retail sales in the United States, and Zappos will be the company with the best service and
selection. As a result, Zappos believes that it can become the online service leader, drawing
customers and expanding into selling other products. Zappos believes that the speed at which a
customer receives an online purchase plays a critical role in how that customer thinks about
shopping online again in the future, so it focuses on making sure that items get delivered to
customers as quickly as possible. In 2009, the Amazon.com, Inc. family of companies, which
share a strong passion for customer service, acquired Zappos. In 2010, Zappos had experienced
tremendous growth, resulting in the need to restructure the company. Zappos was restructured
into ten separate companies under the Zappos family umbrella, including Zappos.com, Inc. [the
management company] and companies devoted to retail, gift cards, merchandising, and order
fulfillment. Zappos has received many awards for its workplace culture and practices, including
being recognized by Fortune magazine in 2013 as the #31 Best Company to Work For. Zappos
CEO Tony Heish has shaped the company’s culture, brand, and business strategy around 10 core
values:
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
Deliver WOW Through Service means that call center employees need to provide excellent
customer service. Call center employees encourage callers to order more than one size or color
because shipping and return shipping are free. They are also encouraged to use their
imaginations to meet customer needs. Zappos’s employment practices help to perpetuate its
company culture. For example, the HR team uses unusual interview questions, such as “How
weird are you?” and “What’s your theme song?” to find employees who are creative and have
strong individuality. Zappos provides free breakfast, lunch [cold cuts] and snacks, and a full-time
life coach [employees have to sit on a red velvet throne to complain].