What percentage of your company’s employees would say that your current values meet the CRUD test of being credible, relevant, unique, and durable?

Through strategic partnerships, there is no end to the variety of inserts that customers might find in their Zappos box. In essence, Zappos has found a way to intermittently surprise customers with items that are unexpected. The mere act of delivering something that the customer did not know was coming is a key to widespread wow delivery.

Will you create questions that explore whether your applicants align with your core values? (For example, at Zappos, interviewees might be asked to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 as to how weird they are. This is followed by a more important question: Why did you give yourself the rating you did?

As an extra bonus for you, please enjoy a 30-day trial membership to Zappos Insights. While a great deal of information about Zappos Insights will be provided throughout the book, suffice it to say the Zappos Insights team has put together a rich, continually refreshed, resource of practical information to build, sustain, and drive a dynamic

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Amy Smith and Ruth Bolton, published in the Journal of Service Research, shows that a company’s recovery from mistakes has substantial impact on customer perceptions and on the future purchases of those consumers. Research indicates that customers who experience a service breakdown and receive a swift, helpful resolution are more likely to

When Zappos was in its early start-up phase, the small band of Zapponians shared many common traits, including a strong willingness to embrace change, a determined work ethic, and the capacity to develop tight social bonds from fun activities that emerged in the midst of long hours dedicated to the business.

After all this culture screening, Zappos employees head to their respective departments, and, for many, additional education is provided to help them address the specific technical aspects of their jobs.

As an alternative to the word speed, I suggest the term service velocity. As you may recall from physics class, “velocity” is the measurement of the rate and direction of change in an object’s position. So when I refer to service velocity, I am talking about service speed coupled with an accurate and well-positioned customer experience.