Zappos Zaps Customer Service Record with 10+ Hour Call

Posted by in Customer Service


Many call centers like to limit how long their reps stay on the phone with a “less is best” attitude towards call times. Zappos, the online shoe and apparel retailer takes the opposite approach and encourages its Customer Loyalty Team to take as much time as they need to satisfy the customer with answers to their questions, even if it takes them 10 ½ hours and doesn’t entirely pertain to shoes.

 

Earlier this month, the company broke its previous record of 8 hours and 47 minutes set in 2011 for longest customer service phone call with a conversation on December 8 that lasted 10 hours and 29 minutes, according to spokesperson Diane Coffey in an email to the Huffington Post.

 

Jeffrey Lewis, Zappos Customer Loyalty Team supervisor explained,  “Zappos’s first core value is to deliver wow through service, and we feel that allowing our team members the ability to stay on the phone with a customer for as long as they need is a crucial means of fulfilling this value.”

 

Zappos feels lengthy conversations like this are proof of dedication to its customers and encapsulate the company motto of "Powered by Service." The practice has paid off. A Harris Poll released in November rating the best customer service among apparel retailers declared a tie between Zappos and L.L. Bean for the second place slot. Victoria Secret won the honors of the top spot for the 3rd consecutive year.

 

What makes some folks shake their heads is that the representative wasn’t even helping the caller with a customer service issue in need of resolve. Instead the conversation between the rep and a Midwestern college student named Lisa who was looking to relocate near the call center’s location, spoke about what it's like to live in the Las Vegas area.  Customer Loyalty Team member Shaea Labus, the customer service rep who took the call was able to give Lisa tips on neighborhoods, jobs and various other things.

 

"I took one bathroom break about two hours in,” Labus told Business Insider. “[Another team member] took care of me by bringing me food and drinks. We talked about life, movies and favorite foods.”

 

Eventually, the conversation did lead to a sale of a pair of Ugg boots.

 

“Sometimes people just need to call and talk,” Mary Tennant, a Zappos rep told Business Insider. “We don’t judge, we just want to help.”

 

According to Emily Yellin, author of "Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us," customer service representatives cost about $7.50 per call and a 2007 study showed that American call centers for companies like Zappos’ collectively receive 43 billion calls a year. Zappos has live customer service reps available 24 hours a day on a toll free phone number which can be quite costly initially but in the long run Zappos feels it is well worth the investment.

 

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos

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  • Melissa Kennedy
    Melissa Kennedy
    Thanks for stopping by.@Dale - Zappos is a great company. It's a pity they are only in a few locations.@Beverly - Don't worry, I yell about Zappos all the time!@Terri - Each company is different, depending on their corporate values. Personally, I prefer quality over quantity.
  • Dale Lorraine S
    Dale Lorraine S
    I would love to have a job at Zappos, I heard nothing but great things about this company.  Wish there was one inNorthern, NJ, I would apply right away.
  • Beverly H
    Beverly H
    AWESOME!!!  LOVE THEIR DEDICATION TO TRUE "CUSTOMER SERVICE!"  (And yes, I'm YELLING about it! :D)
  • Terri W
    Terri W
    I work at a Call Center where less is best but yet they want you to be all that the customer needs us to be as a representative of the the company. Sometimes, actually a good portion of the time, you can't have it both ways. Quality or Quantity?
  • Heather Fairchild
    Heather Fairchild
    Thanks for the feedback! Hopefully more call centers will realize the value of unfettered customer service and allow their associates a little more leeway when it comes to meeting customer needs.
  • Reta R
    Reta R
    Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.  This is one of our skills as customer reps' be it business or personal.  The Company name is at stake and the caller will always think fondly of your organization.
  • Marisa B
    Marisa B
    now this is what I call customer service. Making the customer feel like they are family or close friend of the family. Sometimes they just need to vent a little and some one with a good ear to listen to them. But I have never heard of anyone talking for that long ever. WOW. Well she did make a sale and that was good. This CSR has lots of patience also, lets not forget that. It takes some one with lots of patience to stay on the phone with one customer for that many hours.I salute that CSR. Great Job.
  • Sharmeen B
    Sharmeen B
    I like the idea of this because so often in customer service call centers your limited to 3-5 minutes at the most on a call.  Organizations that promote thorough communication between CSR and the customer are benefiting not only the customer but also the CSR.  Most people in the service industry only want to help and you cannot always do that in a limited time span.  This sounds like an organization that knows its bottom dollar also equals good customer service with no time constraints.  
  • Diane M
    Diane M
    What a wonderful article. That Representative is absolutely awesome. I have worked in many call centers and I can only recall one time where I was allowed to continue to talk with the customer because of what she was going through at the time (I had a wonderful supervisor and was being monitored at the time). Most call centers would never allow this to happen. Everything is timed!Kudos to Zappos and that Representative!
  • Dawn A
    Dawn A
    I love this article. It reminds me of the old stories about Norstroms and their excellent customer service philosphy. I'm considering relocating to Vegas and I was told to consider applying to Zappos. So based on this I'm going to look into this company! #Zappos
  • Julie H
    Julie H
    Kudos to Zappos for their philosophy. It has always been my work ethic as well, which gained me many kudos of appreciation from my customers and high survey scores. While I understand the need for a call center to keep calls as short as possible because this means you can take more calls, I don't feel this should be the primary focus. Companiss are built on the backs of their customers and there must be a customer first attitude. Knowing you are able to take a few more minutes with a customer to make sure ALL of their questions have been answered also equals a customer who is less likely to have to call back, thereby reducing inbound calls over all and meets first call resolution. With a requirement to speed up the call, you get sloppy work, employees not willing to step outside the box to make sure they've addressed all issues, and unhappy customers who feel rushed and unappreciated. Keep up the good work Zappos!
  • Nicole P
    Nicole P
    This is awesome every call center I've worked at frown on this type of conversation.  This deserves an applause.
  • Yvonne R
    Yvonne R
    Love this attitude! As a previous customer call center Team Lead for a company who was all about the number of calls you took per hour, this is so refreshing to hear!! Now if only I could find a place like that near me!!
  • Debra E
    Debra E
    To me customer service is by far the most important thing. It makes me feel like my business is of value to the company.  So many businesses do not take customer service seriously they rely on quantity not quality.  I will switch my $spending to another company in a heartbeat without a glance back just to get that great customer service. great job Zappo's
  • Sarah H
    Sarah H
    I think that this is fantastic! Having worked at a call center and on many retail sales and management positions, it seems that all current trends are towards tight metrics and increased bottom line with workers achieving unreasonable demands from superiors and unsatisfactory service for the consumer.  Kudos to Zappos for standing for their employees and the people they intended to service
  • Treva G
    Treva G
    Awesome that's great customer service
  • Anita C
    Anita C
    Sounds good
  • Margaret G
    Margaret G
    I agree with this philosophy, we are all someone's customer. I personally enjoy it when a representative is patient and professional with me whenever I need to call a company with my concerns.
  • Curt M
    Curt M
    I agree. When I was in car sales, most of the other sales people would laugh at me and it even became a joke around the dealership. If I got a customer close to closing time everyone would say oh boy get prepared to spend the night here, Curt just got a customer in his office.  Usually it would end in a sale and most often, I would almost always have the highest profit average per sale each month. Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I would also take all the time on the phone with the customer.
  • Karen R
    Karen R
    I think this is great. My daughter works for a call center she loves her job but if she doesn't have five calls or sales a night they suspend there empolyees for three days.she has three years of college just to work at a call center who doesn't care about there empolyees.So I'm glad to know there is someone out there who cares about the customer.I shop at zappos all the time.so keep up the good work
  • Ava Sharee C
    Ava Sharee C
    I agree because there are calls that will require more than the two minutes or less per call.

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