No. 2. in a series on the Fundamentals of Enlightened Service Leadership

The best leaders walk the talk.

It was the busy season at on-line retailer Zappos’ call center. On this particular day the number of calls waiting in queue was climbing and customer wait times were steadily rising. As hard as the reps tried to catch up, they were losing ground by the minute. Christina, a newly appointed supervisor, sent a message of encouragement to her team and got on the phone to take calls. Somewhere around her third or fourth call she looked over at a new team member who was staring at her in disbelief. Once the surge subsided, the rep came over, sat down and said, “I will do anything you want me to do. I’ve worked in several call centers but have never seen a supervisor get on the phone when it was busy and take calls along with us.”

This was an example provided by Christina Colligan to illustrate what it means to live the “L” in the “LEADER” [See photo at right] philosophy at the world’s largest (and most successful) on-line shoe store.

Christina was one of the Leads (supervisor) in the Zappos’ Customer Loyalty Team (their name for their call center) I had the pleasure to meet a couple of weeks ago when I visited Zappos’ headquarters near Las Vegas. I was so impressed with Zappos’ common sense approach to customer service I followed up with Christina to learn more about what they do to create an inclusive culture in which “Wow” level is service is the norm.

In summing up Zappos’ philosophy she shared a quote from a recent learning session in which they share best practices of other companies and books by thought leaders: “People will follow people who show skills and character. Not one or the other — but both.”

Speaking of walking the talk. At Zappos it’s not just the supervisors who hop on the phone to take calls when it gets busy, everybody in the company helps out — including Tony Hsieh, the founder and CEO.

This week be an even more effective leader by not just “talking it” but “walking it.”

Look for more ideas on what you can do to create a new, more enlightened customer service paradigm in coming weeks.

Simple Stress Solutions

Ask Dr. Manny Show: Your job, commute, friends and family can all stress you out. Learn easy ways to cope with life’s little and big headaches so you can live a happier life.
In this episode, Dr. Manny interviews Barbara Burke the author of The Napkin, The Melon and The Monkey for ways of managing stress at home and at work.

This post is the first in the Enlightened Service Series: A common sense approach to customer care

Gina had been with Zappos only a few months when she got a call from a customer asking if there was any chance she could buy not a pair of UGGs, but just one. It seems that the woman’s daughter had been wearing her new pair of UGG’s when she got into an accident. One of her precious UGGs had been destroyed.

Gina recalled her recent new hire training in which she was encouraged and empowered to do whatever it takes to give every customer who calls her a “wow!” experience. So, she figured out a way to send the woman that single UGG with her compliments (wow!). But, the story doesn’t end there. She also sent the customer’s daughter a bouquet of flowers (wow!).

This is just one of the amazing stories I heard during my recent visit to Zappos’ Customer Loyalty Center (aka call center) in Las Vegas. (photo at right)

I’ve seen a lot of call centers in my 24 years but never have I seen anything like this. It truly is a happy and slightly wierd-in-a-good-way place. Zappos has earned a reputation for not only delivering stellar customer service but being a great place in which to work. Fortune Magazine ranked Zappos as #15 in their 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009. That’s no coincidence.

That’s not to say that they don’t face the same challenges and struggles that most call centers face today. For example, in reaction to the economic downturn Zappos laid off 124 employees last October.

In addition to being flabbergasted, blown away, inspired and encouraged by what I saw during my visit to Zappos, I felt vindicated. Over the years colleagues and clients have kidded me about living in my own “parallel Universe,” of being idealistic about what is possible. I have finally met a company that not only “gets it” but actually does the right things.  From what I can see,  Zappos is a company that lives what has become my mantra — “Customer service is the business of people helping people.”

This level of enlightened service isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. A case in point — Amazon recently purchased Zappos for $ 1.2 billion. (No worries. Zappos continues to operate as a separate company.)

You are probably wondering if your company could be another Zappos. Probably not. Zappos is unique. Its success is the result of a what is considered by many to be a social experiment conducted by its CEO and major stockholder, Tony Heish (pronounced “shay”). There is only one Tony. (For the whole story, I highly recommend you buy Tony’s book “Delivering Happiness: A path to profits, passion and purpose” being released today.)

The good news is that Zappos uses many customer-centric and employee-centric practices that you can incorporate into your organization. I plan to highlight some of those practices in a series of Monday Aha!s titled “Enlightened Service.”

This week lighten up and practice a little wierdness of your own.

In other news:
I had to share the pic I received last week from Susan Lucas, supervisor of a small call center at the Medical University of South Carolina. She ordered a FREE Leaders Guide and Toolkit and used it for the first time last week.