Monday

Why Zappos.com Pays Trainee's to Leave

You might have heard of the online shoe retailer Zappos, maybe you haven't. Zappos has been selling shoes online since 1999- and have weathered the dot com bubble well. Very well. Zappos has already done around $800 million in profits but that isn't the company’s main goal.

The main goal of the company is create and foster a business environment that allows for growth of its employees. Zappo's trainee's a put through a 4 week training course and learn about every aspect of the business and then when it is all over they are offered $1,000 (sometimes $2,000) to walk away if it isn't right for them or they're just in it for the money. That's not to say they aren't paid, employees are paid more the CEO.

It's an ingenious way of hiring people who are devoted to the company and actually want to work for your company, rather than just wanting to work for a company. It's also incredibly important they hire the right people because Zappos houses their call center right in their headquarters outside of Las Vegas. You won't be calling a number in Bombay when you need customer support and outsourcing isn't in the business model.

Tony Hsieh CEO of the company bases his success of Zappos on having a great product and having great customer service. What a concept for most businesses, treating customers well. Not only does Zappos treat their customers as assets they also listen to the recommendations from their customers of what they want to be offered. Zappos Airlines? Sure maybe down the road. Hsieh is taking that idea into consideration for the future.



Also, Zappos refers customers to competitors if they don't have something in stock. A notion that would make old school businessmen scorn at the idea. Nonetheless this has done very well for customer service as the customers see Zappos as a helpful guide to buying shoes instead of a greedy corporation that just focuses on profit. If only more businesses pointed helped their customers like this than maybe they would have more business.

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