The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW

by Joseph A. Michelli

Make every day a WOW day for your customers, your staff―and your bottom line! “In your hands is a manifesto on how Zappos completely blew away the standard of delivering a consumer-centric experience and a revolutionary company culture. Joseph helps us all understand how to achieve a little more of that Zappos magic.”
―Eric Ryan, method cofounder and person against dirty “If you’re looking for an inspirational path for creating a likable, trustworthy, and wow! organization, you’ve hit the mother lode.”
―Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple and author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions “This book provides a roadmap to a successful business by taking inspiration and examples from one of the most innovative, progressive companies of our time. Don’t just read it; use it.”
―Tony Hawk, professional skateboarder and author of HAWK ―Occupation: Skateboarder and How Did I Get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO “Thanks to Joseph Michelli, you can learn exactly how Zappos hit it big and how you can too. By using the five principles Joseph has distilled, you can supercharge your efforts and start down the path to legendary success.”
―Mark Sanborn, President, Sanborn & Associates, Inc., and author of The Fred Factor and You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader “Often, business owners look at media darlings like Zappos with their mouths agape, full of awe but unable to take action. For those eager to do more than watch, Joseph Michelli deconstructs the Zappos story and makes it attainable.”
―Seth Godin, author of Poke the Box About the Book: ZAPPOS. The name has come to stand for a new standard of customer service, an amazing online shopping experience, a great place to work, and the most impressive transformational business success story of our time. Simply put, Zappos is revolutionizing business and changing lives. Now, Joseph Michelli, author of the internationally bestselling business books Prescription for Excellence and The Starbucks Experience , explains how Zappos does it―and how you can do it in your industry. The Zappos Experience takes you through―and beyond―the playful, offbeat company culture Zappos has become famous for. Michelli reveals what occurs behind the scenes at Zappos, showing how employees at all levels operate on a day-today basis while providing the “big picture” leadership methods that have earned the company $1 billion in annual gross sales during the last ten years―with almost no advertising. Michelli breaks the approach down into five key elements:

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Management, Reference

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2011

About the author

Joseph Michelli is an American psychologist, speaker, and author. He started his career as a psychologist in 1988 and began writing business books in 2004.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been a 10-15 page news or business magazine article. I was tempted to only give it one star, but Joseph Michelli does add some good takeaway notes, and has some challenging questions that would allow an owner of a small business to compare their customer service and culture to Zappos. You can get all the information on Zappos that this book provides with a couple of hours of searching on the web. Do not recommend.

[Kris Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Zappos and think so much of what they do can be transferred to other businesses & organizations. They say that they're in the business of happiness--I like that--that people are humble, kind yet work very hard to provide great service. Their values are in line w/ my own, so I found this book gratifying and worthwhile.

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zappos is known for their excellent customer service. In this book, the author, Joseph Michelli, investigates the company to determine how they have architected their company to provide this service. He breaks it down into 5 sections, but it can truly be focused on creating company process that enables stellar service, and creating HR processes that focus on benefiting the employee and the company. For instance, Michelli describes using anecdotes how employees have responded to customer issues, even those not involving the products being sold. An example is sending flowers to a customer who is dealing with returning shoes bought by her mother, who died before handling the return. An example of HR processes that Michelli highlights is the extensive employee training curriculum offered by the company, and the free use of business books from the company library. (Of course, since they are now owned by Amazon, I can understand the book benefit.) The book did bring up an issue that wasn’t covered in much detail – given this company has a single large office, with a second large office being built during the timeframe of this book, and with a large warehouse, geographically distant, the company would need to ensure their workers in all locations could deliver that high level of customer service. But it seemed from my reading that the training classes and many of the HR tactics to build a cohesive workforce (like invite-a-coworker-to-lunch prompting) generally require co-located employees. A minor miss, but perhaps this will be followed up on by other authors or editions. My favorite gleaning from this book is that Zappos openly calls themselves “weird”. And given many of the examples of employee parties, as well as company processes, that seems an apt description. It’s working for them.

Michelli includes questions within each chapter to help the reader consider adapting Zappos’ ways in their own companies. I enjoyed the author’s voice in this book, and appreciated the way the author categorized Zappos’ somewhat unique way of working. While I am not in a position in my company to enact these strategies and tactics, I can see how these descriptions could change an executive's thinking. Another excellent company dissection by Michelli.

[Melsene G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book about Zappos, an online retailer, and what makes them stand out in the customer experience realm. This is the third Michelli book on customer experience that I've read so I'm comparing this one with the others to some extent.

Zappos started out selling only shoes back in 1999, after CEO Tony Hsieh bought shoesite.com. They grew quickly and have become a top company and now sell more than shoes, and they were acquired by Amazon in 2009. You can find out more from the timeline provided in chapter 1. Zappos is big on trust and fosters a culture of love and happiness. If you're a baby boomer or older this sort of work environment is foreign for sure. The author identifies 5 principles: 1. Serve a perfect fit; 2. Make it effortlessly swift; 3. Step into the personal; 4. STRETCH; and 5. Play to win.

There are good quotes throughout the book that leadership readers will know and relate to. For example, "What gets measured gets done... ." The author interviews lots of employees and has quotes throughout the book from happy and fulfilled employees. Zappos has ten core values and they are not traditional. Here they are: 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; and 10. Be humble.

There are QR codes you can pull up on your phone but some of them were no longer available. The ones I accessed were interesting and spirited. Each chapter has a blue box with questions for the reader to apply in their own businesses and lives.

All in all, I enjoyed learning about Zappos and their unique culture. I have not purchased products from them but may look at the website now and check it out. Next up is Mercedes-Benz!

[Karen Jett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The only reason I didn't rate it higher was because somehow the last third of the book was not as compelling for me.

A client called me about this book and wanted to theme a staff retreat around it. So, I immediately read it and fell in love with Zappos as a company. Honestly, I wish there was a Zappos near me so I could apply for a job. It would be a steep learning curve and I'd have to unlearn many bad habits from old jobs, and it would be worth it to work there.

Since there are no Zappos locations near me I will have to content myself with helping other companies to become more Zappos like.

If you'd like your job to be more wacky or for your employees to provide "WOW" service, you can read the book for ideas and insights, or give me a call! :)

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This was a very uplifting book, but also very much a pat on their own back. I would have liked to know where they came from (as in what was wrong that made them make those changes) so that I could be all the more amazed at where they are. Also, the references to go to their website were all over the place, I read a book usually in bed or at work, and cannot log on the the website.

I did make plenty of notes regarding their customer service and principles, and will be trying some of them in my own work.

All in all, I would rate this as a 3 star book.

[Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book in a goodreads.com giveaway.

The thing about reading this book was the timing! It's an interesting, fast read, but it was an ironic coincidence that I was enduring the worst customer service experience of my life during the three days while I was reading this at night! I think reading about a culture of happiness made me angrier at the hideous treatment I was receiving from Caremark. It made me want to "fix" there problems!

The book also inspired me to look at the zappos website.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book as I've been feeling a bit out of sorts and uninspired by my work lately. I thought it might help me find some inspiration in how I was doing my own job. It did and the information was good but I got ridiculoulsly tired of the QRs and plugs for the website. I get it... I can use my phone and a QR reader to see more examples, I can get a 30 day free trial on the website. I don't really need to be reminded every third page.

[المهند السبيعي · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story about amazing people and leadership ... from this book you will learn how this outstanding company was able to achieve such dramatic success in short time ... Employee first and providing great customer experience that exceeds customer expectations is the real differentiator in this era.

not every CX professional should read this book but also all leaders, business owners and HR professionals should learn from this great company

[Ghassan-Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say that the book has anything new or special. However the way it was written is smart.
The examples given and the style adapted are quite nice.
It makes it very easy for the reader to understand the point that needed to be delivered as well as relate to the examples because they're part of our everyday lives.
The story and the mentality of Zappos are intriguing and the overall story is inspiring.

[Donovan Mattole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of our business book club at work, I found this book to have some good examples and practical advice, but also loaded with clichés and repetition. Bottom line is that it was pretty basic and if I were to recommend a book on the customer experience or creating engagement at work, this would not be on the top of my list.

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

found the book terrific.Filled with valuable tips on how to keep customers and staff happy.This book should be a bible for most organizations. Honestly feel it can be given to students in grade ten. It would certainly assist those going out for their first jobs. Then there are companies who have lost their way. Reading this should give them a clear & valuable blue print for improvement.

[Brian Saxon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the breakdown of the Zappos approach to both their customers and employees. A lot of detail went into each chapter. However, I think for a lot of business owners who are mired in their own cultures would have a difficult time enacting these suggestions without help. There isn't a lot of information on how to begin the process, but the book does give you a great target to shoot for.

[Lils · Rating 3 out of 5]

as much as it was interesting, it's pretty lengthy at some areas. so i ended up skimming through and skipping most of it. the book focused more on internal company culture than marketing and strategy - which might have been my presumptuous on my end to think it was about zappos' marketing & strategy.

[Amy Mcsharry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to see how the outside world perceives Zappos - there were a lot of great things about the company highlighted and some not-so-great things brushed under the rug and not spoken about. I hope it helps other people be better to their employees and keeps Zappos on their toes...

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for professional book group. While it wasn't the most engaging read and I tired very quickly of the "corporatese" used to describe zappo's unique "work culture" it was still a good pick for this group as it sparked some great discussion on customer service and libraries.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book about an even greater group of people. Zappos culture and way of doing business are definitely unique, but I think any leader/organization could implement some of the concepts found within this book to propel their employee engagement and success forward.

[Daniel Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a grad school class. While it is a bit redundant in content there are some interesting points to consider for individuals and business. A few key threads are innovation, leadership, culture, and valuing your employees. Good read check it out.

[Jim Serger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take you business to the next level- create an environment worth living and working in and make a family out of your employees. The author did a super job at heightening these principals, because Zappos does it, breaths it and proves a ton of FUN can go a long way.

[Kim Soriano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a fairly easy read and certainly informational. It was kind of like he was sitting there telling me a story.

[Chris Garin · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOLD. Just GOLD.

[Michael Spredemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for any entreprenuer

[Sandro Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, that shows the high concern with your customers that zappos has, and this make them be excellent in what they do.

[Andreas Konstantinou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Michelli takes a walk through the unique, and highly fulfilling culture at Zappos, and outlines its key principles, rituals and habits that led to its stellar customer service, performance and ultimate acquisition by Amazon.

[Robin Peake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm in love with Zappos - the service orientated culture is inspiring, and this book does a great job of capturing the principles behind it and the stories it has inspired.

[Jeffrey Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book but if I had to choose between this and Delivering Happiness, I would choose the latter. But if you want a deeper dive into Zappos definitely worth the read.

[Adriana Conto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente la historia de una empresa que fue vendida a Amazon el emprendimiento de sus dueños con teorías de servicio al cliente y

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to work there.

[Antony Adelaar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring, but total brand propaganda. Would've preferred something objective.

[Jenn Lambert · Rating 1 out of 5]

school book