1. How Zappos Delivers The “Wow” Through Service
Everyone talks about how Zappos.com has created a culture of creating customer and employee
“Wow”. Here’s my personal story.
In 2009 when I was returning to India after 9 exciting years in the US, I decided to gift myself one last
shiny new thing. A very sharp and sexy DKNY watch! And now let me tell you at the outset that at the
time I was not a big watch person. I was used to not wearing a watch for many years leading up to that
moment. So, the decision was primarily to indulge in a smart piece of branded jewelry. I had my eyes
and heart set on a very specific model of DKNY watch that I had seen on the wrist of a co-worker.
After quite a bit of research online, I identified that the particular model I was looking for was not
available on the official DKNY website. It was available on Amazon for $90. I had also heard about
Zappos (at that time, an upstart competitor to Amazon) and how they were selling “more than just
shoes”. Sweet luck – the same watch was available for $70 on Zappos.
But when I tried to add the product to my cart, the website indicated that it was “out of stock”. An
interesting thing to note: Most companies are afraid to list their customer service number on their
website thinking customers will be bombarding them with requests they cannot fulfill and complaints
they cannot rectify. Such a sad reality! But Zappos had very prominently displayed the customer service
toll-free number on every page of their site. When I called to inquire, a cheerful and very knowledgeable
sales person greeted me and listened patiently to my request. He ascertained that the silver watch was
indeed out of stock and even if they ordered it for me, it would not come in time before my departure to
India.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

2. There was gold version of that same watch available and “in-stock” but here’s the best part:
 He did not bring it up in our conversation
 He did not suggest that I could go for it since the silver one is not available
 He did not try to sell me anything else that might have looked similar to my silver DKNY
He understood, empathized and respected my wish and desire as a customer. He understood that my
heart was set on the silver DKNY and that as a customer of Zappos, I should get what I wanted.
And here’s the cherry on the cake – he inquired if I had an email address. I assumed he might be sharing
other options or further info about Zappos. When I saw the email, I fell off my chair. The sales person on
the phone said innocently, “We do not have the specific watch you are looking for, but you could check
out Amazon.com. I believe they have the same model. Hope this helps!”
I was utterly, truly “Wowed” beyond belief! Giving the customer what she wanted at any cost has
resulted in the following:
 What Zappos lost: A mere $70 to Amazon
 What they earned: my lifelong loyalty, leaps and bounds of customer happiness through this
“wow” experience, the brand mileage they are earning as I have been sharing this story with my
colleagues, friends and family since 2009.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

3. About CXP Design
CXP Design (www.cxpdesign.com), founded by Rupa Shankar, is a platform for marketers,
technologists, designers and leaders to discuss and gain a deeper understanding of cross-channel
customer experience design, develop empathy for customer needs and learn how to create
products and services that deliver "wow" experiences for customers.
When we check into a hotel. When we shop on-line. When we buy a pair of shoes. When we get on
a flight. These are experiences by which we measure brands every day. However, most companies
are without the tools to purposefully design those experiences for maximum value. That’s where
CXP Design comes in.
Day in, day out, we live, sleep, eat, breathe and unravel the riddle that is human experience, leading
to more loyal and committed customers for our clients.
www.cxpdesign.com
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www.twitter.com/cxpdesign
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Rupa is an Associate Director at Happiest Minds Technologies (www.happiestminds.com), a next-
generation IT Services & Solutions company at the forefront of Providing Advisory, Implementation and
Managed Services on Social computing, Mobility, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud computing,
Security and Unified Communications. At Happiest Minds, Rupa is responsible for uncovering and
activating innovative digital and social engagement strategies for its clients, spearheading the
development of frameworks and solutions for different industry verticals and enhancing the global go-to-
market strategy. She taps into her past work as both a design practitioner and marketer to help Happiest
Minds clients envision and define broad, end-to-end customer experiences.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com