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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