Olliebop Blog | Inspiration, Ideas and Information for Busy Families | Parenting Teens and Tweens

I have to offer a BIG TIME shout out to Zappos, who just delivered the best customer service our family has ever received. We had some footwear “issues,” let’s say, and Zappos turned our WOE in to WOW! I’ll tell you the full story, and if it impresses you too, please pass it along! I’d love to thank Zappos and our customer service rep, Danielle S., for a phenomenal experience by sending more customers their way!

So I received this in the mail yesterday — hand written and illustrated by Danielle {nice UGG, Danielle!}. Cool, right? Who does that in corporate America?!? Read on… it gets better.

As if it wasn’t already enough to be a VIP and receive free 24 hour shipping and free returns?!  I mean really, Zappos was already so great that it was bordering on ridiculous. And then, this!

Here’s the FULL AMAZING STORY which led to the arrival of Danielle’s awesome card at Chez BOP:

• Ella {age 11} asked for UGGs, for Christmas 2011. Lucky girl received a pair — tall, with a zipper all the way up the inside. We ordered them from Zappos, and she loved them. And all was well!
• After 11 months of UGG ownership, the zipper of one of the boots broke in November of 2012. She couldn’t zip up one of her boots. How sad!
• We called Zappos, and the rep on the phone {wish I could remember his name} said that we were still under the UGG one year warrantee, so we should contact them. He nicely helped me find the spot on the UGG site to make a return request — and we learned that their process could leave us without boots for weeks {and to a 6th grade girl in the Northeast, this is a big deal}. We ended the call, and I felt that we were fairly treated. It had been almost a year, after all, and workmanship wasn’t technically Zappos’ issue.
• Several minutes later, the friendly Zappos rep called me back, saying that he felt badly and Zappos would take the boots back — and we would have a new pair the next day! Jubilation! The style had been discontinued, so Ella chose the Bailey, which was less expensive than the first pair. So, Zappos refunded our money for the $30 difference and sent a label to return the defective boots for free. Happy ending!
• Ella happily wore her replacement UGGs for a mere 2 1/2 months, when unexpectedly last week her big toe popped through the end of the boot! It was so weird. As we looked closely, it seemed like the leather of that boot was thinner than the leather of the other.
• I sheepishly {no pun intended} called Zappos again and my call was answered by Danielle in customer service. I wondered if she was secretly thinking that I must have this horribly destructive kid — or that I was working the system. I confessed that we had gotten the pair in question as a free replacement less than three months earlier. And now, I was asking for another. Danielle was SO nice about it, sincerely apologizing for our inconvenience. She offered any other boot as a replacement {the Bailey in that color was out of stock}, so Ella chose the classic tall instead. Although about $30 more than the Bailey, Danielle insisted that Zappos cover the difference — and that we would receive the new boots the next day. I also received another shipping label to return the defective boots. For free, of course. Another happy ending!
• And then… just a few days later the handmade thank you card from Danielle. Awesome happy ending!

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I try to balance online shopping with supporting local businesses. You know that I love handmade {self-appointed Etsy superfan, here}. Promoting big business isn’t usually my thing {it’s counter to my small-town Vermont upbringing}, but this experience has placed Zappos in an entirely different big business category — doing to online shopping what Ben and Jerry’s did to ice cream back in the day.

I’ll wrap up with these fantastic words from Zappos’ site, elaborating on the first of its core values – “Deliver WOW through service.”

“WOW is such a short, simple word, but it really encompasses a lot of things. To WOW, you must differentiate yourself, which means doing something a little unconventional and innovative. You must do something that’s above and beyond what’s expected. And whatever you do must have an emotional impact on the receiver.”

Mission accomplished, Zappos! Bravo, Danielle {and nice customer service guy #1 whose name I can’t remember!}. With a great big “WOW” — from our family to yours.

P.S.   In case you’re wondering… Zappos and I have no special connection and I do not profit in any way from the promotion of their business. Just a satisfied customer, here.

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1. World’s Smallest Postal Service
2. Love Story
3. My Mother’s Story of Viola, Inspired by “The Help”
4. It’s Pouring! Best Raincoat and Boots

Tags: inspiring, Zappos