A Brief With Zappos.com…

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I briefly met Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, at a social media conference in Las Vegas. When I met him, I told him that I saw him the night before on the Celebrity Apprentice and was very impressed with him. After the presentation in Vegas, my thoughts were justified. He was an amazing speaker. At the seminar, he talked about customer service and that customer service was the most important part of his business. He talked about how he spends no money on advertising and puts all of his money into customer service, making sure that his customers are happy.

About a week ago, I tweeted to Tony Hsieh and asked him for a quote for my social media 101 book. I thought he would say something inspirational and motivational. Instead, I got an email from his company saying that I should contact the PR department.

When I contacted the PR department, I assumed that I would get an immediate response. (Customer service is the most important thing in my company, he said at the seminar.) I got no response.

That was two weeks ago. Still no response. I am dissappointed.

Today, I came home rather later. It was one of those 16 hour days and I was exhausted. When I walked up the stairs into the kitchen, I looked at my mail and noticed that I got a catalogue from Zappos.com.

In the promotional piece, which was all professionally done, Mr. Hsieh continues to state that he strives to deliver “the best service to our customers.”

Well Mr. Hsieh, I too am a customer and I think you’re wrong. You absolutely spend money on marketing and promotions (i.e., this expensive, what you call “magalog.”). And, when a customer asks an inquiry, obviously you don’t respond.

So much for that. I’m a dissappointed customer. Anyone else have any similar experiences?