At today's "customer service is the new marketing conference" http://csitnm.com/ at the beautiful Golden Gate club in San Francisco, Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos http://www.zappos.com/welcome.zhtml was clear that the way to drive a business' success, was not about looking at the care operation as an expense item, but as an investment. At this conference, focused on a new way of viewing customer service, Tony was one of the headliners whose passion was catching as he positioned care as one of the most important branding opportunities.  Each interaction  - he shared - is an opportunity to create an impression. The company's 5 week training  in Las Vegas for new employees is more about the culture and role of the customer's experience in their interactions than it is about any employee's specific role.  The call center staff isn't measured by # of transactions handled, upselling or time spent per call - rather it is completely about how the customer feels at the end of the interaction.  To create that "right" interaction - their team is empowered to make decisions on the fly.  More often than not - they encourage their staff to be more generous in terms of making a problematic situation right  - when they provide feedback on a call.  And - he emphasized - their goal is to allow people to start at the $13 an hour job, and work themselves up to the lead in a department.  Retraining people who have already learned bad customer care habits (like getting a customer off a call fast) can be very difficult.  Getting someone with no experience, is often a better fit for the Zappos culture. This culture of "care for the customer" is captured by employees (everyone contributes and it is organized by department)  in an annual "culture" book Zappos publishes for new employees, vendors and individuals interviewing at the company.

This great customer service btw - isn't just for the customer.  Zappos' focus on interactions transcends to employees, vendors...investors.....

He walked thru their 10 core values.......my favorite was "create fun and a little weirdness." Tony confirmed that not everyone is comfortable with this, but to drive change, requires a little adventure, creativity and open-mindedness.