.......until two crazy fools break their hands. In the picture above, you'll see two of our Zappos employees who shared a department until a month ago and who miraculously managed to break bones in their hands within hours of each other in unrelated incidents. Brett H., from our Creative Services team, learned the hard way about horseplay while out with his friend, Pat W., from our Zappos Outlet Stores.

The details are murky, but we have been told that it involved a ketchup and mustard fight and some rough-housing at Brett's birthday party at a local bar. It appears Pat must have gotten the upper hand.

Brett has a tendency to fall prey to condiments, actually..... tune into ZapposTV next week to see an additional incident involving the negligent use of Hot Sauce. Brett Gets revenge this time, make no mistake about that. (I'm looking at you, Brian K.)

Ryan A., from our FEZ team, also managed to break a bone in his hand within two days of Brett, only, the story of the event is shrouded in mystery. It's been told that he was attacked by a wild burrow while hiking at Red Rock Canyon, a local landmark here in Las Vegas. Burrows rarely attack, but when provoked, they actually fight people style.....really, not joking. They are born equipped with expertise in at least 12 different sorts of martial arts.

Ryan has been known to provoke animals.....this is why he hangs out with Brett H. in the first place.

Be careful out there, ladies and gentlemen, we are fragile.

"Fra-Gi-Le. Must be Italian."

On Thursday, Zappos was invaded by an army of Kids' Clothing companies for our first ever.....drum roll.... Kids' Clothing Expo!

Brands that attended were:

• cachcach
• Corky & Company
• LeTop
• Biscotti (coming soon!)
• Kate Mack (coming soon!)
• Kaiya Eve
• City Threads
• Ben Sherman
• Disney Couture
• Me & Mind
• Mountain Sprouts
• Columbia
• Spyder
• Sara Prints
• Hatley
• Outside Baby
• JB Originals
• Hartstrings
• Kids Ink
• Sister Sam
• No Sugar Added

The brands were here to show off their current product lines and show Zappos a great time for the day! Large groups of Zappos peeps made the long and treacherous journey to the 2300 building in the training room to play around in the Enchanted Forest, which the kids' team began constructing on Tuesday. Everyone was blown away by what an awesome job that they did!

Christina E., makes her Zappos directing debut in this video starring the always amazing Sarah W., giving us a tour of the forest.


Thanks Kids' Team, you rule!

Ok...not exactly, but my fashion-forward neighbor Jonathan showed up to work today with the most pimp-ish jacket I've seen within these Zappos walls. Keep in mind that we are located in Las Vegas and it's the middle of a scorching hot summer! That doesn't stop the fashionably-adventurous Jonathan from breaking out his pimp-blue "faux" snake blazer. Note to self: animal prints are going to be hot trend this fall! Must stock up now!

Meet Megan G. She works in our awesome Bowling Green, KY Outlet Store. Thanks to her and a couple more of her outlet store gal pals, we got to go visit one of the Las Vegas outlet stores as part as our Las Vegas Encounter experience! I love how passionate she was for her department here in Kentucky, and wanted to see the Las Vegas side of it as well!



What Dept. Do you work in and what is your position?

I work in the Bowling Green Outlet Store in KY. I love my position as a Sales Rep. at our store!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I am an avid shopper and love scrapbooking. Along with my amazing job at Zappos, I am in my last year at WKU. Once I graduate I hope to move on to a job in Human Resources with Zappos. I have the most beautiful 2 year old Pekepom puppy name Bella, who is the love of my life! I have lived in KY since I was in 1994 and I moved to Bowling Green in 2003 when I began college.

What's the best thing ever about working for Zappos.com?!

I honestly don't think I can only list one thing about Zappos that I love. First of all, I love our culture. I have never felt like my personality meshed so well with a company. If I had to pick one thing that I love about Zappos, it would have to be the amazing family spirit. Even in the few days we were out in Las Vegas, I could feel the family spirit from every person I met.

Does Everyone In Bowling Green Love the Zappos Outlet store?!

We have so many people coming in our store ecstatic that we have a Zappos Outlet Store here. I never realized how many people are avid shoppers of our website. We have even attracted many out-of-towners that are just passing through*.*

If we come to visit you in Bowling Green, is there somewhere we MUST go and check out?

I personally would tell everyone to visit the Lost River Cave or Beech Bend.

What was your favorite thing about the Las Vegas Encounter, or just Las Vegas in general?

My favorite thing about the Las Vegas Encounter was being able to see the offices and learn so much more about our culture. After the first day of the encounter, I knew I wanted to work in Las Vegas after I graduate college.

It is difficult to fully express the intensity of the relationships formed between co-workers in this fast-paced, ever changing environment. Occasionally, though, that intensity manifests itself in moments of dramatic, theatrical declaration. It was indeed a heart sweeping moment when supervisor Dan C. appeared in the Live Studio, draped with pink plumage, calling out to photographer Jeremy I. The lights dimmed, the music ("What is Love" by Haddaway) filled the room, and we all stared as Dan and Jeremy embraced and danced in perfect unison. It was a beautiful beautiful expression of creative teamwork. And, as the photographs prove, Jeremy and Dan make a beautiful team.



Written by Beth H.

The Performance Merchandise Planning Team held it's second event in the cube: THUMB WAR! The team has started a new tradition of hosting an event before the quarterly recognition meetings.

The competition was done bracket style and was very competitive. Winner, Chris B. received zollars, a sombrero and a hand made thumb cozy created by Kathleen J. What will next quarters special event be?

During Spirit Week, departments were challenged to create a Zappos Cheer. Human Resources spent some time getting schooled in the ways of stomping.
Our very own Human Resources Coordinator, Altovise, did double duty as our team
captain and choreographer. GO HR!

Nevada Zappos.com employees got together to collect new kids shoes for the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. We collected 400 pairs of new shoes with the help of Nike, Zappos Outlets, and of course our amazing Zapponians. Below is a picture of the shoes with Jeff and Stephanie from the NCCF and Tony and Alfred. In addition to picking up the shoes the NCCF presented Zappos with a plaque thanking us for the donation. You can read more about Zappos’ community involvement here.

Yes, we have no, bananas!! Working here at Zappos, you just never know what you may encounter. One thing is for sure, if you are a night worker, and something is left on your desk with your name on it, (so everyone will know that it belongs to you and you alone, otherwise everyone thinks all things are common) you never know what may be there to greet you when you return the next night. You can definitely be assured though, it won't look like what it did when you left!

Ahh!! Such a lonely looking banana. Jimmy must really think that this is a treat that he wants to enjoy tomorrow. Or, Wait!! Was he actually starting something that he was testing all the rest of us daytimers with? Well, Jimmy, we daytime members are a little more educated than what you give us credit for. Yeah! I guess we showed you!

So, next time you leave something behind, be prepared to have everyone get their hands on your banana! This was fun for most, but was not "appealing" to all of the others. But this is for you, Jimmy M.........


Written by Mark S.

Everyone must know some Jeff! He really is fantastic guy to talk to and work with! He works C-shift receving, even though I have been seeing him all day during the day! He must really LOVE Zappos to be here all hours of the day! :) But who doesn't? His beard seems to keep keep getting longer each time I see him. Maybe its me?

What Dept. Do you work in and what is your position?

Lead receiving C-shift 1 each. Receiving is broken up into 3 parts Unload, Receiving, and Put away. We have a lead for each and generally rotate out duties about every 3 months. Currently I am over the unload team. I handle issues that may arise with merchandise as it comes off the Truck-o-saurus Rex. And sign various paper work. Also making sure the incoming freight stays organized so we can keep FIFO alive.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I have a 3yr old son (ornery), a 1yr old daughter (more ornery), 1 dog (80 lbs of ornery) and a girlfriend. I have worked at Zappos since AUG 22 of 2006 been full time since Dec 2 2006, Live in KY since 2004. Come from Lubbock TX, home of nothing impressive. My hobbies include keeping the kids happy, playing video games, riding my motorcycle, and sleeping at any point I can.

What's the best thing ever about working for Zappos.com?!

EVERYTHING. I never have been good at playing favorites but the top of my list I guess goes the peeps, free lunches, great benefits, the peeps and I bet the chiller system and super heroism when they arrive.

Favorite food served at Zappos?

TACO BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MMMMMHHHHHhhhhhhhh Taco!!!!!!!!!!!

What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Fight Club??? Oh no my fav is? Talking to my son really. I think 3 yr olds invented insanity. They had to have they say the craziest stuff.

Best gift you ever received?

Chicken soup. I really don't even like it but I used to always talk about chicken soup for some reason and an acquaintance bought me a case of chicken soup for my b-day one time. Though I gave most of it away it made me smile, and reminded me to watch what I wish for because I just might get it....

Many moons ago, a man was born in Germany that now is a driving force for change and departmental cohesiveness that is a model for the future. So, on the anniversary of our own Alex K.'s birthday, in our desire to show tribute to this fine humanitarian, co-worker and friend, we waited until he stepped away from his desk for a moment, and then trashed it beyond repair.

Ryan A. from the FEZ team and Eric V. organized everything. (who, as you might remember, was treated on his birthday by the Alex and the fine FEZ team.) Eric ordered six 30 inch pizzas from Napoli's here in Vegas, and they were excellent! In the video below, we bring them in true Zappos parade style.

In the photo, we and our covert team of DEV and Creative Service people are "decorating" Alex's desk. Alex, we love ya! Happy 18th birthday. ;)

A while back, Tara B and I did some brainstorming, pinpointed some areas within the Content Team that could benefit from some special attention and created the Specialist Program. Hey, Embrace and Drive Change, right? Today, we had a little ceremony for our first ever Content Team Specialists and handed out icons that represent these new positions.



Holding the big red pencils are our Editing Specialists. Hannah E., Heather T. and Jennifer B. are responsible for reviewing all of the product descriptions and ‘about texts’ throughout the week. They send each team a report detailing the mistakes they’ve found and will be also be conducting a workshop this week, which I am excited to attend as I’ve been known to misspell a word or two wrong from time to time (wink, wink)!

Nick P., the guy with the beard holding his very own EDI gnome, is not only the Category Manager for the Kids team, but he is also our EDI Specialist. He does a great job helping out the rest of the team with document testing and troubleshooting issues that arise along the way. Trust me when I say that this is no easy task!

Jannel Veal has got our whole world in her hands as our Wiki Specialist. She has updated our Content Team page by making it totally organized, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. There are even team photos. Check out how much we’ve grown. Each team within Content has its own page with category specific information that is really informative and
useful!

Down in front with the red boxing gloves is Dana., our Training Specialist. She organized a page on our Wiki with extensive training information for new hires and pros alike. She will also be helping the management team create some standardized tests for our progression plan.

Look closely and you will see that Kenny Lucas has in his possession a framed picture of the infamous Tila Tequila. No, we did not create a So Bad it’s Good Reality TV Specialist, but we do have our very own TEQUILA/MTPA Specialist. These are the two different tools that our Detailers use to create products in our system. Kenny has done a great job creating a ‘how to’ guide on the Wiki and keeps the team updated on changes.

Hiding behind Kenny is our very own SAP Specialist, Shanda F., with a bottle of maple sap. Shanda also put together a Wiki page with a ‘how to’ section for SAP. She also communicates with Accounting regarding the new supplier set up process. She is our go-to girl for the SAP system.

And then there is Jonathan H. our Librarian Specialist! Jonathan reads at least one book a week from the Zappos Library and summarizes it for the rest of the team in his weekly email, Letters from the Librarian. In these emails, he includes fun facts about our product types and a short bio on a featured designer. Lastly, Jonathan put together a ‘Creative Content’ class for the team that inspires individuals to (in his own words) “spice up their style.”

As you can see, we have a lot of really talented people who Deliver WOW Through Service daily. Stay tuned…more Content Team Specialists are on the way!

Remember the game Barrel of Monkeys? Milton Bradley sold the game, which came with a toy barrel in blue, red, yellow or green with 12 tiny toy monkeys. How you played was you hooked a monkey to the barrel, then hooked another monkey to that monkey's arm, and so on and so on, creating a chain of monkeys. When a monkey falls, your turn is over.

Sounds like fun to me. If I were four years old.

But at a recent happy hour, I was reminded of the innocent game. Someone ordered a chocolate-banana drink from the bar, which comes with a plastic monkey. After throwing back a few drinks ourselves, Derek Carder and I looked at this monkey, then looked at each other, clearly thinking the same brilliant idea. We asked the bartender for extra monkeys, and after enduring a few weird looks, we played our own version of Barrel of Monkeys.



I won! Shoot...how will I drink my beer now?



An army of monkeys. Wow, look at all those empty glasses in the background...


Monkeys are delicious.

Hey, our own version of Barrel of Monkeys, employees slapping the CEO, you never know what to expect at a Zappos happy hour.

The beauty of shopping at Zappos.com is that you can buy whatever your heart desires, any time of the day. Take Jason Lee for instance; he decided one afternoon that he wanted...no, NEEDED this 3-pack of brightly colored underwear (tighty whities, as some may call them). This isn't exactly the first time Jason has purchased undies from Zappos, and he always insists on causing a scene by wearing them on his head and parading around the office. Just kidding! Although it's hard not to notice that big smile he gets whenever he opens a fresh new Zappos box filled with tighty whities...; it's like a kid on Christmas morning!

I would like everyone to meet LuAnn G! She was on the Vegas Encounter back in March. If you Vegas-ites didn't get the chance to meet her, don't fret! Here's your chance to get to know a little bit about her! She's a lead in our fabulous Kentucky warehouse! Read on to get to know her a little more!



What Dept. Do you work in and what is your position?

I am a lead in the returns department.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I have been at Zappos since April 15, 2004. I became full time, August 1, 2004. I also have lived in Shepherdsville for 4 years. I moved from Louisville to be closer to work. I have a daughter, who will be 30, August 30th, she is married. I have a cat named Shadow. She follows me everywhere. When I have the time I like to bake and listen to music.

What's the best thing ever about working for Zappos.com?!

The people. I like the fact that everyone treats you like their friend or family and not just a co-worker.

Favorite food served at Zappos?

Chick-Fil-A!

What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?

I like to walk, go to the mall or my home away from home, Wal-Mart.

What's the weirdest thing you have ever encountered?

The weirdest thing that I have encountered at work is the steak knives, scissors and other unusual items that people send back in their shoeboxes!

Does a chicken have lips and if he did, would he smack 'em!?

I don't really know! I have never gotten that close to a live chicken. But there is always that possibility?!

Here in the photo studio the photographers and photo assistants have an advantage others team members don't have, we get to see all the new arrivals that will be joining Zappos.com web page. During the week bothcthe A and B shift photo assistants and photographers can prep and photograph 100's of new handbags, footwear, eyewear, electronics and more. New products, we love them and they love us. So much so that it seems some products have a way of joining in the fun and creativity. I'm not sure if it's magical dust that falls off the packaging that make the products come to life... or that it's just Friday but fortunate for you I have been able to capture this strange phenomenon. This may be a case for the X-Files.



Photos Top L to R- Photo assistant Tracy P. has a little tag along as she preps the handbags, while Ki M. and photographer Sandy L. seem to have been hynotized into trying out their new products. Hey Ki, we'll take 2 Whoppers please! Sandy, you make a lovely bride.

Bottom row: L to R : Having been taken over by a pair of Pleasers USA, our sweet, mild manner senior photographer Katie B. has had a total personality change that photographer Shane R. enjoys. Behave Shane! And finally, was it a good or a bad joke, which ever the case, our photo
assistant April S. can't seem to stop laughing. I think the devil made her do it :-)

Click on their names to view the products on our site!!

Stay tune for more, the truth is out there!

Written by: Cameron T.

Every month the photo department gets a cake for everyone's birthday of that month, and to welcome the new comers to the department. There is so much cake going on in that department!

I guess the person making the cake didn't think that newbie was the right word or they thought it was a person? Either way, it's funny!

Welcome New Bies! :D

It began as a simple photograph of our new mannequins, for posterity purposes. I was uploading my image and showed it to a couple of coworkers nearby. Being the creative bunch that we are, we innocently thought of fun ways to alter the picture using photoshop. Then without hesitation Steven T. challenged me to a photoshop duel! Thus began the "Iron Photoshoper Challenge"!

The rules were very basic:

1) You must use the photograph of the new mannequins.
2) Size: 8.5x11 inches
3) Dpi: 72 - 300
4) You can manipulate the image any way as long as Photoshop was used.
5) BE CREATIVITY! Yes, creativity, which is more then just creative!

We had the whole weekend to work on our project, but both Steven and I kind of procrastinated until the last minute. I spent an hour or so working on mine with the idea of an 'Antarctica Nude Beach theme' since our mannequins were not clothed. Steven decided to take his mannequins to the dance floor! He even added a break-dancing mannequin!

On the due date, we anonymously turned in our pictures so the judges wouldn't be swayed by the artist. Our judges were Taurie M. and Jimmy M. who were both present when the challenged commenced. They decided to judge based on image quality, color consistency, technicality, creativity, angle accuracy, and overall presentation using a scale from 1 - 5. After all the points were tallied up, my picture won out. However, both pictures were rated very high for creativity which was the whole point of the challenge, so we were both winners!

'Iron Photoshoper' was a really great, friendly competition that pushed us into taking it a step further - to be more creative and think imaginatively! I hope that we can start a new trend and have more Iron Photoshoper Challenges in the future!

Written by Abby B.

Today is a fine day here at Zappos for many a reason, but mostly, because it is the anniversary of the birth of one of our finest Zapponians, Rob S.!

Rob is a Customer Loyalty Manager and he is one of our veteran employees. Rob is a Colorado native (sort of), a music fanatic and a fine guitar player and singer as well. The man's nickname is Smilin' Rob for a good reason: He has not stopped smiling since 1993....seriously, I would not lie to you. It's kind of the like the Joker situation in the first Tim Burton Batman movie, but minus the menacing overtones....just joking, Robby. ;)

This is a beloved employee here at Zappos and he makes Zappos a great place to come to work everyday. Rob, on the day of your birth, we salute you!

Don't PANIC!!!

Upon entering Ellis Island Casino and Brewery in Las Vegas, Nevada the first thing you will hear is not the plinkity plink of the slot machines, but the crooning coming from a very famous karaoke bar inside. Upon entering we gazed at smoke filled old booths, two not so famous Elvis impersonators, and the biggest song books I've ever seen. We ended up at the Ellis Island Casino and Brewery looking for $1 beers from their very own brewery and a chance to sing in front of some serious Ellis locals.

Though they didn't have the $1 beers anymore, they did have a great list of their own brews to choose from. I brought some of my fellow Vegas Experience peeps here remembering what a great but seedy and old casino this was. Bert H. belted out, "Baby Got Back," while Kevin (Mike) M. sang, "Pretty Fly for a White Guy, " by the Offspring. The "Duets," soundtrack version of "Cruisin," was sang by me as this is the only song I've ever sang karaoke to and I couldn't believethat they had it. Amber R. sang Sheryl Crow's version of, "Sweet Child of Mine," while Pat C. gazed at us from the back booth not wanting to get up and sing but he sure gave his support to us brave fools. If you find yourself sick of the new part of the strip and you're looking for some old-fashioned karaoke fun, or want to enjoy a famous $6.99 Sirloin Steak special, or some local brew, head down to Ellis Island Casino and Brewery.



Written By: Erin R

Okay, so KIVA has been up and running for a while now and despite a few bumps along the way, everything is running great. Those little critters are working their circuits to the bone. Last time I talked about some employee's views on KIVA itself and how they liked working with the new system. I heard from a few people how they would like to know how the process works and how it's different from regular putaway or picking. So this is for all those eager young minds yearning for information.

Unlike site manager, which is ran throughout the rest of the warehouse, you don't have to make a new password and type in your login every time. Instead all you have to do is scan your badge with the hand scanner that you use for putaway, or type in your name to get logged in. Easy enough. After the login screen, you are directed to a job option screen. On this screen you choose either putaway or picking/purging. Purging is a tool under picking that helps with picking multiple orders.

Once you choose which job you will be performing, you will be prompted to choose which pods you want to use. There are pods for small and large handbags, shoes, apparel, etc. Once you make your decision, the bots will automatically go and retrieve the appropriate shelving units. Once they bring them, all you have to do is put the items away. The only difference between putting away in KIVA and putting away in the static racks is in KIVA you have to scan the location and then scan the items, while in the static racks you have to scan the item first.

Now that you know the process I bet you can't wait to jump in there and start working, right? Well of course you are. They're just too neat not to want to work with the bots.

Safety is essential in the Kentucky warehouse. Being properly trained and taking an active stand to keep the environment safe keeps yourself and your co-workers safe. Ultimately being safe keeps everyone happy because they are pain and worry free.

The safety team recently had a Safety Poster contest to spread the word of all the important safety efforts we should all perform and remember! A lot of people put their creative side out there, but there can only be one winner! Congratulations to Susan M. of A shift Receiving for winning the contest! She won a dual Family Membership to the Louisville Zoo and the Louisville Science Center! That is so awesome! Below is her award winning poster, and check out the video of all the other posters that were submitted. We had some great posters this year! Thanks to everyone who participated!

THE WINNER!

Written by Christina Y and Lisa M !

Yay! We have, yet another, reason why Zappos is the best place to work on the planet! We got soft served ice cream in the KY warehouse now! Actually, thanks to Andrea W, we got them few weeks ago, and couldn't be happier! We have a choice between Zanilla and Zhocolate! Even if we do pack on the Zappos 20, it's pretty amazing to have these complimentary goods always here for us! Here's Jon going in for the Zanillia on this hot day in July! He's really happy on the inside! Trust me.. he can be camera shy.. sometimes! :)

Thanks again Zappos, for being so great and taking care of us!

How do you Zappos?

With all the great customer service stories and blogs out there about Zappos.com, I haven't really seen anything about how people shop at Zappos.com - How do you Zappos?

From my parents, siblings, and friends, to random people I've met, I've watched them all shop on Zappos.com. Some of them are internet savvy, others are not. Some were eCommerce savvy, others have never bought anything online. The one thing I noticed is that each of them shopped on zappos.com differently. Some of them would search for a brand, others would immediately click on the brands list to see the full list of brands available at zappos.com, others would click on one of the links on the Homepage (i.e. Women's Dress), while others would click on one of the New Feature spots. The one thing that everyone did know were the service offerings from this great company, in particular, Free Shipping & Free 365 Day Returns.

I just wanted to throw this out there. I shop on Zappos a lot. I mean A LOT! If you have ever worked for a retail store, you will understand what I mean when I say every employee shops their own store and they are really the experts at the store. They know what's coming in, they know where everything is, and they can help any customer match items or find a similar item. The same can be said about Zappos employees. The difference is that we have a much larger selection with tons of new things coming in everyday.

I have a routine when shopping on zappos.com. This routine has been "developed" over time "practicing" the site and talking to various fellow employees/experts. What I wanted to do was to let you know what I do every time I go to the site. Here is my routine:

1. Go to Zappos.com
2. From the header, I click on 'New Styles'
3. From here, you will see several links grouped by Women's, Men's, Girls, and Boy's
4. I always start with Men's 'Accessories'. Most people don't know that Zappos is more than just shoes. There are socks, clothes, electronics, backpacks, women's handbags, books, jewelry, watches, hats, laptops, cameras and more! From 'Accessories', I get to see what's new for all things besides clothes, watches, sunglasses, and shoes.
5. I'll browse through the first several pages until I start seeing things that are familiar to me (from the last time I looked)
6. Next, I go through and click on 'All New Men's Shoes', then 'Clothing', then 'All New Women's Shoes', then 'Handbags' for the wife. If time allows, I'll check out the watches and eyewear

Did you know that Zappos is constantly receiving new items throughout the day, almost every day? Since I know this, I'll check the site roughly every 4 hours and do my routine above. You will be surprised how many new things you will see every 4 hours. The other great thing about this routine is that I get to see lots of new stuff very quickly and not feel overwhelmed.

My other routine if I'm looking for something specific, is to use the Search box that is stretched across the top. Typing in a brand or a couple describing words usually does the trick. For stronger search capabilities (i.e. searching by personality - casual laptop bag), I like to go to the Zappos Zeta (http://zeta.zappos.com) site. It works really well. :)

Anyway, this is how I Zappos. It works really well for me and I know others at Zappos who do have a similar routine. So... How do you Zappos? Let us know. :)

Ok, well at least to the Las Vegas Neon Sign Boneyard!



On the Content Team, each individual Coordinator is often writing hundreds of product descriptions on a weekly basis. At some point in the daily description writing process, the brain turns on auto-pilot and even the strongest spellers and punctuation artists (Ya, I said it) have blunders from time to time. That being said, I decided to challenge my Fashion Content Team (Detailers too, as they enter all of the data into our system) with an error free week. The reward? An outing to the Las Vegas Sign Boneyard for a tour of some iconic landmarks.

Tension was high the week of the error free challenge! We (myself included) were all checking and re-checking our product descriptions...knowing that our trusty team editor, Jen Brohl, was combing through our fresh content on a daily basis looking for simple typos, punctuation mis-haps (comma rules aren't easy people!) and poor grammar--my absolute pet peeve! And we did it, proving to the world, or at least our world, that perfection is totally possible. I am so proud!

The boneyard was fantastic, despite the horrid July heat and not-so-typical humidity, and we had a great time taking advantage of the photo opportunities. We also learned a bit about Las Vegas history. For instance, Howard Hughes, who spent his last days as a hermit in a nearby hotel room, purchased the 'silver slipper' sign because its flashing lights were driving him crazy!

I encourage everyone, locals and tourists alike, to check out the boneyard, although you might want to wait for fall! The Content Team will be holding similar contests on a quarterly basis. Coordinators and Detailers, start brushing up on your skills now! (Jen, how did I do?)

After the Las Vegas Encounter, where KY employees get to go work with Vegas employees, I realized there are far too many awesome people we work with in the warehouse that we don't know that well! I've decided to interview some people I met on the Vegas trip that are also from Kentucky! I would like to get around more of the KY warehouse/Outlet store and meet new people. I will make plans to visit the Bowling Green Outlet store as well and share that experience too!

First up is Dan C. Although Dan and I do work for Creative Services in KY, I didn't really know Dan that well until we went on this trip. I have to say, the Vegas Encounter is an awesome experience!



What Dept. Do you work in and what is your position?

My title is Photo Operations Supervisor. I work in the Photography Department and make sure that everything is photographed correctly and in a timely manner. Or goal is to get things up on site within 24 hours of their arrival in the warehouse.
Tell us a little bit about yourself: (Family, hobbies, pets, how long you've been/lived here)

I've lived in the state of Kentucky my entire life but I have done a lot of traveling when I was younger, so I can honestly say that there is no better place to live. I actually live in Louisville and am looking to buy a house within a year. My hobbies include playing Xbox, watching movies, as well as model railroading (especially as soon as I get a place with a basement). I have a pet chameleon named Dina and I used to have a saltwater reef tank until the temperature in the apartment got so high things started dying off. I hope to have that back up and running in my new house too.

What's the best thing ever about working for Zappos.com?!

Working with my friends and contributing to the amazing growth that goes on here.

Favorite food served at Zappos?

The chicken wings that we get once in a blue moon. Seriously- the second best wings I have ever had next to Spring Street.

What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Go to the movies.

What's something you would like to do once in your lifetime with no limits? Example- (I would like to be a Tugboat captain! Seriously, that sounds fun)

Drive a really fast car cross country in the Cannonball Run. Do they even still have that?

Can you Name 5 animals with horns?

Antelope
Cattle
Deer
Jackson Chameleon
Satan ;-)

DATES: June 9-10, 2008

LOCATION: L.A. Mart

BUYER: Christin C. – Assistant Buyer,
Private Label

Monday, June 9th

4am-Suffering from Jetlag, flew into LA from Taipei the night before; checking email
8am-Checking emails and catch up on some work
9am- took a shower and got ready for the show
10am- Got some breakfast at a Deli before meeting Kathryn C. at the hotel
11am- Met with Hazel Clothing and Jaloux
12pm- got some lunch at a Japanese restaurant inside the California Market
Center.
1pm- Met with Revolver Los Angeles
2pm- Met with Notice
3pm- Met with the Great Room
4pm- Met with Mary Brennan & Co.
5pm- Went back to the hotel to check emails and review the information from our appointments.
6pm- Went to Cabo Cantina for some Margaritas. It’s been a long day! Jet lag isn’t
helping either!
7pm- Drove to Hermosa Beach to meet with vendor.
8pm- Dad dinner at the Mediterraneo with vendor
11pm- Time for bed to start a new day!

Tuesday, June 10th

8am- Got up to get ready for the show.
10am- Met with Classy Brides.
11am- Met with VFish Designs.
12pm- Met with Theme.
1pm- Met with Charlotte Tarantola.
2pm- Met with Brigades and Hearts.
3pm- Finally had lunch at an Italian restaurant before heading to the airport. I was
starving!
4pm- Returned our rental car at Enterprise and at the Burbank airport trying to
catch an earlier flight home!
5pm- Plane departs from the Burbank Airport.
6pm- Arrives in Las Vegas! Glad to be home!

After my local news telecast last night, thine eyes landed on quite a story that the fine folks over at ABC News' Nightline were airing: A story about Zappos!

Nightline camera crews were in our offices for two days at the end of June, filming our training classes in NV and our KY Boot Camp in Kentucky. They focused on our culture, customer service and our ten core values and how we apply them to our business. Our CEO, Tony Hsieh, was interviewed and explained why we want to treat our customers like royalty (Which You Are!) and how we have made that our number one goal.

If you follow the link below, you can see the story on the Nightline's Website.

We thank Nightline's crew for being so great to us while visiting, and thanks to everyone for watching!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5326827&page=1

Working at Zappos allows us use our creative geniuses and most of all, our inner children get plenty of exercise!! The entire warehouse in Kentucky celebrated our Zappos spirit throughout the week, allowing us to wear plaid and blue from head to toe, pj's, shave mohawks and other fun activities. Friday's designated theme was 'Crazy Day'. So going with the new warehouse theme of 'Superheroes', I thought it would be a fun idea to dress up like superheros instead! Our entire department came together on this, even going the extra step and using 'gods and goddesses' names to help us uniquely choose our characters.



From left to right:
Ashley P. (photographer) chose Aphrodite as her superhero goddess. True to form, her 'inner flower child' made Aphrodite into a play on words using instead AFRO-dite!! She wore a toga made out of curtains, a giant afro wig, and allowed us to paint funkadelic grape vines all over her face and collar bone! Ashley's said her reasoning behind Afrodite is to be the "the goddess of all things funky."

Angela T. (senior photographer) dressed as a super version of Persephone, goddess of transformation and Queen of the underworld. She is a child of the earth, living a double life with her mother on earth, and her dark husband in the underworld causing the worlds seasons to change from summer to winter and back. "This is my life!" Angela thought, when choosing what goddess to represent her!

Abby B. (photographer) chose to dress as the four-armed Hindu goddess, Kali, who is the goddess of time and change, often associated with death and destruction. She is also revered as the redeemer of the universe, as well as thought to be a benevolent mother-goddess. Abby chose this eastern deity because of the complexity of Kali's personality - with time and change we come to face many obstacles.

Taurie M. (photographer) was dressed spunky and tom-boy-ish as her chosen goddess Artimus. She is the Greek goddess of courage, known for being athletic, adventurous and a free spirit that can not be tamed!

Carol D. (senior assistant) dressed as the goddess Isis. When asked why she chose this goddess, she said "Because Isis controls all magic, and she's Egyptian, which is interesting to me."

Carla B. (assistant) chose a siren goddess, Lorelei who lived in the ocean and sang sailors to their deaths with her beautiful voice. Her costume was based on water and many shades of blue to reflect the ocean.

Theresa S. (photographer) had a goddess made up of her own, a name that started out as "Princess Couture" was changed to simply "Coutura" by her fellow team members, and will now forever be known as "the goddess all things high fashion".

Jenny H. (assistant) chose to be the goddess Bastet. With a cat head and a human body she is the cat goddess and also a deity over childbirth and motherhood. This was an obvious choice for Jenny because she spends tons of time with her nephews, and her love of cats!

Angela S. (product info) is representing Mania, the goddess of insanity in Greek mythology and goddess of the dead in Roman mythology. The outfit, and random feathers in her hair are supposed to represent both of these mythological goddesses.

I hope that we can always celebrate our weirdness and express ourselves as individuals at this amazing company!!

Written by Theresa S. & a collaboration of the super goddesses!

DATES: May 31 thru June 8, 2008
BUYER: Shyloh C, Buyer - Casual Apparel



May 31, 2008

4:05 AM -Awake at 4am, (barely).
5:30 AM – Packed: CHECK, Laundry: CHECK, Dishes: CHECK, Honey 'to do list': CHECK, Children’s caregiver 'to do list': CHECK, Hugged and kissed sleeping beauties: CHECK, Loading up car: CHECK
6:31 AM - Inhaled banana BEFORE it was radiated in security. Have a thing about eating
food after it’s gone through X Ray machine.
7:17 AM - About to board when I notice deoderant on my top. Lordy. That's what happens
when you dress in the dark!! Will have to carry handbag on that side all day!
2:42 PM - Landed in Charlotte. Read some of customer evangelists, and carrot principle and watched the movie 27 dresses (LOVED IT!!)
3:33 PM - Having lunch and catching up on mens sportswear periodicals. Did you know that
Goretex MBT's are featured in the first pages of GQ for June???
4:32 PM - Sitting in VERY humid airport reading and waiting.........
5:53 PM - Just boarding plane for W Palm Beach. Looking
forward to getting to hotel and seeing the Atlantic!!
8:53 PM - Just landed in W Palm Beach! Wow! It's green!
9:09 PM - Car service had wrong pickup time, place and person. Finally arrived in hotel
after all was sorted. Starving!!
10:16 PM - Just paid check. Waitress a BIG fan of Zappos. Got her email to send her a
coupon when I get back to the room.
11:00 PM - Forcing myself to go to bed, (8:00 pm West Coast) but doubt it will come easy
after eating the 4 raspberry truffles Lilly Pulitzer left in a basket in my
room!!

June 1, 2008

6:02 AM - 5 hours of sleep is not enough.
7:47 AM - Headed to welcoming breakfast. Of course I purchased.a new Lilly Pulitzer top
from Zappos to wear for the day!! (in photo)
9:39 AM - Just sat through presentation. Owner and President LOVES Tony and referenced his seminars in his Jubilee Launch.
10:50 AM - Lilly is doing a Steinway Piano, Florida Naturals special edition juice box,
new fragrance etc etc!! Good for them!!
11:48 AM - Bought Ponte, square necks, straight legs, wide legs and that darn lurex that won't
go away and keeps selling!!
12:50 PM - Got them hooked on Twitter. They are coming in for a tour and training. All of
management!!!
2:40 PM - I have never seen so many women in Pink and Green in my life!
3:44 PM - Still entering buy. On 4th cup of coffee -pooped. Jeanne look out. I am going
to beat your record for caffeine (is that possible?)
4:35 PM - STILL writing orders!! On to chocolate now!!
5:51 PM - Finished 5 minutes before driver picked me up for airport. Ran to front door to
catch him.
7:00 PM - Ran to gate. Was too preoccupied with eating and trying to get notes to Andy
for AB class tomorrow!!
9:24 PM - In charlotte -Jumping on next flight. Can't believe I was at the Breakers in Palm Beach and was never able to stick my feet in the ocean!
11:34 PM - Just landed. Pooped. Will need to catch up on sleep this week as I travel again next weekend for LA market. .

June 2, 2008

12:55 AM - Just got home. Need to authorize payroll but can't access site. Will get up early to do so!

June 7, 2008

4:00 AM - Up again on a sat at 4:00am. Bad habit
5:00 AM - Loading up on airborne!
6:02 AM - Holding on to hand rail in train while typing into diary. Talent!!
7:06 AM - Just boarded. Nice and quiet. That is the beauty of flying early on a sat morning!!
8:12 AM - Landed in LA at 8:10. Running to the mart downtown for a 9am appt.
9:14 AM - Late for TinT your World thank goodness! Looking at plus lines!!
10:08 AM - Just finished 3 plus lines. A mix of silks, twills, linens and velvets. Looks great!!
11:23 AM - Maternity is into mesh. Looks good! Inhaling lunch before next appt...
2:10 PM - Just worKed Kay celine, Isda and Pure and simple. Animal prints will not give up!!
3:39 PM - Jumping from one to the next. Did lots of burnouts at Allen Allen and now lots
of lace and watercolors at David Cline!!
4:52 PM - Going to do more plus sizes at Vikki Vi!
6:12 PM - Headed in for last appt - maternity. Getting hungry.
8:16 PM - Just finished 4 maternity lines!! Pooped and picked up pizza for dinner.
9:13 PM - Ate, called to say goodnight to kids, and now going to sort through all paperwork and prioritize!

June 8, 2008

7:00 AM - Wake up – shower. Fell asleep at 10:30 with lights on and paperwork all over bed. Oops.
8:00 AM - Call kids and try to do payroll - oops - can't bc can't get on wifi without paying
$9.95.
9:00 AM - Shuttled to la mart and had tea. Headed into Jag Jeans appt.
10:00 AM - Looking at new plus tops line - going to wait until late Fall for it. Need to prioritize other lines.
11:00 AM - Bernadette Conte lifestyle looks amazing!! Liquid - metallics- Need more money!!
12:00 PM - Magaschoni - we are going to have shawls, pashminas, and novelty cashmere in
the portfolio this year in yummy colors! Yeah!!
1:00 PM - At xcvi gobbling up super wide legs. Can't keep them in stock!!
2:00 PM - Reviewing holiday at Scanty pj's. Dancing reindeer and christmas trees out of
peace signs are adorable!
3:00 PM - Just saw Lindsay Lohans new legging line. Looks a lot like Lindsay Lohan!
4:00 PM - Going to LAX
5:00 PM - Finished organizing all paperwork for Patricia. Will drop off after I land as I
will be flying out in the morning to Dallas.
6:00 PM - Dying for a vanilla soy latte from SB.
7:00 PM- Just about to take off! Guess I should turn my phone off
8:00 PM - Just landed and getting my car. Need to go to Zappos.
9:00 PM - Finished dropping off paperwork for Patricia to work on and headed home.
9:30 PM - Home. Doing a few things on computer than going to bed. Flight to Dallas at 6:00am tomorrow.

Oops, I mean "Safety" Olympics.

Here at the Zappos FC, we've been celebrating National Safety Month with various activities including Safety BINGO, the "HOOP"LA basketball challenge and the great Safety Olympics.

What exactly is this you may ask? Well, it's a timed obstacle course testing the knowledge of cart safety, proper lifting techniques, incident reporting procedures, and blade safety. In an effort to build a positive team and family spirit (CV#7), on a beautiful Wednesday evening, we went to cheer on and witness our fellow team members accomplish greatness! Finishing with a time of 3:26, Angela, Theresa, Kaya, Naomi and Lacy represented us loud and proud! Great job you all!!



P.S. The Bejing 2008 Olympic Games begins August 8th and ends the 24th!

Written by: Taurie M.

Attention! Attention! Read all about it! Zappos is being invaded by robots!

Okay, well maybe we're not being invaded but we still have them, which is cool nonetheless. If you haven't heard, Zappos.com is now running the new KIVA system. We are one of the first few companies in the United States to have them in our facility. For those who don't know what KIVA is exactly, they are multiple robot units that actually bring storage shelves to a team member's station to be filled with product. They also bring the shelves to a team member who needs to pick a product to be shipped to a customer. Based on the information you enter into the computer about the sizes and type of product you need to put away or pick, the robots bring you the appropriate shelves. Right now there are only a few employees working with them in order to make sure everything runs properly and smoothly. After about a week or so of working with the KIVA system, this is what a couple employees had to say about it:

"Our first day in KIVA was really exciting. We learned what does and doesn't belong in the pods and which pods to use for specific items. The pods have certain areas for small and large purses/wallets, small shoes, and even designated spots for watches and hats. It makes everything so much more organized and easier to not only put away but also to pick." - -Suzanne B.

"KIVA definitely makes my job easier. It gets really hot in the warehouse and after a full day of walking back and forth between floors and pushing a cart, you're ready to fall over. I love the KIVA robots because they do all the work. It not only helps me keep my energy, it lets me keep my same fast pace throughout the whole night." - Beth W.

Based on the feedback from the employees and the progress of the KIVA system itself, it is believed that our receiving and shipping processes have broke new grounds in getting new products and pleasing the customers. Looks like we even deliver WOW to ourselves. This is just a glimpse of what the future will hold for us at Zappos.com. Keep checking back for more updates about the KIVA system and all the little critters.

All ready to go!

Our very own Chris M. checking out the Picking process.

The beautiful overlook of the robot village.

Even though Zappos never sleeps the photo department does slow down. Photographers and their assistants can stay busy updating the older pictures on the site, but the people who enter in the product information occasionally have to seek out something to do.

Late one night, after moving from one photographer to another completing all work possible, Angela (our PI girl) was bored. While talking to an assistant, Matt, she picked up some yellow putty the photographers use to prop up shoes and began making a three dimensional triangle.

By the time she was done it was a crazy cat lady with 6 kittens!! I snapped a few photos of it and posted it on the background of my computer.

Her creativity with a tool photographers use all day made everyone happy. People began throwing out suggestions to see what she could come up with next. Her creations went anywhere from a Koi pond, snoopy & woodstock, a derby horse & jockey, a clothespin and even a drunk guy on a beach!!

One of my favorites is a sculpture of a photographer. It was about four inches tall looking into an Orbiculight with a camera on a tripod, photographing a shoe. I couldn't help but think of the irony of me, a photographer, taking a photo of a photographer made out of putty, photographing the same way as if I was taking a photo of a shoe.



What will they think of next?!! *If anyone out there has suggestions, send them to us and we might be able to make it happen for you*!!

Written by: Andi L.