Here's a Blog Entry by our very own Help Desker Missy R.!

Just another exciting day here at Zappos.com, but today was different, by taking a field trip downtown to the Henderson Police department with Missy R.. Now, don’t get any ideas…Missy was not being arrested, nor was she getting in any type of shenanigans this time! We all know how she loves to surprise people, but today she wanted to surprise the Captain and her friends.

Earlier in the year we had a few of the Henderson’s Finest, that serve and protect the Zappos community, visit our Corporate office. They were interested to see our culture and the workplace we have created live in action. During the visit not only did they tour our offices but they wanted to encourage core value #3 and “Create Fun and a Little Weirdness” by participating in a skit that could only been completed with their participation.

In return, Missy surprised all the wonderful officers with a Zappos Monopoly game and a Zappos custom back pack. Why? Because we like to Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit throughout our community!

Zappos.com salutes these brave men and women for the work they do. The next time you see members of the Henderson Police department know that they are Passionate and Determined to help you!

Sláinte

Our very own Katrina J., British CLT-Bringer of WOW, created this fine work below to represent our culture in poetry.

Here at Zappos, we have a special way,
It's called the the 10 core values and it helps us every day.

One of course, is the "Service WOW"
If you are really good at it, we award you a C.O.W (cultivator of wow
award)

Number two, You're in the drivers seat
Embracing change, we think is pretty neat!

Do you fit in with number three? please read on and you will see.

If you want to shave your head and have a race to grow a beard,
Then you're creating a little fun and are hopefully a bit weird!

Be adventurous, creative and open minded as well, is number four, if
you can't tell?

Now we are at the middle and it's about keeping our brains fed,
Pursuing growth and learning, will help us stay ahead.

As for number six, we won't keep you out of touch,
It's open and honest communication, that will help us build our trust.

Team and family spirit is the next one to keep in mind.
With picnic's and parties, where we all have a good time.

Doing more with less got us where we are today,
so, number eight is really great, making your idea's our Way!

It's number nine, I hear you determined to shout!!
And of course it's the Passion, which is what we're all about.

So now we reached the last one, what could we have left out??
Ten wonderful core values that makes Zappos what we are all about.

We like to remember where we came from and how far we have to go,
So being humble, is the last core, to keep in mind,
As we spread a little happiness to all of mankind.....

The Zappos slogan is "Powered by Service". Everything that we do is focused with our customer in mind. In fact, our call center has an entire team, called quality assurance, which focuses on making sure our customers' experience is the best it can possible be.

This week our QA team went around the office and surprised some of the employees that received the top customer service scores for the current period.

You may know Jason Lee M. from the blogs, or you may know him as the super tall handsome devil from the Video Descriptions. Either way, he's looking for talent to help take his Video Content department to the next level. If you think you have what it takes, contact us at Jobs.Zappos.Com !

CLICK ME CLICK ME CLICK ME!!!!

In conjunction with a tweet up, Zappos held the final table of their poker tournament at the Inn Zone. Over the last several weeks, employees have been playing several qualifying tables in order to make it to the final table. This was the 2nd poker tournament Zappos has held.

There was a good crowd of Zappos employees at the Inn Zone cheering them on. Joe A., who was the runner up in the last event, was able to outlast everyone else and take home the trophy. Congratulations Joe!

Brett never designed a soup can, or hung out with celebrities in an abandoned factory, but everything he does is art. It is my great honor to showcase Brett's Drawings and Video Art in this vintage documentary film from 1966. (Please excuse the poor video quality, the footage is 43 years old.)

_{Also, this is a parody}

The Finance team organized a department wide potluck dinner in the style of "The Pilgrim Supper" . We decided to check it out and see what was on the menu, and maybe do a little taste testing as well! Great job of exuding core value #7 Finance team!

Going into a new job for the first time can sometimes feel a like the first day of school. It can make you feel a little nervous because you are going into new surroundings and don't know anyone there. Zappos HR department has found a way to help our new hires come right in and be immersed in the culture right away. They call it a "new hire meet and greet."

This week a new training class was starting for Zappos new hires, and HR held a meet and greet for them on their first day. It allowed them to hang out and get to know the other new hires they will be training with over the next several weeks, as well as meet some of the managers they will be working for.

Here at Zappos, we are not afraid to party it up when the time is right, especially when friends of ours are in town. On Oct. 10, we threw a party at the Wasted Space in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for the Supercross event that went down at the MGM Grand. Our blogger Brett H. caught up with Nate Adams, Mike Mason and Davi Milsaps outside the Hard Rock for some Supercross talk.

The Zappos Outlet Store set a record of $500,000 in sales for the month of October, and celebrated this week with a surprise team party on Wednesday, November 11th. The team was treated to breakfast from Panera Bread, as the managers dressed in 70's costumes, presented each team member with Stress Relief Kits and gift certificates to the store, all to the theme of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration!".

Sue Maurer, Outlet Assistant Manager, commented on how awesome the team has been at displaying Core Value #2: Embrace and Drive Change

"The Outlet Store has been transformed since August with the help of our Fulfillment Center friends! We have increased our display capacity on the sales floor and our back stock area by at least 30%. We have also changed our pricing structure and have increased our marketing efforts in order to pump up the volume of our sales. Our team has definitely driven and embraced the many changes that have come our way over the past few months and their dedication has paid off in a big way! Special thanks to our fellow team members in Finance, IT, Maintenance, and all of the people in the FC who have helped us with their expertise!"

With the Customer Loyalty Team's happy hour falling on Friday the 13th, they decided to have a scary theme to their event. In order to promote the happy hour, they went around the CLT floor and scared everyone into going.

What can we say, we love to prank each other as often as possible.

Disclaimer: This is a Reenactment

Jeneen is known around the office for being funny and easy to get along with, but she has just earned the merit badge for giving free gourmet coffee to her coworkers. She has not only shown that she can motivate her team, but has also proven that coffee can bring people together !

Myra and Mica, our 2 favorite junior fashion bloggers tell us about 4 new western style boots that are all made for walkin! From cool brands like Diesel, Mia , Boutique 9 and Steve Madden, you're sure to turn some heads. Stay tuned for more cool trends !

Zappos has a very different work culture from most places, and along with that, has a very diverse group of employees. Our most recent culture class decided to highlight some of the diversity in their project called "Around Ze World." They had a day where employees dressed up to display where they were from, as well as bring in food to show their culture. It's amazing how may different cultures from around the world can come together in one place.

Our Kid's department received some handy-dandy little toys as a gift from their boss.
I give you: Marshmallow Guns.

This year's flu season is now upon us, and along with all the other great benefits Zappos provides us with, we also get free flu shots. Today was flu shot day at the office. Two hundred employees received shots today, and Thursday we will have another day for employees.

It is now our busiest time of the year, and everyone at Zappos wants to make sure they don't get sick during the season.

Veterans day is this week, and we wanted to do something to show our appreciation. Jerry, the mayor of Zappos, is a Veteran and thought it be fun to hear the stories from some of our employees who are former military. Even though there are many tough times, Jerry thought we should take a look at the lighter side. We went around the office and asked some of our veterans, "What is the funniest story you remember when you were in the service?"

All of us at Zappos.com want to thank all the Veterans for everything you have done for us!

With Thanksgiving coming up, Heaven wanted to make her area around the front desk a little more festive for the season. To get everyone involved in the season, she put a tree on the front entrance and then passed out different color leaves to all the departments. On the leaves, each person wrote what they are thankful for and then posted it on the tree. Now we have a colorful Fall tree for everyone to see when they walk in the office.

Our very own Pat W. likes to do more with less, which is a Zappos Core Value, and he uses this especially in the lunchroom. Zappos provides free lunch for all employees every day of the week, and many of us like to get very creative with all the ingredients available.

Pat is no exception.

Our blogger and best buddy Melissa L. was in an accident riding her bike a few weeks ago, and she has been at home recovering for over a month! Today, my friends, she returned to us, and we are so delighted!

Melissa hails originally from San Francisco, CA and started Zappos in the summer of 2008 as a video blogger. Even after the accident, she still managed to go ahead with her wedding, which was set for a week later. On October 3, Melissa married her best friend Igi in a beautiful ceremony in Temecula with many Zappos people in town.

Melissa, we are so happy to have you back!!!


(Melissa and Igi!)

Our facilities department is a very important part of our Zappos team. Every other department here relies on them in some way on a daily basis. They are always asked to help out with projects around the office, and they are always more than willing to help. One of the reasons they are so great is their supervisor Patti C. She has been with Zappos for four years, and is loved by everyone.

Today was Patti's birthday, and her team in the facilities department decided to surprise her with a pot luck. Thank you Patti for everything you do for all of us!

As a former Warehouse worker, and the son of a Warehouse worker, there are many things you come to expect when working in a Distribution or Fulfillment Center. One of those is not free lunch everyday, and heated and temperature controlled work areas are also not considered common. Zappos FC (Fulfillment Center) team members tell us what they feel sets Zappos.com apart from previous employers and work environments.

Thank you to our comrades in Kentucky for all you do to keep Zappos running smoothly and efficiently!

^{Also, special thanks to our KY Content video team for producing this awesome video!}

If you've had a chance to take take a peek at our Core Values, toured our Offices or Warehouse, or seen any of our Videos, you already know Zappos is unlike any other company. We filmed this video to show to our New Hire groups when Tony, Fred and Alfred are out of the office. Although I wish it was used more, I'm happy to say that Alfred, Tony and Fred have yet to miss an opportunity to talk to a new hire class since the video was made more than 6 months ago!

I am safe back in the office after a week in the big city, helping to re-launch the Rockport DresSports during the New York City Marathon. It was a great week, and below is a recap through the eye of my trusty Flip video. Thanks again to Rockport, and there is a lot more footage to come of our Grand Central Event! Also, CLICK HERE to enter the Run Rockport Run Sweepstakes!

Take it away....um...video!

When it comes to Customer Loyalty, Jeanne Bliss knows when it's being done right, or even done wrong. Her new book "I Love You More Than My Dog" is all about companies that use Customer Service as a tool to gain and retain customers. Tony tells Jeanne how the Zappos Core Values came about, and how they have helped to drive and amplify the Zappos culture.

Halloween is one of the most fun times of the year at Zappos, because everyone goes out of their way to make the entire week one big event. The finale of the week is the Zappos haunted house. Each year Zappos turns part of the office into a giant haunted house, and invites employees children, vendors and other visitors to take part in the festivities. Thank you everyone who helped make the entire week long event a big success.

Our Blogger Brett H. just got back from the great city of New York after spending a week with the good people from Rockport. Friday morning, they officially relaunched the DresSport, their dress shoe that is truly as light and comfortable as an athletic shoe. To prove their point, they had 8 people running in the NYC Marathon on Sunday wearing the DresSports! Also, CLICK HERE to enter the Run Rockport Run Sweepstakes!

Below is more video from our Rockport/Zappos event on Thursday in Grand Central:

We've been talking about the HR team's big game show outing for the past few weeks, and last Wednesday we had a viewing party. Here's a little video and interview we put together that we feel is an excellent representation of our culture, and Core Value #7.