Inside Zappos

BUYER'S DIARY #6 - Greg H. - Nike

Graham M. — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:07:55 GMT

BUYER: Greg H. - Assistant Buyer, Kids Athletic

DATE: June 25 - 27, 2008

LOCATION: Los Angeles

BRAND: Nike
June 25, 2008

10:30pm- putting together last second stuff for my trip to LA to see Nike. I just realized that if I go to bed this second, I can get 6 hours of sleep.

June 26, 2008

12:30am: About the time I actually fell asleep.

3:30am: Rolling out of bed thinking. Megan, our rep who booked this, is probably sound asleepstill. ...we really do love ya Megan!!

4:45am: Arrive at the airport.

5:00am: Waiting for Starbucks to open, so I can operate efficiently.

5:15am: Meet up with entire Zappos crew: Chris P, Galen, Heather S., Amanda W., Dave c., and Anand.

6:00am: About to take off...I HATE flying! I don't care what anyones says...its freaky.

7:05am: We're on the ground (LA), although we have a hot-tempered cabbie... now the air isn't seeming so bad... Just got an angry explaination from cabbie that its unfair that he had to take more pasengers than the car behind him due to gas...thinks its unfair, even though he drives a Van cab, that he shoud have to take more than one passenger...ever. Mentioned that maybe he should request a car from his company...response: that's not the point of the matter. The point he specifically made to us was that we were too heavy for his cab (geez buddy, I'm trying to lose weight). We're nodding our heads at his rants now and recovering from the damaging weight comment...waiting for him to say that we should drive his cab for him too.

8:10am: Eating breakfast at a really cool family joint called JJ's Cafe... Really friendly, family
service! Actually, the owner, JJ is welcoming us now. We don't see this in Vegas much.

9:00am: Arrive at Nike showroom for presentations.

5:45pm: All done with our meetings with Nike. Everything looked great! I learned a new phrase from my apparel rep, Tanya, which is "Not Eve", which is short for Not Even. When you're on the go, who has time to add in that extra "n"? Heading to Gladstones, which is right on the beach.

6:00pm: Arrive at Gladstones. Beautiful view! We can see Al Pacino from our table. Having first drink of the night...

8:00pm: Dinner is done. I think I'm on number four by now. Bets are being made on who will jump in the ocean first.

8:30pm: No one jumped in...the night's still young. Heading over to The Penthouse at the Huntley. Actress Leslie Mann is sitting right across from us at the Penthouse bar.

10:30pm: Walking 3rd Street promemnade. Peake just asked a couple to dance...the look was priceless on the couples face. love the Promenade...PEAKE GET DOWN FROM THERE! Now that Peake has come down from the 20 ft pole he just climbed, we can keep moving. We learned that we are all strangely familiar with capital of Thailand.

10:40pm: We are at the The Bulldog Bar having a drink with Karen and Rob. Karen will be married in a month. Drink to that, right?

11:40pm: Meet a couple cool people and have drinks. A couple of us cross the street and give a homeless guy some money to help him. I gave him 20 bucks and we went back to the bar.

June 27, 2008

7:30am: Meet everyone to head to airport. No hangovers...because we feel like we just left the bar in the last 10 min. Not as stressed about flying though...that's good.

8:15am: We all sit down, with Megan too, and eat breakfast. I passed on the Pestelleg sandwich, and went with the healthier, more breakfast-like food...cheese quesadilla.

9:00am: Found out flight's delayed. While standing around people watching, we notice d that Holly, from Girl's Next Door, is sitting a few feet away, and is waiting for the same
flight. She's with a friend, and it looks like they are both enjoying a Pestelleg Sandwich (you can only get these in LA. It’s a very beefy sandwich).

10:00am: Sitting in the plane on the runway...this lasts 45 minutes...original flight time was 9:35.

11:30am: Back in Vegas. That wraps up an eventful couple days. We all had a great time, and, after a couple days of straight sleep; we'll start looking forward to the next trip!

Just another day in the office....

Angela T — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:04:15 GMT

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.

Culture Club

John H. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:24:03 GMT

Well actually this is about a class more than a club - the first class ever on Zappos Culture taught by this guy

and this gal.

No kidding. Ladies and Gentlemen, Zappos University Professors Chris von P. and Jeanne de M.

So this culture class is an hour a week and goes for 4 weeks. This is our 3rd week and next week we have to do our final presentation on one of the 10 Core Values at Zappos.com. The class of about 20 people is split up into groups and it’s mildly competitive with contests both in and outside of class and points are awarded. My group is solidly in last place. (eye th ink the mail tea cher doe snt like moi - every 1 a doors the gene!)

The meat of the class has 2 phases. Five core values are covered in phase one and another 5 in phase two. Each group does a project that demonstrates a core value.

I popped this picture of the group, the current points leader, doing their project for “Deliver WOW through service.” They are helping out our internal shipping and receiving crew, Kacee and David, with delivering parcels at Vegas HQ today and Friday. Sigh, is that picture chock full of brains and beauty or what!

Modified T-Shirt Day Unlimited Class

John H. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:30:43 GMT

Another activity today, for Spirit Week Day 4, was modified Zappos t-shirt day.

We get lots of free t shirts at Zappos. They are usually related to the various events and milestones here – annual picnic t-shirt, $5 million dollar sales in one day t-shirt, Wellness day and even a special t-shirt for tomorrow.

Here’s Katrina from HR wearing her Wellness Day t-shirt complete with band-aid detailing. If any of you have ever spoken with Katrina when she was in Customer Loyalty, you’d remember her because she has a most enchanting British accent.

Now these other two shirts I captured a day or two earlier and alas, I could not locate the clever designers today.
This timeless blue number, hanging out to dry, is what the world needs now eh?

And this lovely tie dye shirt is sitting next to our fresh off the press 2008 Culture book

There were many fun, creative and dare I say, alluring shirts gracing the halls of Zappos HQ today. Well done everyone!

Blind Chef

John H. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:20:21 GMT

This is from Day 3 of Spirit Week and we’re 3 for 3 on fun and zany activities during lunch break. We’re sticking with the game show theme and today, if the other side gets the answer right then the other side has to eat a combined spoonful of goo – aka baby food. Mmmmm, pureed meats!

The first video clip <=click gives the setup and an appetizer of the competition.

But if you want the “full flavor” (Yea Boyee yardie, chef!) then part II <=click will take you there. Kris (eater) and Catie were real troopers they are both pretty new at Zappos yet they were put up against two multi year Zappos veterans, Lauren (eater) and Aria.

Fabulous job Flook Comm - one of our Fun activities planning groups here at Zappos.com. I’ve got the leftover baby food stashed in the fridge and tomorrow I am going to use them for smoothies. Who wants one? <evil grin>

The Real Zeal

John H. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:30:01 GMT

On the second day of Spirit Week my purple COW brought to me another game show parody. No messy pies this time but relatively clean raw rice in bowls.

In "Let's Make a Zeal!" two blindfolded contestants each reached into a bowl with uncooked rice and a quantity of small safety pins. They had a brief time slot to try and feel and remove as many pins as possible. The person who got the most could then chose between 20 Zollars or picking one of the 3 mystery boxes. Each of which contained a fabulous prize. Oh sweet precious dilemma!

In this video Liz and Kathy duke it out for fame and fortune! If it were you, what would you do?

Ridden Out of Town

John H. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:30:02 GMT

LOL! This is Scott. He is a member of the Customer Loyalty management team. Looks like he crossed the wrong people one time too many and they are exercising some frontier justice, CLT Night shift style. <hum your favorite Western music here>

Here’s the back story. Recently, each front desk at Zappos in Vegas received a folding wheel chair in case someone needs to use one. That’s obviously what Scott is sitting on.

Our shipping/receiving department has that clear clingy wrapping film for stuff on pallets. That’s what is keeping Scott in the chair.

So why is Scott sitting on the wheelchair and wrapped with cling film like a bowl of peaches? Working too much overtime, that’s why.

This is what you call really open and honest communication!
I did not take this video but I wish I did!
You figure, someone let him out and unwrapped him at the first floor right?

The cake said it!

Christina Y — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:16:57 GMT

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!

Weird Shoe Zoo Day

John H. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:37:13 GMT

Today was Weird Shoe Day at Zappos. It’s another Spirit Week event. So I went on walkabout to see what was weird and new. I’d have to say that these are the two weirdest pairs of shoes I saw today. Mara pasted some blue feathers onto her shoes and the Kris sacrificed a boa for the red feathers. And check out the heel height on the black boots!

Here’s Marina’s decorated bear paws going toe to toe with some smelly green tabis worn by an eccentric nameless fellow...

And Jenn has some super cute C.O.W. slippers on. We have a recognition program with those initials. So thanks to all the Cultivators Of Wow for wearing weird shoes today

"The Iron Photoshopper" Challenge!

Angela T — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:52:46 GMT

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.

Something Small and Special

John H. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:15:23 GMT

Here’s an elegant and thoughtful thing for new moms at Zappos.

It’s a nursing room. No, not like school nurse for ouchies or psychological evaluations but the feeding of infants – either directly or more often pumping milk for later. The room is fairly new, a couple of months I think, and it’s got a comfy chair, a mini fridge, soothing décor and of course, a door. So cute.

We Got a Party Going On, Many Spirits Strong!

Brett H. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:35:38 GMT

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!!!

Eye Pie Self

John H. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:51:10 GMT

Our Flook Committee came up with some fun events for Spirit week. Yesterday they held a game show where instead of a buzzer you pied yourself in the face. Nefarious is the word that works here no? Our 3 brave competitors are Deb, Zak and Matt. (Matt is closest to the camera.) As they progress through the rounds of questions the pie pans are switched out with different substances such as whipped cream, chocolate pudding, syrup, ranch dressing, ketchup, and mustard. Yum!

This video segment <=click! comes in about halfway, and things are getting sloppy – whoa mustard! Even though they are wearing goggles the various substances seeped in and our
competitors had to take a break for a face washing. (The picture above is from Matt’s seat while he stepped away after the mustard course.)

This video segment <=click! is the last round, very sloppy, crunchy too! Great job Derek and John of Flook Comm!

Gitche Gumee Here

John H. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:30:36 GMT

I was up in Finance Territory yesterday, checking out their new digs, letting some crickets loose in their restrooms and stalking some of my regulars. Well this “Gimmee Gimmee” expense report tray caught my eye.

LOL, nice touch and it nicely sums up the playful, can do Zappos spirit. Now here’s a bit of topical trivia about me – I became interested in gardening only after moving to Las Vegas. (Talk about inverse coals to Newcastle, mmmmm beer!) Now I’m not so much into ornamental plants, but I still picked up that it is a Money Tree sitting next to the moola tray. Well done yet again Fun Folks of Finance!

Kiva 411

Dustin C. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:13:32 GMT

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.