Today's Zapponian Spotlight, Beth M., is a ZCLT rep on the graveyard team. So, if you happen to call our customer service lines at night, you just might get Beth helping you on the other line!

We decided to get to know Beth a little bit by asking her a couple of questions:

What brought you to Las Vegas?

B: I was living in Portland, OR and had just lost a job of 8 years. I came here to visit my mom at Thanksgiving, shortly after my Dad had passed away. By the time I left, I decided that there was nothing holding me in Portland, and job opportunities were probably better in Vegas. Plus, I was a little worried about my mom being alone, and I wanted to live closer to her. I moved here in January of 2009, and got hit with the lucky stick by Zappos in August.  Surprisingly, I love it here. I grew up in So Cal, and came here a lot on weekends, but never imagined I'd live here!

What is your favorite musician or band?  

B: I love classic rock, like Santana, the Stones and Eric Clapton. I also love Kid Rock!

What 3 words describe your personality?

B: Silly, off-the-wall, and happy.

What do you like to do for fun?  

B: I'm a home body a lot of the time! I like hanging out with friends, going out to eat, gambling.  I love to garden, too, but all I have is gravel now so everything is in pots.

Working the Graveyard shift means I sleep most of the day, and I'm working when most people are out having fun, like on the weekends.

I really look forward to Zappos events like the awesome picnic we just had because I get a chance to reconnect with my Zappos Family!

What is your favorite core value and why? 

B: #3 - Create Fun and a Little Weirdness!  Anyone who knows me understands why. LOL 

What is your most embarrasing moment?  

B: Actually, not too much embarrasses me. However, I went to a Harvest Festival in Oregon with a friend who was visiting from L.A. There was one of those sling-shot things where you launched a pumpkin and there was a target to hit wayyyy off in the distance.  I was pulling it back really hard for a good launch, when my friend thought it would be a good idea to pull ME back (to help). The minute she pulled me, my feet slipped and I was flat on my back in a pool of mud. When I finally got up, there was a line of people who watched it happen. I was horrified! I had to finish the day walking around with the entire backside of me covered in mud!

Like Santa's little helpers, but better!

Our number one core value here in the Zappos Family is “Deliver WOW through service”. Delivering excellent customer service is really at the core of everything we do. That’s why our long-standing tradition of Holiday Helpers is still going strong.

Every holiday season, when our call volumes reach their highest levels of the year, every Zappos employee from every department is asked to jump on the phones for a few hours to help out our ZCLT team.

So, if you call our customer service number during the holiday season, there’s a chance you could get our CEO Tony Hsieh on the line! We all look forward to helping your holiday shopping experience be the best one yet.

This week's Zapponian Spotlight, Rose R., is a ZCLT rep on the graveyard team. So if you happen to call our customer service lines at night, you just might get Rose helping you on the other line!

We decided to get to know Rose a little bit by asking her a couple of questions:

If you could be a mixed drink what drink would you be and why?

 R: Strawberry Daiquiri, because it is fruity and sweet.  I was once told that describes my personality!

If you had a plane ticket to go anywhere in the world where would you go?

R: To Paris and Italy.

Tell us an embarrassing moment you can remember.

R: I went to a party to watch my son DJ and he stopped the music to introduced me to the about 800 people in the audience!

So, your son is a DJ and you are his manager? what is the best part about working with your son?

R: I have been managing his career since he was 15 years old and enjoy working as his manager. I get the opportunity to meet celebrities and I enjoy the VIP treatment when I’m at his events!

Clockwise: Holly from ZCLT smiles for the camera, Steven AKA Superman, Zappos Hero marshmallow pops (yum!), Rob, Director of ZCLT, fights ghosts with the Stay Puft marshmallow man!

To say thanks our wonderful Zappos Customer Loyalty Team (ZCLT), the Zappos family has been celebrating Customer Service Week all week long. Our wonderful PEACE team planned tons of fun events throughout the week, including a photo booth, hero parades, goodie giveaways, cash cube, free lunch day, root beer float day, and more!

Today is the first day of Customer Service Week, and we thought, what better way to kick it off than with the first ever ZCLT Stories!

We have a saying here in the Zappos Family that goes: “Zappos is a service company that just happens to sell… (you name it!)” . Part of that dedication to our customer service is illustrated in large part by our wonderful ZCLT family (Zappos Customer Loyalty Team). That’s why we decided to honor them by creating ZCLT Stories-a video series to share some pretty incredible stories that happen day after day in our customer loyalty floor.

This first edition of ZCLT Stories was inspired by one of the longest customer call times on record. (Did we mention that our ZCLT reps don’t have maximum call times or scripts?)

ZCLT rep Pua shares her story of the phone call that went down in Zappos history!

Special thanks to: Pua M., Vanessa L. (as Pua), Pat W. (as the customer), and to Chris AKA “Gonzo” for filming and editing the video.

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Chris L. from our ZCLT team. Chris is a karaoke connoisseur and a die-hard Oregon Ducks fan (as you’ll find out in his answers below!)

He’s also the captain of the unofficial Zappos kickball team and enjoys dressing in a Gumby costume if the need comes up. Read on to learn more about Chris!

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.

C: “Oregon Ducks” and “Zappos”. 80% of my wardrobe consists of Oregon Ducks gear, or Zappos shirts.  I refuse to shop for myself.  Therefore about all I own comes from either the shirts that we receive here, or Oregon Ducks gear.  I’m a huge Ducks fan, so if anyone feels compelled to get me a gift, it’s usually related to that.  I get a lot of comments when I wear anything else, because people are thrown off.

Who is your favorite musician or band?

C: If I had to choose a band, I would have to go with Foreigner.  If you listen to their greatest hits album, it’s amazing.  There is not one song that doesn’t capture your heart.  I had much less success with my purchase of the Hootie and the Blowfish greatest hits.  It reminded me that they only had about 4 true hits, though I did love them.

Name 3 things you never leave home without?

C: Pants, swag, and a smile

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

C: Phil Knight.  He is affectionately known as “Uncle Phil” to anyone that attends the University of Oregon. He’s the founder of Nike and a simply awesome individual.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

C: I’m sure I’ve had stranger things happen to me, but at the moment I can only think of one example.  Multiple times I’ve had complete strangers ask to take a photo with me.  Once at a grocery store on vacation in Hawaii, I was asked by a couple of teenage girls.  Once again while I was working in this tiny sports shop by some visitors from overseas that I hadn’t even been assisting.  I’m not sure who they thought I was that warranted a photo, but I took them anyway.  I didn’t ask questions.  I feel bad for them.  I take terrible photos.  I “Chandler Bing” it on every photo.  I am simply incapable of taking good photos!
*Chris, we think you take excellent photos, as illustrated by the photos above!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?

C: The people.  It’s hard to find more genuine, fun-loving people than you find here at Zappos.   It honestly is like coming to see family each day.  <insert misty eyes here>

Being on the Zappos Customer Loyalty Team, we get to speak to a lot of brides, mothers-of-the-bride, guests of the bride . . . you get the gist. The one thing that kept popping up is that people wanted us to help coordinate their wedding party outfits (shoes, of course) and help their far-off family members with their gifts.  Voila!  Zappos gift registry is now in the works!

 In 2012 (or sooner - with fingers and toes crossed), we'll be rolling out a Zappos Wedding/ Gift Registry. Couples will be able to sign up for their registry and do all their shopping on Zappos.com. They will be able to share their registry with friends and family, and (eventually) post the details to their Facebook page, personal websites or other social media outlets! 

With our liberal return and exchanges, this makes it super easy for couples starting out (or starting over) to outfit their new homes with exactly the right stuff.  And for their friends and family, it means that they can breathe easy when shopping for the happy couple!

 Future enhancements may include management of registry lists, email confirmations for your pals, custom-designed Zappos packaging, and maybe some virtual room layouts!

 For those that tend to procrastinate (yeah - I'm talking to my daughter!), we're also looking at the ability for Zappos E-Certificates to be available with custom-wedding themes, and maybe even a line of wedding-themed Zappos Gift Cards.  

 So many options, so many plans . . . so many new and exciting things to come! Stay tuned; we will keep you posted as everything starts to roll out!

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on the super-talented Noël. Noël’s amazing voice has graced many karaoke sessions here at Zappos HQ.

I decided to interview Noël to get a little insider perspective on his passion for music, and of course, being a Zapponian.

Please explain a typical week in your life:

N: I'm a lead at ZCLT so, good time management is a must. Of course being here for my team is very important, being there for all ZCLT and outside of ZCLT as well. Right now I'm working very hard on the Zappos Family Album which keeps me pretty busy as well.

Name one thing you do to cultivate and help spread our culture.

N: I keep a positive attitude. Being approachable by smiling, saying hello, and being as open as I am to make others feel comfortable with being themselves around me.

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style. 

N: Puns, audience, and creativity

Who is your favorite musician or band?

N: Celine Dion because we share so many similarities including music and heritage since we both are from a French/Canadian decent.

Name 3 things you never leave home without.

N: Cell phone, my sense of belonging, and a smile.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

N: Honestly, there are so many to choose from but if I got to have a one-on-one dinner with someone, it would be either Buddha or Jesus Christ

How did you discover you had such an amazing voice?

N: I started singing at a young age. I did have a better voice before I hit puberty. (Believe it or not, my voice used to be higher!) After puberty I had to learn how to sing again. I had to get some professional training to regain the range that I once had.

What inspired the name of your album “It’s Just a Phase” ?

N: My producer at the time suggested it. It was more to poke fun of people that say "It's just a phase" when they see something they don't approve of or don't know how to approach. On the more serious side though, it's a way of saying, “Hey, don't get so hung up on the stages in life that lead you on your journey.” Just enjoy everything along the way.

What is your favorite song on your album?

N: "Texture of Lies" has to be my favorite song. It is a song that I can really relate to and comes from personal experience.

 What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos HQ?

N: The family atmosphere and flexibility, but most importantly, the acceptance. Being accepted for who you are, being able to be yourself.