A Visit to Zappos.com

A friend of mine, who works for Las Vegas-based Zappos.com, invited us on a tour of the company during our last visit. So off we went to Henderson to visit the Internet retailer.

Zappos sells shoes, clothes and accessories and is known for its customer service. They offer free shipping and returns (yes, even for Hawaii) and you have a year to return any item. As part of training, employees are required to work in its call center, servicing customers over the phone. Most call centers focus on reducing call times in order to service more customers, but Zappos encourages its employees to help the customer, no matter how long it takes. Legend has it that the longest call was an 8-hour one with a customer. Another tale has an employee ordering pizza on behalf of a customer.

Zappos is in the process of moving from it current Henderson location to Downtown Las Vegas. The move should be complete in Summer 2013, but for now, the company occupies two, two-story buildings near Green Valley Ranch Casino.

I wish I took more pictures during my tour, but I didn't want to be a gawking visitor, so you'll have to rely on my written descriptions. Zappos offers:

A Coffee Bar -- Employees can order free coffee and tea from is coffee bar. The barista, who is from Hawaii, made us lattes, mochas, hot chocolate, and the like. All for free!

Break Rooms -- The break rooms offer free soda, juice and water; fruits and snacks. There are vending machines where proceeds go to charity.

Gym -- The gym is on the smaller side with the basics: cardio machines and weights.

Nap Rooms -- With sofas and loungers, yes it is used.

Cafeteria - Zappos offers free soups and salads and $3 entrees. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

Library - Employees can pick up the latest books on management. The books are complimentary, or if you like, you can leave a donation, which goes to charity.

Like I said, I wish I took pictures as they would succinctly showcase the Zappos culture more than the written word. But here are two pics I managed to take:

They call this monkey lane. All employees sit in low cubicles, including executive management. As you can see, executive management were not at their desks (or else I definitely would not have taken the picture).

I think this thrown was used as a sales incentive. Employees who met certain goals would claim the throne. It was so popular with visitors so they left it. I chose a tiara to wear for my picture. Another person from the group put on the crown and held the scepter, which was quite hefty.