It’s no secret that consumers usually contact customer service when something is wrong. From complaints about things not working, to questions about mysterious charges, customer service often comes with a certain level of negativity, but Zappos is working to change that. The company’s new holiday campaign is all about putting a positive spin on customer service during the busiest time of year.
Zappos has debuted four television spots touting the various aspects of its customer service, from its 24/7 support, to its free shipping and return policy for up to a year. The bright, cheerful ads serve to demonstrate that companies can be proactive about offering great service before problems arise, and ultimately change the face of customer service from a dreaded and stressful experience into one that’s pleasant.
“We believe emphasizing happiness moments was better than fear-mongering like, ‘Hey, this could happen, and that’s why we are there,’” Kedar Deshpande, vice president of technology and quantitative marketing at Zappos, said in a statement.
For Zappos, this is more than a marketing campaign. The company has already started to double down on its positive philosophy at its call centers. On Cyber Monday, which is among the busiest days of the year for the e-retailer, its corporate culture shone. Employees were treated to holiday goodies to keep morale high, and were offered aromatherapy sessions and massages, all in an effort to ensure that positivity on one end of a customer support call would transfer to the other.
“This is our busiest time; this is where we are interacting with our customers the most, so they really try to make what could be seen as a stressful time less stressful,” Adrian Medina, a customer loyalty team coach who heads a team of 14 at the company’s call center, told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “[And] a happy employee equals happy customers.”