Shoes

I have lots of shoes. I like shoes. There's nothing like a broken in pair of Vans or some ass-kicking boots. Enabling my predilection is the web-based company Zappos.com. At first sight, they appear to be a little pricey - but there's a lot packed into the price of each pair of shoes.

The reason I'm writing this post is because of the basis of their business model. Yes, it's impersonal shopping online. However, Zappos does everything possible to earn your business.

Here's an example. I ordered a pair of shoes on Friday and they arrived on Monday. There is no shipping charge. That's amazing in itself. Turns out I ordered the wrong size and needed a half size bigger. I checked my account online and easily found the link to print a return label (UPS Next Day - still no charge to me) which I taped over the old label. Next, I ordered the correct size from Zappos.

On Tuesday, I dropped off the wrong shoes at the UPS Store by my office (still no charge to me). When I got home, the new pair was waiting for me. That's remarkable. I don't think I would have had the time to return shoes that efficiently had I bought them from an actual brick and mortar store.

Anyhow, I wish more businesses (especially online stores) would pay attention to Zappos and their business model. I'll pay a little extra for just about anything to have this level of service.

So, if you need shoes, check out Zappos.com.