ABSTRACT
The Continental Airlines case examined before and after data along with industry comparisons; the Google and AltaVista cases examined a highly successful and an unsuccessful company in the same industry. Comparisons are made between each of the three focal companies and comparable organizations in their industries: online shoe sales, five-star hotels, and clothing-based department stores. Other customer-directed practices include free shipping on both sent and returned items; not measuring customer service call times so reps are not pressured to get off the phone; encouraging reps to satisfy customers, even if it means directing a customer to a competitor. Although starting salaries are generally not above market, Zappos does provide full health insurance coverage and profit sharing programs. Occasionally, Zappos surprises employees, such as when the company gave a 10% cash bonus to all employees in 2008, after having a good year in 2007.
