I have this pair of Puma shoes that I got last year while I was in California for work. They're super comfortable and fantastic for driving. They've started ripping out on the bottom and sides and the soles are starting to come off. I figured it was time to replace them.
After searching around, I found a nice pair on the Puma website but also a different pair at a good price on Zappos.com. I've never actually shopped at Zappos, but I've always heard good things. I'm just less likely to buy shoes online (regardless of a return policy) because I don't always know what size I need. In this particular case, I didn't care. I already have a similarly styled pair of Pumas, so I should be able to get the same size... hence the online shopping.
Anyway, to the story. In going through the checkout of Zappos, I really just wanted to buy the shoes and be done - but they require you to sign up for an account. I really just wanted to skip this because I don't figure I'll be using the site all that often - why bother having an account, right?
So I tweeted about it...
And they replied just minutes later (on a Saturday even)...
Then I checked my email... So what did I get? Well, they upgraded my shipping to free "expedited" (overnight) shipping and invited me to their VIP area. Turns out when you're in the VIP area, anything you order is free overnight shipping. I'm not incredibly sure what other perks the VIP area offers... but I'll be checking it out some more later on.
Thing is, I still don't care for having to sign up for an account somewhere I'll rarely use. Might I be more apt to buy something else from them now with the VIP thing? Eh, maybe. Not entirely sure yet... Is it a nice gesture? Absolutely. It's always awesome to get a free upgrade like that. And the faster my things get here, the happier I'll be.
So when you consider how fast they replied and did something about it... along with what they actually did for me... that is how you take care of your customers (and properly use social media to do it!).