Thank God for Grandmas and Zappos! A Tour of Zappos.com

After reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s, The Thank You Economy, I was inspired to read Tony Hsieh’s, Delivering Happiness…  After learning about Tony and how his extraordinary company, Zappos.com, offered friendly tours of the corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, I knew a field trip was on the horizon.

As a result of some logistical good fortune, I was in Vegas last month with a group of dear friends from the special events, entertainment and production industry who also wanted to see this Zappos Culture that we heard and read so much about, in person.    Zappos turned out be the real deal and left our many of our heads spinning with traces of wonderment and unequivocal WOW.

In the Culture book that each guest receives at the end the tour, Thich Nhat Hanh writes, “The amount of happiness you have depends of the amount of freedom you have in your heart.”  To me, this quote encapsulates the Zappos.com mojo that fuels its uncharacteristically happy employees, appreciative customers and ridiculous numbers.  The Zappos team is given the freedom to make their workplace as comfortable as their living room, to be a little weird, to obsess over the customer- in a healthy way, to be inspired- not intimidated by the success of others, and to contribute beyond self through philanthropy and mentorship.  All of these core values, among many others, translate into daily WOW on a scale that was tough for a few of us to wrap our aspirational minds around.

Did you know it was possible to generate 12 million dollars in sales in one day?  Me neither.  Did you know that there’s a company out there that intentionally makes less profit each year so they can make the lives of their employees better instead?  Me neither.    And did you know that you can get paid to train for a job at Zappos and then get paid even more to quit if you don’t gel with the positive culture DNA that their looking for?  I did, because I read the book… but it was still impressive to hear it again nonetheless.

I’ve learned a lot about branding over the past few years.  Zappos used to be known as a shoe company. Now, even though they still sell a gazillion shoes, they are known for their exemplary company culture and their laudable level customer service.  How does this happen?  When your employees feel like this… Here’s a Culture book excerpt from Stacy H., a six year Zappos veteran;

“Coming to work at Zappos is like going to visit Grandma’s house as a kid.  You are spoiled, you have fun and get fed.  At Zappos, we get fed so much that I am convinced that I will not lose any serious weight until the day I leave.  It makes me think about the letters people write when they have to leave.  Usually it is due to moving out of state, because, well, why else would you leave Zappos?  The e-mails are sent out to the entire floor to say goodbye to their work-family.  We typically throw a mini-happy hour for the person who is leaving and demand to see them back for visits.

Our Zappos culture is more than just 10 ideas to live by, or a fun environment, or even happy customers.  It’s looking at those around you, those you will never see but hear their voice on the phone, or read their words in an e-mail, as family.  When you can see the world in this caring light, you become a better person and the joy spreads.  The Zappos culture is paying it forward to everyone that comes in contact with us.  Our vendors, our employees, our customers, and even our tours get joy out of the experience that is Zappos.  Thank God for Grandmas and Zappos!”

If you have a trip planned to Vegas and like the idea of going home with more than you came with-  do yourself, your team and your organization a favor and set up a tour.

Special thanks to Jodi Harris and Andy Ebon for setting up a day filled with joyful experiences.

As Tony likes to say, “Live in The WOW!”

 

 

Encore Gallery:

The Perfect Host: Indy’s Jim Cerone Lives Up To His Title

“He’s a gentleman and a scholar.”  That’s a  phrase you can’t use too often anymore and probably why Jim Cerone stands out from the crowd.   I’m sure being 6ft. 4 also helps the cause.

Cerone is the only  certified Wedding Entertainment Director from Indianapolis and one of the finest special event performers in the country. Need some more street cred?  No problem…  (or as Jim likes to say, “My Pleasure.“  Cerone was recently elected to serve as Indiana’s President for the International Special Events Society.

This past week, Jim hosted an exclusive  business conference at the luxurious Conrad Hotel.  The V.I.P list of attendees were treated to three days of top-notch educational seminars from some of the best and brightest speakers on the circuit.  I’d love to reveal the line-up and what we all learned, but then you’d see a pop up window saying that your computer will self-destruct in 5 seconds. What I  can divulge is that MMP’s social and corporate clientele will appreciate what we implement in the coming months.

To earn the reputation of The Perfect Host, you’ve really got to be firing on all cylinders as a professional and be:

1) Someone who not only picks you up from the airport, but comes inside for an hour just so you can watch the extended time and shootout of the U.S Women’s Soccer Championship game…

2) Someone who continually asks “is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable” when a 104 degree heat-wave hits town…

3)  Someone who personally guides a walking tour along the gorgeous canals in the morning for those who like to exercise and see the sights…

4) And Someone who prioritizes his life by making time to sit down and eat with his lovely wife, Rosie, and play with his well-mannered sons, Jimmy and Joey, at the pool even though he has a formidable list of type A over-achievers to  coddle for the week…

With sincere gratitude and a humble tip of the hat, I offer kudos and congrats to The Perfect Host… my dear friend, Jim Cerone.  -mp

 

WeddingWire.com Publishes Marcello’s Latest, “7 Ways to Bring The Wow & Have The Best Wedding Reception Ever!” on Wedding Aces

I’m honored and delighted that the Wedding industry mega-site, WeddingWire.com, has featured my latest article “7 Ways to Bring The Wow and Have The Best Wedding Reception Ever!” in their exclusive Wedding Aces portfolio.

The WeddingWire network reaches over 8 million people each month via their impressive online social network that includes; Martha Stewart Weddings, Wedding Bee, and Project Wedding.

Wedding Aces is an online community that offers advice and tips for engaged couples via articles and blogs from experts in the Wedding industry.

The 7 Ways article highlights some of the best Wedding professionals in the New York City metro Area as well as several unique ideas that can make your event an exceptional experience.  I wrote the article for engaged couples that are like many of MMP’s clients who feel that the entertainment, ambiance and hospitality are a priority.  They demand dramatically different results from what they’ve seen and they are willing to invest accordingly.

A high resolution pdf of the original article can be viewed & downloaded here.

If I can be of service in anyway to help you Bring The Wow and Have The Best Wedding Reception Ever!, please call 973-366-9776, text 732-547-1677 or e-mail mmp@mmpentertainment.com to schedule a design session.  Best wishes! -mp

Special thanks to the Wedding industry rock stars who gave me permission to interview them for the piece and to share their excellence with the world.  Jason Jani,  Peter Merry, Martin Hardy, Greg Lassik, John Arcara, Jim Cerone, Alan Berg, Mike Walter & Andy Ebon.

And to Sonny and Jeffra from WeddingWire.com, my sincere gratitude for including my work on their incredible site.

“It’s Just a Party for 15,000 People, and You’re Invited.” – Michael Bublé is the Perfect Host at Madison Square Garden

In the mobile entertainment industry, my good friend, Jim Cerone, is known as the Perfect Host.   In the contemporary pop-jazz category that features old-school romance and classic performances  like Sinatra and the rat pack used to bring to the table, Michael Buble is as close to perfection as they come.

I know a lot of talented emcees, but I’m not sure if any of them could make 15,000 people feel like they were sitting in the front row at the Copacabana with such poise and savior-fair.  Did I mention that Michael can accomplish this without a microphone too?  (If you’ve never been to a MB show, Buble always performs one track…un-plugged-acapella.   I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t seen him do it at three concerts.)

As always, Michael mixed in just the right amount of newer releases like Everything and Haven’t Met You Yet with his modernized versions of classics like Georgia and Heartache Tonight.   What everyone will be talking about today though will be his heartfelt impromptu shout-out to his grandfather who was in the audience and his mini-Michael Jackson tribute. The band ripped into Billie Jean to the delight of the crowd and Buble almost brought the house down when he did the moonwalk after singing the first chorus.

I’d like to welcome Danielle, Joanna & Luigi to the MMP family.  They sat behind us and were the perfect fans.   They were reading all of Buble’s Wikipedia stats on their iPhones before the show started, (“did you know he was Italian and that his middle same was Steven?”) and knew almost every word to every song.   They also joined our little dance party when Michael did his homage to Ferris Bueller and sang Twist and Shout! The whole stadium, (except for about 18 party poopers who refused to get their butts up off their seats, smile and enjoy life for a few minutes) was up and dancing the night away.  What a moment!

When Michael Buble told us “it’s just a party for 15,000 people and you’re invited” after the first set… we believed him.

I know we’ve got readers from all over the country so check out the Crazy Love Tour dates and treat yourself to a night of what Andy Ebon and James Cameron might consider perfection, you deserve it. Special thanks to our good friends, Mike and Kelly, for treating us last night. And it was a pleasure catching up with Dominick and getting to know his girlfriend, Sarina… best wishes with your nursing career.

P.s   Kudos to Mike who got up and ran the NYC half marathon in 1:45:18 this morning.   At dinner last night, Kelly joked that Mike only scans the first section of lengthy e-mails and articles- so he probably won’t even see this.

Southern Hospitality and Sunshine from the Music City

A big thank you to our friends from Nashville, Tennessee, who hosted the DJ Retreat last Tuesday.  Even though they talk with a funny accent, they were a pleasure to work with and ran a smooth operation.

Kelly Farmer and the members of the Music City region are certainly giving this ADJA chapter something to talk about. After 10 days in a row of rain in the deep south, the sunshine made a welcomed return just in time for our visit.

The event was held at Nashville Shores at their outdoor amphitheater location.  The gorgeous weather and natural setting added to the unique and desirable experience for Mike and I as well as the attendees.

Mike presented, “Weddings that Wow”, The Methodology of Entertaining the Masses, I presented “Bar Mitzvah TNT”, Traditions and Techniques for an Exceptional Celebration, and then we teamed up for our interactive keynote on “Balance”, Personal Evolution for the Mobile Entrepreneur.

Based on the e-mails and texts so far, our presentations were well received.

I think it’s fair to say that Robin and Linda Knowles went home happy.

Marcello and Mike,

…”Your unbelievable energy really reached out to even Emcee Show Veterans like myself.  We listened again to everything you and Mike said all the way home to Memphis that same evening with our digital audio recorder.  We really learned some terrific things from you that we will certainly add to our shows!  It goes to show that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!”…

Robin and Linda

Rockin Robin’s Dj’s, Memphis TN.

Special thanks to the event’s producer, Kelly Farmer, for extending the invitation and making sure we had everything we needed, to Brian Snyder for his entertaining city tour and taking us to the best steakhouse in Nashville, Fleming’s, to Zek Storm for his sound engineering services, to Chuck Roberts for complimenting the river cruise with his musical selections, to Mike Durham for providing the delicious cuisine, and to our good friend, Jim Cerone, for a nice evening at Mad Donna’s and for sharing his candids for this entry.

Many of the attendees drove over 3 hours to join us.  We certainly appreciate everyone’s efforts and taking the time out of your busy schedules to make the trip in.  It was nice spending the day with you all.

Man, we’re fixin’ to go back and visit y’all real soon.