I ordered two items online Monday night at 7:30 PM.

Today, Wednesday, in the middle of the afternoon, I received an email providing a UPS tracking number for one of the items. It isn’t in the UPS system yet however and the best arrival date suggested is Friday, two days away. The worst case specified is a week from tomorrow. I paid $5 in shipping charges for this item. Let’s call this Company A.

The other item arrived yesterday afternoon. Less than 24 hours after placing my order. I paid nothing for shipping; they upgraded my shipping method free of charge. Furthermore, I will pay nothing for shipping if I return the item. I would have ordered both items from this company but they didn’t have my size. Let’s call this Company B.

Is Company A clueless about their competition? Or do they make all their money on the items Company A runs out of? They were slightly cheaper, but not for long if returns are involved and shipping charges add up. Or perhaps they are counting on people not discovering Company B. Does Company B have a great strategy? What do you think?

Anyone care to guess the name Company B?

If you guessed Zappos.com you would be correct. You can’t argue with service like that!