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  • Bustin Stones sire of Bustinattheseams 1st Mdn (May 23, 2nd BEL). Owner, Bourque Goldstein Thoroughbreds LLC; Breeder, Eaton & Thorne, Inc....
  • Strut the Stage sire of Head Honcho 1st Alw (May 23, 7th WO). Owner, Annecchini and D'Alimonte Holdings Inc. and Kingfield Farm; Breeder, William D. Graham...
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  • Posse sire of Parody 1st Alw (May 23, 4th PEN). Owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.; Breeder, Don Mattox & Pam Mattox...
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  • Proud Citizen sire of Citizen Kat 1st Alw (May 23, 7th PEN). Owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.; Breeder, Mark Reid & Charles Zacney...
  • Philanthropist sire of Rob the Cradle 1st Alw (May 23, 2nd WO). Owner, Andrews, Denny and Paradox Farms Inc.; Breeder, Gardiner Farms Limited...
  • Medaglia d'Oro sire of Dealer 1st Alw (May 23, 8th CT). Owner, Coleswood Farm, Inc.; Breeder, Family Broodmare, LLC...
  • Hard Spun sire of Gleaning 1st Mdn (May 23, 4th PID). Owner, Robert T. Manfuso; Breeder, Nursery Place & Robert T. Manfuso...
  • Hard Spun sire of Ribbon Taffy 1st Mdn (May 23, 5th IND). Owner, Pucek, John Paul and Marcinek, Paige; Breeder, Matthew R. Herbener...
  • Yankee Gentleman sire of Little Dale 1st Alw (May 23, 7th BEL). Owner, Vaccarezza, Priscilla, Amante, Anthony and Garrity, Christine; Breeder, Philip Birsh...
  • Luftikus sire of Joyful Kiss 1st Alw (May 23, 7th CT). Owner, Winfred L. Hess, Jr.; Breeder, Ann M. Casey...
  • Mancini sire of Ride Around Sally 1st Alw (May 23, 6th IND). Owner, Joe Uliano; Breeder, Spade Stable...
  • City Weekend sire of City Sweets 1st Mdn (May 23, 3rd IND). Owner, Mast Thoroughbreds LLC; Breeder, Robert Gorham & Mast Thoroughbreds LLC...
  • Petionville sire of Wups 1st Thoroughbred Maiden Derby (May 23, 9th BOI). Owner, Paul Treasure; Breeder, Michael Iavarone...

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Symposium opening address emphasizes service

Posted: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:22 PM

by Ed DeRosa

Selling shoes online is not quite the same as taking bets, but both involve a high level of service to the customer.

Zappos.com wants its customers to say ‘wow’ after every transaction. Unfortunately for racing, its customers often say “D’oh!”

Craig Adkins, vice president of services and operations for online shoe retailer Zappos.com, kicked off the 35th annual Symposium on Racing and Gaming on Tuesday by telling racing industry insiders how quality service helped his company reach more than $1-billion in sales within ten years of its inception.

“Zappos is powered by service,” Adkins said. “We want to provide the best online shopping experience possible.

“We’re a service company. We care more about service than anything else. Our only competition is bad service, and we want to do everything in our power to avoid that.”

Some would say that racing embraces bad service. Acrimony among stakeholders often creates a negative experience for fans. A common complaint is that bettors need two or three accounts just to wager on their preferred racetracks.

Zappos.com trains its employees to fulfill customer needs, even if that means sending them to a competitor. Imagine TrackNet Media, horsemen, and TVG reaching a deal so that a bettor could place a wager through the account wagering outlet of his or her choice.

Adkins said the motto of Zappos.com Chief Executive Officer Tony Hsieh is “chase the vision, not the money.”

Zappos.com regularly invites executives from other online retailers to its offices for workshops and does not mind sharing the elements of its success with other companies.

“We believe in being transparent,” Adkins said. “Be real, and you have nothing to fear. If everyone does a better job, then you’ll do a better job. There’s no point in being secret.”

Adkins’s comments hit close to home in a racing industry where Churchill Downs Inc. keeps business figures secret and backroom deals involving the very product that its customers consume are kept under wraps.

The Symposium continues through Thursday in Tucson, Arizona. A heavy focus of many of the panels is the perception of the racing industry among its customers.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times

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