When I first approached Bonobos for an episode of TC Makers I was convinced I’d be able to visit a huge warehouse at the edge of town where a gaggle of monkeys was sewing together travel jeans and hipster flannel. Instead, I was invited into a relatively small New York office where designers, web folks, and customer service representatives were working on selling clothing on the Internet with an eye towards comfort and customer satisfaction.
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The company, founded by Andy Dunn, is all about customer service. The “Ninja” team of CSRs is hidden in a back room of the actual office where they deal with customers online and over the phone. It was interesting to see such a tight operation handle such a wide-ranging line of products. The company has mens’ and women’s’ lines and designs everything in-house. They also have created something they’re calling Guideshops where you can try on the clothes before you order, although they’re only in a few cities right now.
Making doesn’t always have to be about milling metal and printing PCBs. Instead, it’s fun to watch how a company handles the production and shipping of physical goods and turns the sad experience of online shopping into something as exciting as a warehouse full of worker monkeys.