Zappos and the Impact of Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos, passed away last week. It’s an incredibly sad situation and I’ve been reading a lot of information I did not know about the last few years of his life and his many struggles, especially during the time of Covid. Through this tragedy, I do believe there is a legacy that lives on. 

Zappos, one of the largest shoe retailers online, made a huge impact on me when I visited the headquarters in Las Vegas back in 2015. Their message of delivering happiness was very apparent. 

The company has a heavy focus on the importance of customer service.

They mentioned on this tour that everyone starts off training in customer service, no matter what department for which they were hired because this is the core of their business.

 They currently offer many perks for their customers like an entire year to return a purchase for a full refund and a 24/7 call center. I encourage you to visit their website and read more about all the wonderful ways they give back and take care of customers. 

Everyone was extremely open and willing to chat while on our tour and we were told we could ask the employees anything. Zappos has ten core values, which you can read right here, and they include amazing features that set them apart from other companies' lists of core values. Things like creating fun, being creative, pursuing growth and learning, being humble and much more.

I remember hearing a story from one of the employees there about how he helped a woman buy a pair of black shoes for a funeral she had to attend for a close loved one. 

He worked with her every step of the way and even sent flowers to her home and called her to follow-up. This is what customer service is truly about, building a lasting connection with your customer and truly learning about them and their needs. This solidifies customer loyalty to a brand and can be said to be the lifetime value of the relationship between a customer and a client or brand. 

Zappos has always been an inspiration to me. Not many companies truly live their brand and they do that with ease.

I love this quote from Tony’s book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

“Your personal core values define who you are, and a company's core values ultimately define the company's character and brand. For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny.” - Tony Hsieh