A Tribute to Tony Hsieh, a Customer Service Icon Gone Way Too Soon.

This past week, we lost an American business icon. Zappos founder and CEO Tony Hsieh passed away tragically at the age of 46. He built an incredible company with an even more remarkable story that all DPHA members can learn from.

Zappos is arguably the number one customer service organization in the world. Hsieh once described his company as a customer service organization that happens to sell shoes. Today, Zappos (owned by Amazon) has the world's largest selection of shoes and generates 75% of its business from repeat customers. Zappos does not offer the lowest prices, however. What it does provide is a customer experience like no other.

Hsieh created a culture most businesses can't even imagine. Zappos stocks more than 1,000 brands of shoes. If you order shoes on Tuesday, they arrive on Wednesday. Shipping is free. If you don't like what you bought two, six or eleven months after the purchase, return it for a full refund. No questions asked. Want to talk to a customer service rep? Call the 800 number. It will be answered within a few rings, 24/7/365.

Every recruit who comes to Zappos spends five weeks in a training program. It does not matter if you are the new CFO or the next shipping clerk. Everyone spends time during the training period answering customer calls because talking to customers helps everyone understand what is important to customers. At the end of the five weeks, every new hire receives the "offer": $2,000 not to take the job. Only a handful accept the buy-out.

Other highly rated customer service companies, including Southwest Airlines, frequently visit Zappos to learn its secrets and profit from its experiences. What sets Zappos apart is not its technology, pricing or marketing. Zappos attributes its success to a culture that is so intense, so outsized, so performative that by design, it is not for everyone. That's why Zappos is willing to offer newly trained employees cash to quit to affirm new hires are "all in." Culture drives Zappos and everything it does. Zappos ten core company values are:

• Deliver wow through service
• Embrace and drive change
• Create fun and a little weirdness
• Be adventurous, creative and open-minded
• Pursue growth and learning
• Build open and honest relationships with communication
• Build a positive team and family spirit
• Do more with less
• Be passionate and determined
• Be humble

Zappos' culture is dedicated to delivering happiness. Hsieh understood that there is a direct link between performance and employee, partner and customer happiness.