“Zappos is about delivering happiness to the world” – Tony Hsieh
Delivering Happiness was written by innovative Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh. The book was released in 
2010 and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List. In Delivering Happiness, Hsieh shares his experiences and life lessons as an entrepreneur and founder of LinkExchange and Zappos. Based upon his past experiences, Hsieh decided that his focus for Zappos was to create a company culture based on happiness for customers and employees alike. As a result of the unique company culture and incredibly high customer satisfaction, Zappos was acquired by Amazon in 2009 in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion.
Two of my favorite takeaways from Delivering Happiness:
Make Customer Service a Responsibility of the Entire Company
One of the most important things to Hsieh was that customer service be the main responsibility of the entire company. Zappos philosophy has been to take the money that they would normally spend on advertising and instead, invest it into customer service and the overall customer experience. Rather than advertising through traditional channels, Zappos believed that a great customer experience would result in powerful marketing through word of mouth, and they were right. They have a 365 day return policy, and offer free shipping (both ways). For call center employees, there is no quota or time limit on calls and no call script that they must follow. Instead, they are encouraged to let their personality and individuality shine through and to focus on solving customer issues by any means necessary. My favorite story of the unprecedented level of customer service is when Hsieh convinced a friend of his from Skechers, to call Zappos to order a pizza. The Zappos representative was caught off guard, but she returned two minutes later with a list of the five closest pizza places in the area that were still delivering pizza at that time. That is extraordinary customer service and a story worth sharing with others.
Focus On Company Culture as the #1 Priority
Zappos’ number one priority as an organization is the focus on company culture. They believe that company culture and company branding, are two sides of the same coin. Zappos uses their unique culture as a branding asset to help set themselves apart from competitors. For Zappos, building the company culture starts with the hiring process. Candidates have to pass two types of interviews. One is a traditional corporate interview and the second tests to see if they are a culture fit for Zappos. After passing both interviews, candidates go through a 4-week long training process. During this training, the new-hires are offered (on two separate occasions) $2,000.00 to quit. Remarkably, less than 1% of people take the offer. By putting the company culture first, Zappos ensures that they hire people who are a good fit, and will stick to the company’s ten core values. All Zappos employees commit to these ten core values and use them as guiding principles in their work. Hsieh wants Zappos’ culture and core values to shine through in every phone call, office tour, and shoe order.
Zappos decided to make customer service and company culture the organization’s two main priorities. Every company is different so these priorities may not apply to your organization. Instead, find your own focus, make it a priority and excel at it.
