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In the next decade, or two, Tony Hsieh hopes people forget that Zappos.com set its roots as an online shoe retailer.
By then, Zappos could own and operate an airline and maybe even other businesses that build strength through repeat customers and brand loyalty.
What CEO Hsieh (pronounced “shay”) wants people to remember about Zappos is this:
Any company's culture and customer service practices — whether it's a $1 billion plus per year retailer like Zappos, or a startup — can help breed happiness, which then translates into loyal employees and customers and higher revenues.
“We're a service company that just happens to sell shoes,” he told the audience of about 200 gathered at the Marcus Cinema at Midtown Crossing. “We're in the stories and memories business.”
Hsieh, who joined Zappos in 1999 after investing in the company as a partner at Venture Frogs, brought his message to Omaha on Wednesday for the second time since May, when he delivered the keynote address at Big Omaha, a technology and entrepreneurship conference.
On the third stop of his 23-city bus tour around the country to promote his book, “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose,” Hsieh delivered much the same talk that he did back in May. He focused on the things Zappos does to promote a strong company culture and customer service, and how other companies can do the same.
When Zappos was purchased by Amazon.com for $1.2 billion in November 2009, Hsieh and his leadership team made it a point to include what they call the “Five Tenets,” an agreement that allowed Zappos to continue some of the unique practices that have shaped the company.
Examples of Zappos' customer service perks include free shipping on all orders (so you can order 12 pairs of shoes, try them on at home and send back for free the ones that don't work out), a 365-day return policy, and a 24/7 warehouse that sends orders out faster, even though it's not as efficient as allowing orders to pile up.
Additionally, the company's call centers urge its employees to connect on a personal level with customers. In most cases, Hsieh said, calls don't result in sales, but call center agents who can be themselves, personable and professional build brand loyalty.
Employees working the phones don't follow scripts or abide by call-time regulations. And they can joke and make customers smile while also solving problems, Hsieh said.
From an employment standpoint, finding people that fit the company's mold is a rigorous process.
Interviewees are brought in multiple times and do separate interviews just to see if they meet the company's culture qualifications.
Are you talented, yet humble enough? Are you fun, but still a little weird? Can you embrace and drive change? Those are all common questions in the culture interview.
Those who pass the test (all of them, from executives to call-center agents) go though a five-week training course that requires them to learn the ins and outs of Zappos. They spend time answering calls and learning the procedures at the company's warehouse on top of learning their individual responsibilities.
And at the end of the training, Zappos gives the trainees an opportunity to quit and take away a no-questions-asked $2,000 bonus.
Only about 3 percent of all people take the quick cash, Hsieh said, and over the years Zappos has increased the bonus because too few people who didn't fit the company mold were taking the deal and walking away.
One way to think about being an employee at Zappos is this: Instead of the work-life balance practiced by many, Zappos strives for work-life integration, allowing people to be the same inside and outside of work.
“Be real and you have nothing to fear,” Hsieh said.
Wednesday, Collin Caneva and Deana Ward, of Green Bein' Productions, a firm that makes educational video games for children, listened to Hsieh, hoping to take away elements that they can adopt when they re-launch their own business next year.
Ward, the company's vice president, said the biggest challenge for Green Bein' has been balancing culture and creativity with discipline and productivity.
“Our purpose is to make kids happy,” she said. “It's nice to learn from people like Tony because that balance is really an art form.”
Zappos does consulting work for companies that want to implement similar cultures or customer service practices. Hsieh said the philosophy has worked for one client, an Atlanta-based refrigeration company with a business model completely different from Zappos. Yet, the focus on culture and customer service helped the company increase profits during the recession, he said.
Demand to see Hsieh in Omaha was great enough that organizers had to switch to a larger venue.
Organizers were Silicon Prairie News, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and the Omaha and Lincoln chapters of the American Marketing Association. The talk was sponsored by Ms. Smith, a marketing firm that specializes in communication to women, and Dr. James and Karen Linder.
Contact the writer:
444-1414, ross.boettcher@owh.com
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