Tony Hsieh changed forever my view on customer support. It may sound like a small thing, but trust me, it is not. He was one of biggest visionaries around in this flawed, beloved ”industry” of entrepreneurship. Very sad to learn of this major loss to his family and the world .-(

If you don’t know about Hsieh or Zappos, do read Delivering Happiness. It is one of the top business books ever written. Hsieh did not ”revolutionize the shoe business” as being tossed around now. He changed the view of what online shopping and leadership could be altogether.

If you’ve been around for a while you would have tried at least one of Tony Hsieh’s brainchilds, namely LinkExchange. His final project was no small one, trying to lift the less fortunate parts of Las Vegas out of poverty and into prosperity.

”Customer service shouldn't be a department. It should be the entire company.” That’s the level of Tony Hsieh’s vision.

If you enjoy free shipping and free returns in ecommerce those are things very early - twenty years ago - championed and made popular by Zappos under Tony Hsieh’s helm. But also being able to spend 10 hours (!) in a single customer support call. It was client first. As it should.

What is most significant about Tony Hsieh is not his spectacular business acumen, though. It is that everyone seems to have loved him and he seems to have taken his time with people everywhere without prejudice. He made the world better. A true beacon. RIP.