Here's a view inside Hsieh's Airstream:
November 29, 2020
"The multimillionaire former CEO of online shoe store Zappos died on Friday, nine days after he was dragged unconscious by firefighters from a blazing Connecticut house..."
"... in the middle of the night. Tony Hsieh, who was worth an estimated $840 million, had retired three months earlier from the billion-dollar business he helped found, and was just 46 years old. The alarm was raised at 3:30am on November 18 and firefighters forced their way into the New London home after being told someone was trapped inside.... He insisted on a $36,000 annual salary... and he sat in an unassuming cubicle among the other employees. When Zappos set up a new warehouse in Kentucky, the paper said, he packed a pickup truck with materials, drove to Kentucky and got to work bolting together shelves and unpacking shoes.... Hsieh, who had a passion for llamas and alpacas, had a pet alpaca named Marley and dog Blizzy. He lived in an Airstream trailer, part of a village... known as Llamapolis... [I]n 2014, he transformed a parking lot in the city into a 'micro-living oasis', made up of around 30 RVs. He also had two pet llamas which lived in the trailer park community with him. As of 2020, he was still living in the tiny trailer, unmarried and with no children."
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43 comments:
Hsieh, who had a passion for llamas and alpacas
Love is love, people. Get used to it already.
Sounds like a remarkable man. I'm sorry to hear of his tragic death.
The Accountant (2016) features an Airstream.
Civilization is founded on the desire of people create wealth, which is usually obtained by supplying things that people want, like amphoras filled with olive oil. Today this is called Capitalism. If someone engages in capitalism whilst denouncing it, you should be very suspicious of their sanity.
A house isn't a trailer.
His trailer burned? Or was he somewhere else?
$840 million
Although it's impossible to predict what alpacas will do, I hope the llamas have enough sense to not donate their inheritance to some communism scammers.
Methinks Mr. Near-Billionaire pissed off the wrong people.
As the headline reads 'he was dragged...from a blazing Connecticut house', I assume he was in someone else's house. Otherwise it would likely have said 'his blazing Connecticut house'. Not that we can trust news headlines...
Although it's impossible to predict what alpacas will do, I hope the llamas have enough sense to not donate their inheritance to some communism scammers.
;-D Fernaninande.
seemed like a well grounded fellow. RIP
He insisted on a $36,000 annual salary... and he sat in an unassuming cubicle among the other employees.
Yet his net worth was $840 million.
So he got his jollies being a man of the people. Good on him.
Now if he'd spread just a BIT of that $840,000,000 among his fellow cubicle dwellers I'd say he put his money where his mouth is.
But I do weep for the orphaned Alpacas.
From the article, it was someone else's house in CT. Wonder how the fire started...
Sad news, he was a generous man. RIP.
"His trailer burned? Or was he somewhere else?"
You can click through to the article, but it's clear in what I extracted that the trailer is in Las Vegas and the house fire was in Connecticut.
I can't believe anyone would make jokes about 46 year old man who died in a fire. Hsieh was obviously a fine person. The world has lost a great man.
With all the fire alarms now required, one would think that this couldn't happen. I hope the FD drills down into why he didn't make it out.
Ann:. Let me explain it to you. When someone dies other people immediately think of their own mortality. This causes anxiety and many people use humor to relieve their intense and controlling fear of death. It's very insensitive of you to be critical of people who use humor in a time like this.
It just occurred to me that I haven't changed either smoke alarm battery in years. Aren't they supposed to beep when low? (mine are on house power)
I can't believe anyone would make jokes about 46 year old man who died in a fire.
And I can't believe anyone with a brain in her head would continue to read and quote the NYT every week. So there's that...
When someone dies other people immediately think of their own mortality.
I immediately thought of the $840 million which had suddenly become orphaned and unwanted.
but it's clear in what I extracted that the trailer is in Las Vegas and the house fire was in Connecticut.
It's not in what you extracted, so I was confused too. But it is sad and seems a horrible way to die.
Looks like he put his money where his mouth is. The woman whose home he died in was someone hired to answer the phones when the company had a few hundred employees. She was promoted to a position where she taught new employees the firm culture. Suspecting she too was retired if living in a million dollar waterfront home in CT when co. in NV.
Zappos Chief Tony Hsieh Discovered The Formula For Attracting Fiercely Loyal Customers
“Take a look around, talk to anyone you want, and we’ll meet when you’re done,” Hsieh told me upon arriving at Zappos headquarters in Las Vegas.
“Who’s my PR person?” I asked.
“You’re on your own. Have fun,” Hsieh said.
You have to understand that no one does this. Not once in my professional career as a writer or broadcast journalist had the CEO of a company given me full and unfettered access to everything and everyone.
It hadn’t happened before my visit to Zappos and it hasn’t happened since.
I spoke to people about their jobs and how much they enjoyed working for Zappos. They were the happiest employees I had ever met.
Why? Hsieh trusted them and empowered them to make the decisions in the best interest of the customer.
Hsieh famously did away with the time limits that most call centers impose on their call-center reps.
One employee I met said she once spent hours on the phone with one customer. She thought she might be in trouble when Hsieh approached her.
“I heard you spent more than two hours with a customer,” Hsieh said. “Did you make them happy?”
“I sure did,” the employee gladly responded.
“Great job! Keep it up,” said Hsieh.
And I can't believe anyone with a brain in her head would continue to read and quote the NYT every week.
Well, in its defense, the nyt has done, probably, an in-depth analysis of deeply problematic systemic speciesism and its disparate impact on the camelid community.
Never bought from Zappos but my daughter loves them. Seems like a great company.
Wholy owned by Amazon.
John Henry
In the past six months, I have placed on-line orders with a number of huge corporations: Home Depot, Wayfair, Overstock, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, Zappos, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom.
Only two of these companies perform their delivery operations flawlessly: Amazon & Zappos.
Only one of these companies makes returns a breeze: Zappos.
Only one of these companies has earned my absolutely loyalty: Zappos.
He insisted on a $36,000 annual salary...
Bezos has been paid $80K/year by Amazon since it's inception.
Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit — And You Should Too
It’s a hard job, answering phones and talking to customers for hours at a time. So when Zappos hires new employees, it provides a four-week training period that immerses them in the company’s strategy, culture, and obsession with customers. People get paid their full salary during this period.
After a week or so in this immersive experience, though, it’s time for what Zappos calls “The Offer.” The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.”
Zappos actually bribes its new employees to quit!
Why? Because if you’re willing to take the company up on The Offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for.
It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture – which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick – and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later.
Only one of these companies has earned my absolutely loyalty: Zappos.
I've ordered several pairs of shoes online from both Zappos and Amazon, and the only time it worked out was when ordering the same style and size of shoes I already had, all the others I had to return. Same with jackets. Buying clothing online is a crapshoot and stores are becoming scarce.
Yet his net worth was $840 million.
He retired and sold his company.
Zappos is wonderful and he was a class act. Sad news
Await the autopsy. Burning houses are a standard cover for murder.
Traditional guy: if it took nine days for him to die, foul play seems less likely.
Chuck reports: I've ordered several pairs of shoes online from both Zappos and Amazon, and the only time it worked out was when ordering the same style and size of shoes I already had
That doesn't always work, either. I ordered a pair of Vasque hiking shoes from Amazon earlier this year to replace a pair of the same make, model and size. I had to return them as they were 1/2" shorter than my older ones.
I should have said 'chuck', not 'Chuck'. Sorry, lower-case chuck.
Seemed like a very interesting man.
He made his money in stock value, which means he built a valuable company.
By doing so, he employed thousands of people.
That's a good thing.
It's always sad when someone dies, particularly in such an awful manner. It would seem that he was a decent, caring man and built a highly successful business. That's a pretty good legacy.
I can't believe anyone would make jokes about 46 year old man who died in a fire.
All I can say is: welcome to the internet.
And, since the internet is the perfect place for minor quibbles, I think a guy worth $840M should be entitled to the title of "megamillionaire". Any schmuck can be a multimillionaire these days.
RIP and Gawk.
You can take $840 million with you if you put it in bitcoin.
Hsieh was obviously a fine person. The world has lost a great man.
He was part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor! Take him away...!
(RIP David Prowse.)
Started up a decent company, employed people, had his quirks so what, nothing negative. Awful way to go; feel bad for all those who knew him.
The Accountant (2016) features an Airstream.
So does the opening scene to Tom Robbins' Skinny Legs and All, and it's even a Thanksgiving themed Airstream.
Does anyone read or talk about Tom Robbins anymore? Not around me.
There's something glamorous about living in a nicely outfitted RV. RIP.
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