My heart sank when I realised that my purchase from Amazon had not turned up. Now, I am a great Amazon fan, and I buy from there all the time, but I had heard stories that when things go wrong, albeit very rarely, then it could be very very hard to put things right.

Where to start? A telephone number perhaps? Not apparent, although, like the Loch Ness Monster, there have been rumours of sightings... But when I navigated around the account pages with the commitment of a man missing his package, I quite easily found a 'contact' page, with a procedure to go though to report a missing delivery, in the "Where's My Stuff Section". A few clicks, a few notes ... not much you can say past "it didn't turn up..." and the contents of the form lurched off into the ether. No expectations set, but my implicit expectation, buoyed by the fact that I did this at about 9.00 on a Saturday morning was ... this may take some time ...

this kind of service that creates a great brand experience

Imagine my surprise (as they say) when within five minutes I received an email back:

It does appear that something may have gone awry with the delivery of your order #202-5907441-1259852 - the package should have reached you by now.

I have placed a new order #202-8479202-7354218 for the same item to be sent to the same delivery address

We will post it to you as soon as possible at no additional charge.

Blimey. No messing, no questions, just resolution quick as a flash. Beginners luck? Well maybe, but I also had another query about a return that was incorrectly credited that I did just after ... and that was also resolved within the same five minute time frame.

Now service like this is remarkable - using Seth Godins definition - individuals will remark upon it to friends and colleagues, creating a buzz, an expression of a viral brand experience. Good customer experiences are made of this stuff, and, practically in this case, who the hell misses the phone number? This is actually less hassle and less time than a phone call. A victory claimed from the jaws of defeat! Remarkable, Amazon, well done!