Benjamin bought his sister iPod speakers on Amazon, but when he found out they wouldn’t get to him in time to take to his sister for Christmas, Amazon sprung for free overnight shipping for a new set of speakers, as well as free return shipping for the others. That’s the sort of swiftness that can only be rivaled by eight tiny reindeer.

He writes:

I thought I’d share a very recent above and beyond customer service experience with you: Being a good brother, I decided to spend a little extra this year and get my sister the nice ipod speakers that she had listed on her amazon wishlist. I ordered them Dec 8 and had them sent to my home in NC with the free super-saver shipping thinking that they would arrive long before I left to see my family in KY on Dec 21.

Wrong… the speakers didn’t ship until the 15th and were not due to arrive until the 23, too late to be able to bring them home. I called customer service and explained the situation, and they immediately offered to ship a new set to KY overnight for free ($17 for shipping) and allow me to return the speakers they sent to NC after I get back in January, also with free return shipping. Problem solved! I’ve been a pretty devoted amazon wishlist user for many years, and will continue to be after they were willing to eat shipping costs that when combined are more than half the purchase price of the product.

Amazon is well known for such over-the-top gestures of benevolence. What’s your favorite trip down the Amazon?

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