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I had a little problem with Amazon.com, the online megastore. Amazon sells everything, but they started as a bookstore, and that is mainly how I use them. I had ordered a DVD for my nephew for Christmas, along about the 15th of December. They said it still had time to get there before Christmas; they were wrong. It got there four days late.

I e-mailed customer service to complain. I told them the tracking number, told them about my trip to the mall 44 miles away to get a present for under the tree, and suggested that I was due some kind of compensation.

I was immediately e-mailed back. They apologized, explained that the Christmas crunch had caused the delay and put a $5.00 coupon in my account.

Now that is what I am talking about! No excuses, no rerouting, no transfer to the wrong department. Five dollars is not much money, but it made me feel better; heck, I knew it was a gamble, ordering that close to Christmas. But the point is they took the steps to keep me happy.

Say what you will, after years of fighting evil corporations like MCI, I love getting that kind of customer care.

That said, I will point out that this is the first time I ever had any kind of problem, and I am addicted to Amazon. This strengthens my faith in them as a company.

I also suggest this as a guideline for other shoppers. If a company messes up, ask them what they are going to do to make it right. Their answer will tell you how much they value you as a customer, and help you decide if they deserve anymore of your business.