Radiopaq gives unusually good service

It's not very often that I get to write such a glowing headline, but then again I can't think when I last got such a good experience from a company.

The story: I'm about to fly off to South Africa tomorrow, and at the start of this week a good friend there asked if I could pick up a pair of headphones for him — specifically, Radiopaq's new £25 Flex headphones. I checked out Amazon but they weren't there, and all of the shopkeepers down Tottenham Court Road shook their heads at me, saying they'd never even heard of the company (a fairly small British outfit).

So I checked out Radiopaq's website and saw I could order the headphones directly from them, but given the very short timescale (this was Tuesday/yesterday morning) I was less than sure that they could deliver in time. I rang the contact number and spoke with a very polite chap who said they send small items like that via first class post. In other words, I would be taking a big chance.

I then specified which headphones I was after and he realised that they weren't even in stock in the northern office where he was situated. However, he said he'd ring me back when he'd checked with the southern office. He duly did so, and said they were in stock, and if I ordered online he would make sure they were sent by special delivery, to ensure I got them before noon today. He took my name to know who to look out for, and I placed the order.

I asked how much the special delivery would add to the cost and he said not to worry, they'd give me the speedier and more expensive delivery option at no extra cost. True to his word, the headphones arrived today.

Perhaps it's sad that this is such a stand-out story, as most companies really couldn't give a stuff about going that extra mile, but a stand-out story it is. Well done Radiopaq! And before you ask, no, I did not mention I'm a journalist...