The cleaner broke the Dyson last week - managed to get the cable sucked into the brushbar, which stripped the insulation until things went bang (she was ok).

Earlier this week I finally got as far as checking the Dyson website for spares and found they didn't offer cables but noted the "expert advice" helpline was open 7am-10pm. Couldn't ring them at the time due to demanding toddler. On Friday morning I had a spare 10 minutes and Charles was engrossed in something so I rang the line.

"Oh yes, we can send you a replacement cable for £15 or have an engineer come and fit it for £40"

I opt for engineer, £25 well worth not having to stress about having the right screwdriver or doing repairs unhindered by toddler.

"How about tomorrow between 8 and 1?" (Yes, that's right, an engineer visit OUT OF OFFICE HOURS. Before fainting in shock, I accepted the offer.)

The engineer turned up around 11:30am today, he took about 5 minutes total, including putting everything back, he took payment by credit card, and he said we'll shortly receive (at no extra cost) a replacement brushbar and soleplate that should minimise the chances of the same thing happening again. We had a brief chat about how things have changed since my time at Dyson, and off he went.

I remember that James Dyson had a thing about good customer service when I worked there and I'm glad that's one thing that hasn't changed.