Rachel Bateson, a director of UK Yorkshire-based Sterling Graphic, was in China for a meeting. The only problem was when she got there, she realised she had left her laptop at the airport. “And I didn’t speak any Mandarin.” But instead of freaking out, she phoned CallUma, a service whose tagline is “When you need help abroad...” Soon her laptop was located and couriered to her in time for the meeting. “When I think about what not having the package would have cost me,” she says, “I’m more than happy with the service.”

Keith Mulholland, a vice-president of Celerant Consulting, had a different problem – a diesel car full of the wrong kind of fuel in Spain and a flight to catch. “The car was completely kippered and the four of us needed to arrange a taxi and a late check-in.” But once again, a call smoothed things out with the hire company, which arranged transport and they made their flight.