NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Companies don't need customer service anymore ... they just need the Internet.

Case in point ... the dispute between my Apple Nano and Bose Sound Dock.

If you are Luddite, let me explain. The Nano is the latest iteration of the iPod ... a little device that plays computer sound files -- songs. And the Bose Sound Dock is essentially a set of speakers you can plug an iPod into and play your Nano collection for all to hear.

Now these are two absolutely wonderful products. Had I met my Nano in college, I probably would have married it. And the Bose Sound Dock produces sweet, sweet sound to the ears. And the two of them, when put together, have the potential to bring peace and harmony to all mankind, or at least my household.

When they work. You see, they decided to stop doing that for me a couple of weeks ago. Each seemed to be fine and functioning (and, yes, I had the special Bose fitting for the Nano). And then they weren't.

Being a good Netizen, I fled to the Web sites of the respective companies, ransacking their FAQs and support guides for an answer.

Bose wasn't much help beyond the obvious: "Make sure all power connectors, cords and plugs are inserted securely and that the outlets are in good working order." Yeah, it's plugged in. Thanks.

Apple, of course, had reams and reams of manuals and guides. None was really on point about this problem.

In fact, the literature of both companies boiled down to this .... if there is something wrong, it must be something to do with the other guy's product.

Great.

And then I stumbled across the boards where desperate techno-dunces like myself seek out the advice of the knowledgeable and charitable. After a few convoluted searches, there it was ... a string of people like me with a Nano and a Sound Dock and no sound.

And there also was "k12istina15" with her special message of salvation: "I figured out that if you first plug in the earphones then after plug it into the speakers you can hear the song on the speakers... I hope this makes sense and I hope it works."

Bless you, "k12istina15," it did. I'm just glad you didn't insist that I dance the hokey-pokey while doing it. And I'm wondering how much experimenting you had to do to get the magic combination?

And it also struck me ... "k12istina15" solved my problem for free. That's good for me, but probably better for Apple (Research) and Bose. Much better to have your customers sort out the problems among themselves, rather than paying somebody to solve problems for them.

American businesses were 2.6 percent more productive last year than the year before, according to the latest figures. Part of that gain must be because customers are doing part of the job themselves.

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Is marriage cost effective?

Allen Wastler is Managing Editor of CNNMoney.com and appears on CNN's "In the Money." He can be e-mailed at wastlerswanderings@cnn.com.