![]() But really, the most heartwarming stories are probably when we return things that people are most upset about losing, especially when they lose their cameras and those pictures are the only documentation of an event. ![]() Her parents sent us a very nice letter saying she couldn't believe that she got it back and she was reunited with her piggy bank and that was special. We had a little plastic bunny rabbit piggy bank that was half-full of coins recently and we were able to find the little girl that it belonged to-it just so happens it was a unique item, and so it was something we were able to easily find. It's very interesting, but really anything you can think of, we're going to end up with. Folks will leave them in the overhead bins and get off the plane, and not even think about it. We've got hats like you wouldn't believe-and sombreros! You know, I fly a lot, and I never see anyone getting on with sombreros, but we get a lot of sombreros. We get a lot of items from Disney-a lot of kids leaving their souvenirs from Disneyland. Also, during the Democratic National Convention, we were inundated with Obama bobble-head dolls! Lots and lots of items there, and in fact from that Democratic National Convention, there was a sign that I believe was used as kind of a backdrop for the speakers, and somehow that turned up at our lost and found warehouse and we had a really hard time getting that returned because it seemed like no one was interested in having it back. I'll give you an example with Mardi Gras there just seems to be tons and tons of beads, masks, all kinds of things, Hurricane glasses-a lot of stuff from New Orleans during that time of the year. We get a lot of things depending on the time of the year, like if there are certain holidays, for instance. Really, anything that you can carry on a plane that you can get through security, we're going to have in our warehouse. You just cannot imagine the things that we get. READ: "How Not to Be a Jerk on a Plane" MARDI GRAS BEADS, SOMBREROS, AND OBAMA BOBBLE-HEADS, OH MY! We really feel that this is one of those situations where it is the right thing to do to try and get these items back to our customers in any way we can. It's something we knew we wanted to do a better job of, and being Southwest, we want to take care of our customers. Then for me personally, I find it a little sad because I know that every one of those people, every one of them, had that pit in their stomach when they realized, oh my gosh, where's my phone, or my wallet, or my camera? And that is something that helps fuel our need and our drive to get the items back to our customer. ![]() One of the things I think when you first go into our lost and found warehouse is you're kind of blown away just by the volume, the hundreds and hundreds of coats, for instance, this time of the year, just the amount of stuff that is coming through. ![]() We get tons of cell phones, lots of iPads, iPods, laptops, not to the volume of the low value items, but even as being high value items, the volumes we get are really astounding. In terms of high value, probably the number one thing we see are cell phones. So, low value items, like glasses, wallets, blankets, stuffed animals, shopping bags-we get a lot of shopping bags in there where people have bags full of stuff like Starbucks cups or that type of thing or maybe bags with items found while they were in Disney. We really classify the items we get as two separate classifications-low value and high value. Just in terms of overall volume, the most items we see are glasses, wallets, and that type of thing. Imagine you have just returned home after a long flight and realize you've accidentally left your brand new iPad tucked in the airplane's seat back pocket-what happens next? We talked to Robert Lehr, the Manager of Central Baggage Services at Southwest Airlines, to find out how the lost and found department works to help reunite passengers with their favorite forgotten items, whether it's a bag of precious Disney souvenirs or a camera full of photos from a dream trip to Hawaii.
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