Infact while there is nothing to lose other than a few minutes of your time, there could be a lot to gain as a recent incident proved. A longtime friend (from Engg. college days) had come down to India from the US for a few weeks and spent last weekend at my place before boarding his flight back to the US last Sunday.
He is a hardcore Apple fan and ensures to upgrade to the latest iPhone / iPad etc and always travels with both the gizmos. During last weekend, it was Aman who was mostly using the iPad to play games. His flight was on early Sunday morning and since he had to check-in a little after midnight, I book him on a Fastrack taxi to the airport.
The first thing he does on Sunday evening after landing in the US is to call me to tell that he seems to have misplaced the iPad. He remembers arranging his luggage while in the cab and thinks that possibly he left it in the cab. Or maybe he left it in my home, which is quickly ruled out when I do a quick search at home. Another possibility is it being flicked from his luggage either at Chennai or Doha (he flew Qatar airways) or at Dulles (US), because the lock on his check-in baggage is missing.
Anyway I call up the cabbie (had his number on my cellphone since he had called me asking for directions to my place) and while he clearly remembers dropping my friend at the airport, he asserts that no iPad or other item was left behind in the cab. My friend is now slowly reconciling to the possibility that the device is lost, with no chance of seeing it again.
I myself do not see much of a chance of tracing the device again, but reckon that we should atleast file a complaint with Qatar Airways so that this hopefully does not happen to someone else in the future. My friend files an online complaint with Qatar, listing the broken lock on his luggage etc and expressing his disappointment at losing a costly piece of equipment while travelling with them. A few follow-up mails fly back and forth and my friend leaves it at that.
The next day morning, he is woken up by a phone from an employee of Qatar Airways, to be told the happy news that they have traced an iPad and want to confirm if it is indeed the one my friend lost. The device is password-protected and if he could give them the password and it opens the device, it is indeed his and they will ship it to him in the US. He reels off the password which matches the device and that is authentication enough for them to return it to him.
So, for just a few emails and some minutes of time, my friend was reunited with his iPad, saving him many hundred dollars which he would have had to spend to procure a new iPad. Never hesitate to complain if you have been short-changed.
A big shout-out to Qatar Airways for their quick dekho into this and helping my friend. You would not only remain the airline of choice for my friend, but I would also recommend you to others.
He is a hardcore Apple fan and ensures to upgrade to the latest iPhone / iPad etc and always travels with both the gizmos. During last weekend, it was Aman who was mostly using the iPad to play games. His flight was on early Sunday morning and since he had to check-in a little after midnight, I book him on a Fastrack taxi to the airport.
The first thing he does on Sunday evening after landing in the US is to call me to tell that he seems to have misplaced the iPad. He remembers arranging his luggage while in the cab and thinks that possibly he left it in the cab. Or maybe he left it in my home, which is quickly ruled out when I do a quick search at home. Another possibility is it being flicked from his luggage either at Chennai or Doha (he flew Qatar airways) or at Dulles (US), because the lock on his check-in baggage is missing.
Anyway I call up the cabbie (had his number on my cellphone since he had called me asking for directions to my place) and while he clearly remembers dropping my friend at the airport, he asserts that no iPad or other item was left behind in the cab. My friend is now slowly reconciling to the possibility that the device is lost, with no chance of seeing it again.
I myself do not see much of a chance of tracing the device again, but reckon that we should atleast file a complaint with Qatar Airways so that this hopefully does not happen to someone else in the future. My friend files an online complaint with Qatar, listing the broken lock on his luggage etc and expressing his disappointment at losing a costly piece of equipment while travelling with them. A few follow-up mails fly back and forth and my friend leaves it at that.
The next day morning, he is woken up by a phone from an employee of Qatar Airways, to be told the happy news that they have traced an iPad and want to confirm if it is indeed the one my friend lost. The device is password-protected and if he could give them the password and it opens the device, it is indeed his and they will ship it to him in the US. He reels off the password which matches the device and that is authentication enough for them to return it to him.
So, for just a few emails and some minutes of time, my friend was reunited with his iPad, saving him many hundred dollars which he would have had to spend to procure a new iPad. Never hesitate to complain if you have been short-changed.
A big shout-out to Qatar Airways for their quick dekho into this and helping my friend. You would not only remain the airline of choice for my friend, but I would also recommend you to others.
