A Case of Lost and Found

In April, I lost my wallet in my office. I had kept it on a sofa on ground floor of my building and forgot to take it with me. I returned back in 3-4 minutes but found that it was gone. I went to the security gates, but they were only noting down the “found” items and not the “lost” items. I kept visiting them for a month, but nothing was returned to them – that I could see by going through “Lost and Found Register”. I had lost my 2 credit-cards, 1 debit-card, 1000+ rupees, my driving license, and pictures of self and my wife. Losing the Driving License was a great loss for practical reasons, others gave me emotional pain. I found it weird that there was no place in our campus where we were registering/documenting the lost items in the campus. 

Till then, the security team used to register only found cases. Suppose I lost my wrist watch and followed up with the security (by visiting each of the three security gates and checking the respective registers) for a month and then gave up my hope. Someone had got the watch but was not able to return because s/he was on leave/onsite/travel. The person returns the watch on 31st day. Since I am not following up with the security anymore, where will this watch go? If they have a “lost” register, they can match the descriptions and verify and return it to me. Also, the benefits of noting down the details of “lost” cases are many. Just an example: if we analyze the data and find that 50 thefts have happened from a particular area in a building in a month - we can install a CCTV to monitor and curb the trend / catch the person responsible. We have about 20,000 employees in our campuses here, and daily a number of items are lost and found. A proper “system” should be in place to document the cases. 

I raised a formal request, asking “where can I register the ‘theft’ I have faced”. The initial response was insensitive. But I never accepted the explanation. The company has a fair and just system, so I had faith that I would end up making a positive change. The request went through many cycles and escalations. I was tempted to get discouraged and close the case. But I let it persist. Ultimately after two months, I have now got a communication from the facilities team that they have directed all security gates to register “lost” cases also, in the same “Lost and Found Registers”. 

I have informed my colleagues with the new development and asked them to use this facility when needed. It helps those who lose their items and have to face a lot of troubles enquiring/reclaiming those items. It also makes our facilities system more transparent and effective. I am happy that I was able to be an agent for this positive change. I haven’t got my wallet back, but there are chances that those who will face the same would go through less distress than what I went through, and the cases would also reduce just because someone is keeping a tab on them. 

- Rahul