We’ve all been there: You reach into your pocket or purse to pull out a phone and it’s not there, or maybe you get to the concession stand to pay for food and can’t find your wallet.
Losing personal belongings is one of the worst feelings, but what might be even worse is working with a facility that doesn’t have a lost and found process that reassures attendees that their belongings will be found (or at least will be made a priority).
Among the solutions available to help manage the lost and found process is lost and found software. In fact, this market has grown exponentially over the years, which can make it challenging to pick the right software for your organization.
We decided it’s time to create a single resource for event managers like you to learn about lost and found software, who it’s for, and how to choose the right one.
What Is Lost and Found Software?
Lost and found software is an intelligent customer service solution that streamlines the lost and found process to reassure the people who have lost an item and make it easy for software users.
Lost and found software eliminates common pain points by providing a fast, reliable solution that enhances customer satisfaction, builds guest loyalty, and increases return-to-owner rates. These benefits are key drivers behind growth trends in the industry.
How lost and found software works:
- Customer files claim. This happens in one of two ways. The individual who has lost the item (also known as the claimant) reports directly to the lost and found department, or the claimant submits their lost item claim through a web form available for your property. Most web forms can be customized for the property’s needs. Guests can even send in lost claim information from the comfort of home.
- Information is uploaded. This step can be bypassed if the information is entered with the second option. If the report is made on-property, the user enters the necessary information, including details on the object and contact information.
- Item is matched to the claimant. As soon as a matching item is located, the guest is notified to verify that the matching item is theirs so that they can reclaim the item.
- Claimant receives an email or print receipt. A receipt ensures that the item is received by the proper owner by matching the credentials listed on the receipt with the claimant. This provides a tracking record for the user for liability purposes.
Who Uses Lost and Found Software?
It goes without saying that many attendees hosted by property owners of large venues will lose their items at some point. With lost and found software, property owners can streamline this process from start to finish.
The following industries are the most likely to benefit from lost and found software:
Sports Stadiums and Arenas
Attending a sporting event is exhilarating for both the attendee and the people overseeing operations. It can be overwhelming, too. Managing many moving parts that require intense focus and expertise, operations managers use lost and found software to organize and return items during the thrill of the game.
Entertainment, Parks, and Attractions
Who doesn’t love spending the day or evening in the excitement of a live concert or amusement park? It’s easy to get swept up in the fun and misplace a personal belonging. Event managers need an easy way to get those items returned so that guests can get right back to the fun.
Conference Centers
Conferences provide an excellent opportunity for professionals to learn, network, and enjoy a break from the office. It’s serious business, and so is getting thrown into a fluster when a personal item goes missing. It should be as easy as going to the main desk to get it back.
Transportation
People getting from place to place by bus or train know all too well the stress of stepping out of the vehicle, noticing a personal belonging is missing, and watching it drive off into the distance. They need an easy way to contact an employee of the transportation services immediately, receive the train or bus number, and quickly get the item back.
Retail
Whether it’s for a fun day of shopping or picking up a much-needed household item, guests of a shop or mall can’t afford to misplace an item and have no way of getting it back. Mall operations managers and shop managers can coordinate with the same software.
Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
Hospital visits are often challenging, and guests of hospitals and healthcare facilities shouldn’t have to worry more than they already are. They have enough to focus on when it comes to their health or the health of a loved one, so providing them with the ease of returning a lost item isn’t just a perk but a necessity.
Universities and Colleges
Receiving an education, making new lifelong friends, and preparing for a career are just a few of the many benefits that come with attending a university. But with academic fulfillment comes the stress of coursework and grades. If an item is misplaced, this just adds to the stress, but it can be relieved with a seamless lost and found process.
What Are the Software Benefits?
The benefit of an easy lost and found process for guests is pretty simple: They get their lost item back with no hassles. This benefit is, of course, a benefit to the event managers as well, but it can only be experienced with the functionality of lost and found software.
Here’s the granular look at the additional benefits:
Improves the Customer Experience
As we’ve mentioned, your No. 1 priority is to create the best possible experience for your guests. Those who lose an item during the event need to receive their item back as quickly as possible. You can make this happen by providing an easy way for them to report the missing item and a quick way for them to learn where to pick the item up.
This also benefits the team assigned to manage the lost and found process. If their performance is based on a lost-item return rate, software makes it easy to track and find ways to improve this metric.
Improves Operational Efficiency and Employee Productivity
The best guest experience starts with a solid foundation in the everyday workings of the facility. As a key gear in this machine, robust lost and found software can improve the overall efficiency of operations by streamlining the process from start to finish. Plus, when the software rules are easy to understand and follow, employees can do their jobs easily and more efficiently.
Improves Oversight, Accountability, and Visibility
You want your guests to enjoy every aspect of the event they’re attending. A great game or day spent at an amusement park can easily be ruined by a bad experience with the lost and found process. With software, you can limit oversight of lost items, improve accountability for your team managing the process, and create more visibility into failures in the process.
Reduces Liability
Finally, you want to ensure you’re always covering your tracks. The last thing you want to do is to return an item to someone who isn’t the original owner. Reduce liability by matching the item to the right person through a feature that requires the guest to confirm details about the item, their contact information, and the location where it was misplaced.
What Should You Look for in Good Lost and Found Software?
We mentioned earlier in the article that there is a wealth of lost and found software, and this number is only forecasted to increase.
Here are the must-have features of a stellar lost and found software:
Customer-Centric Features
Guests need an easy way to report their lost items directly from your website. Using a web forum, visitors can enter their lost item information, which reduces the number of phone calls and staff hours needed to identify and document lost items. Once the system is found, your system needs to match the item to the one reported as lost so that it can be located in your storage within seconds.
Productivity Tools
In addition to a web forum that lets the guest report missing items, your software should provide two key productivity tools:
- Email or print receipts and/or storage tags: This eliminates storage chaos and ensures that the correct item goes to the proper owner.
- Barcode inventory enablement: By barcoding storage receipts, you can quickly scan items and release them to your guests.
Accountability and Visibility Features
Reporting capabilities provide a clear understanding of your inventory and how long the items have been there so that you know what to do with unclaimed items. Capture guest signatures with an electronic signature pad so that reporting and reclaiming lost items is quick and easy.
Manage Lost and Found Property with 24/7 Software
As events manager, you have a ton on your plate, yet you still need to make the guest experience the best it can possibly be.
Turn the unpleasant experience of losing a personal belonging into a positive one by implementing 24/7 Software’s Lost and Found Software. With our platform, you can empower your guests and staff by:
- Making it easy to report lost items through a web form
- Streamlining the process in one interface from start to finish
- Keeping records for reporting and analysis purposes
- Improving accountability and visibility
Ready to improve the guest experience and create a more efficient operation? Request a demo of our lost and found software today!
