“Quarterback Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to one of the greatest comebacks in football history at the Super Bowl this year. Immediately afterward, his game-winning jersey was stolen from the Patriots' locker room in Houston,” writes Merrit Kennedy in their recent NPR article entitled “Tom Brady's Stolen Jersey Found With 'Member Of The International Media.”
According to Kennedy’s article, “Brady has estimated that the jersey is worth $500,000, as NPR has reported. He appears visibly annoyed in the locker room video captured by Alan Springer of Yahoo Sports. "I absolutely, 100 percent put it in my bag," Brady says despairingly as he searches through his possessions for the lost jersey.”
That’s a big ticket item to steal!
But, the good news is that the jersey – and his jersey from the 2015 win over the Seattle Seahawks – were both found in Mexico.
The unfortunate news is that both jerseys were in possession by a credentialed member of the international media.
Of course, this event got us thinking about your operation.
Brady’s Super Bowl LI jersey missing is bad enough on its own, but no one even realized his 2015 jersey was missing as well.
That’s a lot of money in memorabilia.
But, what if Tom Brady’s jersey was not stolen, but simply lost? And, your property was center stage in this incident?
Could you get Brady’s jersey or jerseys back to him? What if you don’t have the ability? How would you look on the international stage when you have to explain that his jersey was on your property, in a lost & found closet, in a storage bin, the whole time?
You don’t have to answer that.
It’s time to get Brady his jersey back, and everything else your guests are still looking for today.
You need lost and found software that skyrockets your ability to get possessions back to your guests.
Even Tom Brady Loses Things
It seems that operations put all the effort in every other aspect of their operation. They often forget about an important piece of the guest experience.
Do you know what that is? Lost and found.
This unfortunate circumstance leaves them annoyed. But, it’s reality. People lose stuff – even Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Experiencing this loss can tarnish any happy memory they generated while at your property. You know, like winning a Super Bowl.
(Both properties where Brady’s jerseys went missing are among the best. So, if he did lose them there, he’d be in good hands!)
They focus on how to get their possession back.
“Last month, Brady jokingly waded into investigating the missing jersey – and put together a ‘Suspect Board’ that included Gollum, Lady Gaga, and Jaws. As SB Nation noted, ‘It did not, however, appear to include anyone posing as a member of the international media," according to Kennedy’s NPR article.
But, your guests don’t always take it this playfully, do they?
It gets worse because once they get to the lost and found kiosk on the other side of the property, your team doesn’t have the answers they need or want.
You have lost items. Boxes of lost items.
But, you can’t tell your guest whether their lost item is in any one of them. You’ve got to search through the endless aisles of boxes and uncategorized items.
Is your lost and found department where lost items go to die?
You could have a $500,000 Super Bowl jersey in there and not even realize it! How do you run that ROI calculation for your boss?
Many operations create more anxiety for their guests than good. Why even have a lost and found department?
Rather than returning lost items to their owners, you’re waiting for the end of the week so you can trash these items or donate them.
It’s easier but not efficient. You need an efficient lost and found process.
You need to get items back to their rightful owners before sending them to Goodwill.
Could you imagine the backlash your property would receive for having sent a Super Bowl jersey to Goodwill and then having it show up on eBay for sale?
Using lost and found software, you can eliminate the suffering guests like Tom Brady feel after losing their possessions.
Losing a possession no longer needs to be an Odyssey-like experience.
Focus on the small things that mean a lot to your guests. The returns will be huge.
Keep reading; we’re going to explain the lost and found solution you need. But first, let’s see how good or bad your current operation holds up.
How to Evaluate Your Lost & Found Operation
Transforming your lost and found department puts more lost items into the hands of owners.
Identify the good and bad areas of your current situation because it’ll help you maximize your performance for the future.
Use these fifteen questions to evaluate your current operation.
- How does your lost and found department measure up?
- Is Tom Brady’s experience typical at your property?
- Do you have a better process in place?
- Has your lost and found department been overlooked?
- Did you forget to apply Proactive Operations when building this regularly missed operation?
- Do you have a system in place for handling lost & found?
- If you do have a system, is it easy to use or does it have cumbersome requirements that leave your staff fuming?
- Are pen and paper the way you manage your lost and found operation?
- Does the spreadsheet help or is it a mask?
- What are your guests saying about your ability to return their possessions?
- Do guests blame you for everything?
- Do your staff complain that they are overwhelmed with lost items calls?
- Do your employees lack confidence in the process for handling lost and found items?
- How much in dollars ($) is in your lost & found department? Putting a dollar figure on it will make it more real to you than ever.
- Are you ready to change?
Your lost and found department is vital. It impacts the experience of your guests.
Run the data. How does yours measure up?
Are your results too disturbing to discuss? Don’t fret. Let’s enhance your abilities starting now.
Get Lost Items Back to Guests
The problem with many lost and found processes is the lack of structure. A solution does not exist in your operation that provides checks for lost and found items.
A superior solution transforms this weakness.
But, there’s not only one function that lets you magically increase the number of lost items returned to guests.
It is a collective of how the system operates.
Lost and found is not pardoned from the requirements of Proactive Operations.
You must apply the same strategy, infrastructure, and technology to realize success.
Your solution must combine the four key parts below.
- Seamless Processes for Reporting a Lost or Found Item
- Structure for Managing & Tracking Throughout Property
- Documentation Covering All Lost & Found Item Records and Communication
- Matching Capabilities That Use Identifying Characteristics
Seamless Processes for Reporting a Lost or Found Item
Your guests can report lost items right from your website. It’s a convenient way to submit a claim from the comfort of their home or hotel.
Not everyone realizes they lost something right away while they are still on your property, and this ability gives them peace of mind knowing they can take care of reporting their lost item even if they don’t realize that it’s missing until they’re home.
It also reduces the time it takes employees to become aware of a lost item. It prevents possessions from slipping through the cracks.
Structure for Managing & Tracking Throughout Property
Eliminate training shortcomings and storage problems immediately with a unified and digital process for lost and found management.
Having confirmed process makes ramping up new staff seamless. Employees can confidently do their job, from day one.
Printing storage tags, organizing items, and emailing receipts to guests strengthens your employees' consistency for managing and tracking things.
You are eliminating waste, removing inefficiencies, and executing a systematic plan for ensuring guests get their items back.
Documentation Covering All Lost & Found Item Records and Communication
Digital records let you track and manage lost and found claims with ease. Digital documentation is crucial. It is at your fingertips and always there for you to reference.
The recording capabilities of lost and found solutions ensure nothing gets missed.
Consider this. You would’ve known whether you had Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jerseys.
Not worrying about losing items within your lost and found department is necessary for peace of mind.
Matching Capabilities That Use Identifying Characteristics
Efficiently get lost items back to their owner by matching lost items to found items in seconds. Let the system do the heavy lifting for your team while they enjoy all the praise.
Tom’s jersey had the Patriots logo, his number, last name, and the Super Bowl insignia on it. It’s is a tell-tale sign that you found his jersey. Do you see the value?
You reduce the amount of time wasted searching for items that may not even exist.
Over to You
Lost and found software gives you a tool to employ a proactive guest experience, whether it’s Tom Brady’s jersey or a guest’s favorite hat.
Organize, manage, and efficiently return lost items to your guests before they are thrown out or donated. It’s how you look good when the world is watching and keep visitors coming back to your property.
