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March 20, 2006
lost luggage: an example of job error or bad design?
i left the airplane feeling tired but refreshed after 3 memorable days in vacation heaven. My friend and I waited at the carousel anxiously, watching the rotating conveyer belt spin as bags of all sizes tumbled from the shoot. Little did I know that my luggage had not accompanied us on the journey home. Long after the conveyer belt had stopped and the majority of the crowd had left, we were still there along with a small group of people searching desperately through a pile of unclaimed bags. luck was not on our side today. i lost a number of belongings from my only winter/rain coat to my tooth brush and ipod charger.
after filing a claims report, my friend and i were shocked to discover a massive pile of misplaced bags from all over the country stored in a corner of the airport and scattered in the claims office, an example of incompetence and lack of responsibility on a grand scale. it was very obvious that this type of error was typical and frequent! the sight of the lost bags made me think about the individuals who were responsible for loading/unloading the luggage and their disregard to personal belongings, attention to detail, as well as their own job. i was raised to believe that no matter what career i chose, whether i was a cook or a lawyer, that i should always give my 100% best effort. the baggage workers' or screeners' lack of attention to detail (or possible intent to steal) will affect so many individuals as well as the airlines who has to process a claim, pay for the lost belongings, and suffer from a bad name. what a horrible setback for a business. and an equally traumatic experience for a poor traveler.
giving the benefit of doubt to the human factor, another idea that i considered as a fault was the design of the airport system. with chaos in every direction, is an airport efficiently prepared to handle the massive amounts of checked-in bags in a systematic manner? our knowledge of what happens behind the scenes, away from the public eye is very limited and it makes me wonder what kind of organization and process is used. what can an employer do to change an obvious problem such as this? or how can an airport's system and design be modified to allow less human errors? in any case, i will spend my toothbrush-less night pondering these thoughts and praying that my bag will find its way home.
Posted by Kellie at 07:00 AM