I was prepared for a call at two
in the morning. This was to let me know that they have landed in the Doha
airport. I had planned it well and slept early. I would have little time to
sleep after picking them up in the middle of the night. But my wife woke me up
at 11:30 with a call from an unknown number. This was to let me know that
she had lost her phone at the Dubai airport and I was not to expect any call
when the plane landed in Doha. My immediate grief was that I will no longer have
the luxury of sleeping till they landed, but have to go early and wait in the
arrival lounge.
The loss of the Samsung galaxy made us sad. The
realization of losing those pictures of our last vacation made us sadder.
Early in the morning I went to Vodafone store and blocked the number
temporarily, stopping any misuse of the phone number. We had heard and read a
lot of stories of people getting back stuff from various parts of Dubai during
our stay there. These were firsthand accounts that were published in the local
newspaper by the grateful souls conveying their gratitude after getting back
their belongings. We were hopeful that we will get the phone back by some
miracle.
The other thing she had to do was to change passwords
of various websites and accounts like FB, emails etc.
So I had to get into action right in the morning.
First decision was not to lose hope. So I went and blocked the SIM card without
taking the option of a duplicate SIM card of the same number and the balance
transferred.
Next step was to log into Dubai airport lost and
found department and make an online application. I called the airport too but
got directed to various other agencies including Dubai police airport division.
We were reflecting on statements like “why this
happens with us" and "why it does not happen with us" and “How I
could not check this”etc. It was like the pain of a child losing his favourite
toys than anything else. All of a sudden there was this one phone short in the
house.
But all this while they have kept me engaged. I
have been asked to provide details of the item lost and followed by the model
of the phone, colour of the phone, the colour of the cover, so on and so forth.
After three days I received the following email:
“Good
day,
After
checking of our system records, we are glad to inform you that this item is
with the custody of the Emirates Lost and Found Department under reference
number 8795 (Date of received 27Aug) Please advise where to forward it so
we can prepare documents and advise flight details.
For
further assistance or clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact Emirates
Lost and Found at +97145057538
Note:
we are keeping the found items only for thirty days from the date of received.
Thanks
and Regard,
*****
EMIRATES
LOST AND FOUND
Emirates
Airlines - Dubai International Airport Terminal 3
That was one of the happiest emails that my inbox have
ever received. However this wasn't the end of it. We were then requested to
furnish detail and specific information related to the phone. For example we
were asked provide at least five names and numbers from the phone’s contact
list, records of last few calls made and received if we could, etc.
Finally the phone arrived at the emirate airlines
office at the Doha airport on an evening flight. We went there without wasting
any time and collected the phone by filling up a form. Before handing over the
packet the officer asked my wife ...........“Did you expect to get it
back?"
"No! Just hoped", I replied.
After a month our neighbour lost her iphone in her school
bus but never for it back. The moral of the story is not to lose your phone and
if you happen to lose it at the Dubai airport, do not lose hope. The
people at the Emirates are too good.
This
post is to express our thank Emirates Airlines and all people at the Dubai
International Airport.
