Just saw a comment thread where people spoke about lost and found desks like a non-American thing. While people still get robbed inthe UK there’s pretty much a lost and found desk in every enclosed public place I’ve been (of some kind at least) and I know there exists facebook groups and things like that for other places.
I feel like people on the internet make things up about America a lot. You guys have to have lost and found desks, right?
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Yes, of course.
Not really a desk but usually a closet lol. I know for sure schools have them. I know hotels have them as well.
Yes. We have lost and found desks.
most places you can go to a customer service type counter for lost and found 🙂
Yeah, of course. Usually it’s just one of the things handled at the main reception/customer service desk. Maybe they were expecting a separate spot specifically for that?
Yes
Not usually a specific desk. People will bring found items to the front desk or security, or whatever there is in that particular place.
They’re not always a desk, but more like a place. In my office, we have a drawer.
I wouldn’t call it a “desk” per se, but there’s usually some form of storage for items that were misplaced.
Sure thing. I lost my car keys at a college football game last weekend, and some kind soul returned them to lost and found for me.
Yes.
Maybe it’s just about terminology. I have never heard the term “lost and found desk” in my life, but everywhere I’ve ever lost something had a “lost and found” place for me to get it back. Department stores, movie theaters, schools… they all have a process for ensuring lost items are retreivable. Even communities (let’s say your bike or car are stolen) will get things back to you. I have two friends whose bicycles were stolen and recovered by the police, and promptly returned to them.
Lost and Found box usually, from my experience.
I used to know a guy who lost his left arm in a wood chipper accident. After ski season, he would stop by the lost and found to get new glove for next season.
PSA: Take off your wedding ring when working with dangerous equipment
I worked at a park. We had a lost and found. Sometimes your camera was turned in. Sometimes it wasn’t. Sometimes you never asked and we had it for years in the box.
Yeah absolutely.
Maybe not a specific desk, but anywhere there’s like a customer service dept or a reception desk will be the ideal place to pick up something.
Only place I can think that would have a specific desk would be at a school.
Yes, we have lost and found desks.
The lost and found desk is usually the Customer Service desk. They handle money transfers, returned items, bill pay and 99% of the time have a lost&found bin 🙂
Some kind of area, yes. It’s not always an actual desk.
Yep. I once lost my wallet on the NYC subway and the MTA lost and found department called me that afternoon asking me to go pick it up. Same deal at most schools, malls, museums and other public areas I’ve worked at.
Even if there isn’t a dedicated lost and found (although those definitely do exist in many places) you can usually just ask the reception desk of wherever you are because that’s where people would turn in lost items
Sure – in large places it’s more organized, but in a random building like an office building, it’s generally at the front reception desk or something like that.
Yes. For some reason, the people manning the lost and found stash always act like it’s a major burden to look for something.
Like bitch, I’m kinda stressing about losing my [item]. Can you not cop an attitude?
I went through the Bangor airport (super small) recently and I had a good laugh at their TSA “ lost and found” closet which was dozens and dozens of confiscated or used water bottles (Nalgene, hydroflask, yeti etc)
It’s usually at reception or security, you need to ask a worker for specifics, but the schools I attended had a more dedicated place because kids lose stuff a lot.
Your brand new iPhone will probably be stolen if you leave it behind. Someone will most likely turn in your keys, gloves will be picked up by employees, etc.. Which is similar to most places around the world.
It’s more a bin rather than a desk.
Yes, we do. They’re very helpful too!
Lots of places have them.
I left my wallet at the gas station ATM and didn’t realize it was missing until I went home.
I went back over there, and someone turned it in.
I got it back. Nothing was taken.
Because we don’t call it lost and found desks. Lmao
Why ever wouldn’t we?
Yep, lost and found desks are pretty common in the U.S.! You’ll find them in places like schools, malls, airports, gyms, and even some parks. It’s kind of a universal thing—wherever people gather, there’s a chance someone will lose something, and having a lost and found helps get those things back to their owners.
The NYC subway has one at 34th Street-Penn Station. The city does not run the subway system.
I think places open to the public would have a lost and found even if there is not a specific desk labeled lost and found. The lost and found is usually handled as part of the customer service area at a store. When I worked at a museum the lost and found was turned in to the reception desk and went to the security department. There is somewhere keeping lost and found items in most places. If you approached a reception, customer service, information or security desk/employee they could probably help you with lost and found items.
Maybe they’re getting caught up on the word “desk”. We definitely have Lost and Found, but it’s probably not a desk. It’s probably a box or a bin that’s stored in a closet. It’s also possible that people can go a long time without ever having to see or think about this because they’ve never actually lost anything in public, so they have no experience with it and forget it even exists.