I rarely had problems with Luggage (because I travel mostly with hand luggage). If I had problems it was on my way home. I got no compensation, but the luggage was delivered home quite quickly. A small compensation would have been nice as a gesture of "good-will".
I had few problems with damaged luggage. These were resolved quite good. The only case that made me upset was a damaged stroller (not that expensive). The agent in MUC was rude and just telling nonsense about strollers. The customer service did solve it quite fast (it was only about 80 Euro, but it really made me upset).
The general problem is that delayed luggage may cause a big hassle or not.
If used to live an an apartment in the 3rd floor without a lift in a pedestrian area. I loved it, when my luggage was late, so I got it delivered - sometimes only a few hours after my arrival!
On the other hand - if I am invited to a wedding and do not get my suit/ if I have business-meetings...
That depends on your preparation. If I really need to work just after arrival, I have a suit packed in my hand-luggage. Otherwise it depends on your coolness. I would just show up in casual clothes and tell the story about my luggage! Why don't you just hand out T-Shirts with a "Sorry, LH lost my luggage
" print?
My suggestions for a policy:
If arriving home:
- Deliver as fast as possible
- Give a goodwill-voucher (100 Euro) for the next booking
If arriving at the destination:
- Deliver as fast as possible
- Inform about the luggage-status with SMS (frequently)
- Hand out a "survival"-package (basic toileteries, toothpaste)
- Pay back a fixed rate for items that may be needed
But again: It really depends on the situation. If I arrive at some friends - no problem. But if I just connect onto a cruise-ship and wont see my luggage for a week - big Problem. And the next problem is that many people want to maximize the amount of money that they can squeeze out!