halls120

This. I�ve left several things in seat back pockets, including my Bose headphones. Which I recovered thanks to a crewmember. I would never put my wallet in a seat back pocket. Ever.

When I board any aircraft, one of the first things I do is move my wallet to the front pocket of my pants. Problem solved

nk15

His first thought was to give it to the FA to put it in the crew closet, but then settled for the seat back pocket...

nk15

Maybe it was a Constanza Wallet? This thing needs its own seat, lol...

Dave Noble

It may solve it for you, but there are a lot of people who do not go to sleep on their back

nk15

For international flights I either lock it in my carry on (with an outside lock) or hide it deep in it in a zipped compartment. But I also use a very slim one, which can also stay in front pocket, this:

LondonElite

The OP makes little sense to me. So you left your wallet in the seat back (your fault) but eventually a cleaner (who for certain doesn't work for AA) was caught and admitted theft. They lost their job but you don't want to pursue this but want AA to pay you back some unclear amount of money? Bizarre.

LWkitty

I took this to mean the OP doesn't want to spend their time in a small claims court dispute against an individual who recently was working a low paid job and is now unemployed. Little chance of ever getting the money, even with a judgment in OP's favor. Rather, they would prefer to go after the Big Bad MegaCorporation (TM) with deep pockets.

LovePrunes

your anger is directed at the wrong party. Your life was ruined by the thief (after you forgot your wallet), but you don't want to ruin their life...and you're angry at AA. truly bizarre reaction.

Beachfun71

I�ve told this story before, but feel it�s worth mentioning again... I once left an iPad in the seat-back pocket when landing at MSY. As I was standing outside the airport, waiting for my ride, I got a phone call from the gate letting me know it had been found. One of the agents met me at security to hand it over.

This is the kind of service I expect from a business that I am loyal to. This was a moment that made me proud to be an AA customer.

I�ve lost many other things on planes, including Bose headphones. Yes, it�s my fault for being careless or forgetful, but I still expect a certain level of service from a business I am loyal to.

It should not matter if a person �working for AA� is an employee, contractor, subcontractor, temporary employee, or whatever: they are representing a business I am loyal to, and that business should be accountable for the actions of their representatives.

Lost (left behind) items should be recognized, identified and turned in. Every attempt should be made to return these items to the rightful owner. This is the kind of service I expect from a business I am loyal to.

There is no doubt this worker took the wallet and unlawfully attempted to use the OP�s funds. That was clearly proven. Of course there is no way to value the actual monetary loss, but $100 and, �go to court� is not enough. AA should be bending over backwards to make this situation right - to publicly declare that they do not accept this behavior from their employees and representatives. Just as I do not accept this behavior from a business I am loyal to.

nk15

He wants the big corporation with the big pockets to pay for his loss, not the poor devil who is broke and destitute...

flyerCO

The guy being fired shows they don't accept the behavior. Paying out just encourages another kind of theft. People claiming they had one thousand dollars in cash on them, when they had a few pennies.

SamirD

I agree with you in this on principle, but the practical side of this is that it may not ever happen because this type of behavior is outside of the core business practices and is merely 'being nice'.

Case in point is a gas station we own. At one point a young lady left her purse and it was turned in. I held it after seeing if there was ID inside. Three days later a young lady called asking if we found a purse. I asked her details about the purse as well as some details as to the contents of the purse. She confirmed it all and was so happy. I asked her what she wanted me to do with it. She asked if I could send it to her. I said sure, but I'd have to charge her for shipping. She said that was fine and directed me which card to charge it to from her wallet. I did so and sent her the purse. I followed up with her to make sure she received it.

A few months later this young woman comes in and is smiling. She asks if I remember her and I only recognized the voice as familiar. She introduced herself as the person that had lost her purse and that I had helped. She wanted to give me a hug because my kindness truly touched her. I bet she'll be a customer for life, but my actions were well out of my core duties and were definitely me just being nice because I think that's important.

The flip side is what I hear from other station owners--they usually never find any lost cards...I wonder how many clerks have a field day with them.

Point is that while there is some genuine human duty to be nice, it doesn't always come forth in business. And to expect it in today's business climate is to be disappointed more times than not.

Now, the legal aspect does have some merit for pursuit because if someone went that far to attempt to use a credit card, they are have a criminal mind that needs to be punished. It should be easy enough to find out the contracting company that the employee worked for and to see if the DA or state will press any criminal charges. I would also sue in civil court if possible. Unfortunately, this means the victim has to pay attorneys bills that may never be recovered. This definitely isn't justice, but is about as close as it comes these days.

mctaste

i like how bose headphones keep getting brought up as the gold standard of things to lose.

flyerCO

They're an item that is actually frequently left behind. Not sure what issue you have. No messages have stated anything close to what you infer here.

Andriyko

I left several items on AA aircraft (camera, earphones and ipod) that I never saw again. Once, I realized that I left something immediately after I left the airplane and found an agent who agreed to walk back to the airplane to check and it was gone (we assumed that another passenger took it). To be honest, it never occurred to me to blame AA or to seek compensation for it. I blamed my stupidity and lack of attention. I just accepted it as a lesson to learn to always check the seatback pockets and the area around my seat before I leave the plane. I don't see how AA can be held responsible for our and other people's actions.