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SINGAPORE: She frantically rang what she thought was the number for Changi Airport's lost and found department, hoping to find two little "Thomas the tank engine" bags belonging to her kids.
But she probably never did, because she was leaving Singapore the next day, and Mr Terence Teo, 47, only found her message on his answering machine four days later.
General counsel Mr Teo does not work at Changi but has been receiving such calls because his office number used to belong to Changi International Airport Services (CIAS), which deals with ground services at the airport including lost baggage.
Every other day for the last two years, he has received at least one call with queries about lost baggage or flight information.
Out of exasperation, he wrote to TODAY last January. His letter and CIAS response and number was published. CIAS, on their part, have also contacted the hotel association and all airlines to ensure their contact information has been updated.
But more than a year has passed and Mr Teo is still receiving more calls than ever. And this experience is not unique to him. According to him, at least 20 other colleagues have received such calls on their direct lines since they changed their office numbers in 2005.
From Arabian tourists, to Indonesian businessmen and even rude hotel staff, Mr Teo had spoken to countless tourists all over the world and said Singaporeans are probably the most impatient when dealing with lost baggage.
"There was once a lady, upon learning it was the wrong number, just gave a loud exclamation and slammed the phone down," he recalled. He added that the rudest call he had ever received was from two Raffles Hotel staff who insisted they were right.
"I think they thought I was trying to pull a fast one on them when I told them they had dialled the wrong number," he said.
Mr Sebastian Koh, senior manager for CIAS corporate affairs, said that despite the actions taken, much to his disappointment, the matter is still not totally resolved.
"CIAS takes this very seriously ... we had meetings with the CEO and managers to think of ways to solve the situation, and we will not give up trying," he said. He added that each time Mr Teo referred a hotel or airline caller to him, when asked, no one admitted to the mistake of holding on to an old number.
Mr Teo and his colleagues now paste pieces of paper with the CIAS number next to their computers to direct these callers to the right people. And his answering machine message now has two parts — if you are looking for the airport, please call 6511 0111. If you are looking for him, please leave a message.
"This is effective as sometimes when I retrieve my voicemails, I hear a click — which I assume means they realised the error."
While it may sound simple enough to change office numbers, Mr Teo said the company is reluctant to do so because of the costs it will incur, such as reprinting corporate stationary, as well as the added hassle of alerting their clients — with the possibility of facing the same problem with another recycled number again.
"This is no longer a system fault if the newspapers have already published the correct number, and the CIAS has cascaded the information down. This is to do with whether people bother to update their systems," he said, adding that it is worrying, with the recent Mas Selamat manhunt, if people dialled the wrong numbers for the airport police.
Mr Teo hopes more people realise the urgency of the matter. It may seem like a small matter but they may sing a different tune when they lose their baggage. "At the end of the day, I still try my best to help, because I understand where these people are coming from, considering that they have just lost their baggage and it is not their fault," he said. - TODAY/fa
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