PIT Team Reunites Passenger with Lost Journal

Meg Ely and her family recently took what she calls “the trip of a lifetime” to Europe. It was so important to her that she recorded her impressions in a small journal to ensure she’d never forget them.

But the day after Ely returned from her trip, she unpacked her suitcase and realized her journal was gone. Panicked, she reached out to the customer service team at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Sharon Barley, Customer Service Representative Supervisor at PIT, calmed Ely’s nerves right away.

“She was flustered and pretty distraught. She was so upset and was trying to find someone to reach out to get the journal,” Barley said. “She didn’t think she’d ever see it again.”

Barley put Ely in touch with JoAnne Pollock, a Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) team member at PIT. WFS is a partner of British Airways.

And Pollock found it on the seat of the plane.

“I had chills from my head to my toe,” Ely said. “There are good people in the world. Having people here in Pittsburgh, at home, taking care of me was such a special treat.”

Ely was reunited with her journal just hours after she spoke to Pollock. Weeks later, Ely returned to the airport to meet Pollock and Barley once again – this time with letters in hand to thank them for what they did for her.

As it turns out, the journal wasn’t just a resource for Ely herself to remember the trip.

“I took over 5,000 photos on the trip, so I’m going to make a photo journal and I’m actually going to type up my journal as part of that photo journal,” Ely said. “I’m going to make a copy for each of my three children, so they’ll have it to remember the trip.”

Ely dedicated the last entry in the journal to tell the story of what Barley and Pollock did for her.

“I was at my wits’ end,” Ely wrote. “I called Pittsburgh Customer Relations, and an angel named Sharon answered my call. I told her my issue and she sweetly asked about my trip while getting the details. Once I had the book back, I could relax and enjoy what had been the best trip of our lives.”

Going above and beyond is part of the job

Ely’s story is one of dozens that the customer service team encounter each year. Passengers leave hundreds of items at the airport, and for the customer service team at PIT, reuniting passengers with lost objects is part of the job description.

This year, National Customer Service Week is Oct. 7 through Oct. 11, a time to celebrate the team working directly with passengers to make their journey through the airport easier.

Elise Gomez, Manager of Customer Experience at PIT, is grateful to have a team dedicated to going above typical standards.

“Having a customer service team that’s focused on ensuring customers have a smooth experience is crucial,” Gomez said. “We have an exceptional team that know how important travel is.”

In 2023, PIT customer service team member April Laukaitis found a missing diamond in the cracks of one of the bathroom floors at the airport – a diamond that ultimately belonged on passenger Kristen Tunno’s 99-year-old grandmother’s ring. Tunno was sure she’d never see that diamond again, but Laukaitis made it possible.

Over the summer, customer service representative Ava Basalyga had a similar experience. One passenger lost a solid gold bracelet at the airport, but Basalyga promised to get it back to her as soon as possible. She paged the airport and sure enough, a team member found it on PIT’s train. She called the passenger right away.

“Every day is something different with our job,” Basalyga said. “People call and they’re so worried about something that’s very valuable to them that’s lost. It’s just a great feeling when someone loses something and we’re able to give it back to them.”

As it turns out, that bracelet belonged to the passenger’s grandmother. The passenger mentioned that she may stop by the airport to thank Basalyga for her work, but she did more than that. The passenger sent roses to her house alongside a page-long letter thanking Basalyga for her service.

“I’m proud of the team we have,” Gomez said. “They’re getting recognized, but that’s not why they’re doing it. They take pride in making the passenger journey as stress-free as possible.”