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Too many of us have been the victim of delayed or completely lost luggage, whether we were traveling domestically or internationally.
But this might be the first time someone could say their luggage ended up at a McDonald's.
That was exactly what happened to Valerie Szybala's luggage, however, according to her AirTag's information.
Szybala recently flew with United Airlines, and upon landing in Washington, D.C., on December 28, she was notified her luggage had been delayed.
She was given the option to either pick up the luggage herself or to have it delivered. She selected to have it delivered, which in hindsight she said was a "big mistake."
Fortunately for the former United Airlines customer, Szybala had included an AirTag inside of her luggage, which was also locked with a TSA-approved lock and she had a detailed record of what possessions were contained inside.
Szybala's thoroughness would later pay off, but not before a real head-scratcher of a journey.
Szybala soon turned to Twitter, calling out United Airlines for having lost her luggage and lying about it. According to her AirTag, her bag had been moved to a residential area and was left there for several days.
You can see the full thread of updates here:
\u201cI\u2019d just like everyone to know that @united has lost track of my bag and is lying about it. My apple AirTag shows that it has been sitting in a residential apartment complex for over a day. Out back by the dumpsters, I have found other emptied United Airlines bags.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
It might make sense if a third-party delivery driver had the bag in their car, which was parked in their residential area, but this brought Szybala no comfort as customer service told her her bag was located in a distribution center, not a delivery driver's car.
\u201cAnyone wondering why I felt compelled to take this to social media, check out my most recent chat with one of their support reps through the @united app:\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
As the luggage's journey continued, Szybala continued to update the thread, including her AirTag (luggage) proceeding to move around town, including to a McDonald's and a shopping center, before going back to the same residential area.
\u201cANOTHER MAJOR UPDATE: My luggage AirTag has left McDonalds and returned to the apartment complex where it is being held hostage!\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
Szybala even went to the residential area where her AirTag was pinging from and there were other people's suitcases left sitting outside by a series of dumpsters, though these had been emptied and abandoned.
Szybala was eventually able to get her bag back after receiving a "sketchy" message from someone she didn't know, presumably a third-party delivery driver. But the bag was delivered safe and sound, undamaged and with all possessions included.
\u201cAfter creeping around the building\u2019s garage with a little posse trying to get a signal, I stepped outside for service. That\u2019s when I received this text message. It\u2019s sketchy, and it doesn\u2019t really match with what my AirTag tracking said, but I immediately called the number.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672615727
Szybala also offered several pieces of advice for people who would be traveling at any time with more luggage than just a carry-on.
"Using a tracking device in your luggage can be a lifesaver. Without the AirTag (and a viral Twitter thread), I wouldn't have my bag back now."
"Photo or inventory your belongings before traveling in case you need to file a reimbursement claim."
"If your bag arrives on a later flight than you and they offer to hold it at the import for pickup or deliver it, NEVER CHOOSE DELIVERY. The third-party delivery service is where this got sketchy, in my honest opinion."
Szybala also added in a later comment to purchase a TSA-approved lock for all luggage to prevent potential snooping or stealing in case a bag became delayed or lost.
\u201cWHEW this has been a wild ride y\u2019all. I\u2019m happy to report that I got my bag back!!! I\u2019ll give more details & lessons learned later. For now wanna say thank you for all of the support, and shout out to the building resident and local news crews who came out to help =)\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
Some were left infuriated by the "Calm down" comment.
\u201c@vszyb @united \u201cCalm down\u201d? My head would have exploded at that moment.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@halletecco @united Correct. These empty bags belonged to other people. My AirTag was still pinging from inside the building when I took these pics out back.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@vszyb @united Did they actually tell you to \u201ccalm down\u201d?!\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@lbrass3 @vszyb @united Never in the history of calm down has saying calm down actually ever calmed anyone down.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
Some were disgusted by the terrible experience Szybala went through.
\u201c@vszyb @united Man\u2026 @united, 1 million people have now seen your employee telling this person to \u201ccalm down\u201d about their property that you lost and is abandoned behind some apartment complex with other property you lost. Nice customer service.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@vszyb @united Can we (usa) actually start regulating things again? Stop de-regulating everything. It\u2019s not helping our FREEDOM. it\u2019s only helping the huge companies (capitalism) squeeze us even more. Can our gov do anything but privatize every gd thing? No\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@MichaelPeredo @united Unfortunately, the delivery company they contract with, Couriers United LLC, works with like all of the airlines.\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
Others shared their own horror stories, and they were indeed horrible.
\u201c@sillyrabbit02 @united \ud83d\ude31\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@joleegust @united I truly feel your frustration. @united are you helping all these people in the comments with their own horror stories?\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@seamusmcclure @united \ud83d\ude33\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@melonmu24061484 @united A dumpster?! Wtf\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@BioChaser @united ?!?!! Wtf\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
\u201c@mcoffey03 @jdcushman @united \ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude31\u201d— valerie szybala. (@valerie szybala.) 1672609431
While others were grateful Szybala eventually got her bag back, with all of her possessions still contained inside, they still felt United Airlines and their companion, Couriers United, LLC, had some serious explaining to do.
Though it was likely the suitcase had traveled around so much because of being in a third-party delivery driver's trunk, it still didn't make sense everyone involved had their own version of the story to tell when it came to the location of her bag.