WHBM, I wasn't referring to 'normal' lost baggage, but the harping back to the chaos that the recent storms caused as if it was normal for BA to lose tens of thousands of bags a day. There isn't an airline in the world that doesn't lose bags , and the larger the airline the bigger the numbers lost even if the percentage per 1000 pax stays the same. Very few bags remain lost forever and most are found and delivered within 3 days.
The example you post seems to be a bit cack handed and shooting themselves in the foot. No doubt an accountant somewhere has calculated the number of passengers likely to require the service and decided the number is too small to justify a Supervisor starting early. That said, they have a system in place which should work if people communicate. Sorry getting reactionary again....... people communicate.......it'll never happen.