Perhaps the worst job I ever had (replete with nametag and an ill-fitting polyester uniform) was my stint in an airline's lost and found department or as the airline like to encourage passengers, the Baggage Service Center.

I could have been Brad Pitt handing out twenties and it wouldn't have helped. There's not enough lipstick available to put on the pig called lost luggage. Add to that my uncanny knack of attracting customers with anger management issues and I knew I was on the fast track to Dante's inner circle.

We really did care about reuniting passengers with their luggage, and in most cases we were successful. While most airlines average five to 10 lost baggage claims per 1,000 passengers, it does not mitigate the fact that someone is attending a business meeting in yesterday's clothes or making a wedding toast in their jammies.

Here are my tips to help ensure that you and your luggage never part ways.

Check in on time: you may make it to the gate, but your bag usually has a more circuitous path to complete.

• Nametag on your luggage: include name, address, and phone, both inside the bag and out.
• Make your luggage unique. Everyone seems to own the same black nylon suitcase. Add a decal, affix a pompom, doodle a doodle on the case. You'd be surprised how many people pick up the wrong bag.
• Eliminate loose straps: baggage travels miles on automated systems that are yearning to stop anything that is not designed to go with the flow.
• Remove all old checked baggage and bar-coded tags.
• Reconsider en route flight changes if you wish to travel with your luggage.
• Verify the final destination on your checked baggage tag and stub.
• Don't over pack your luggage.
• Keep valuables and medication in your carry-on luggage.
• Try not to book connecting flights with tight minimum connecting times. You may be able to run to the gate, but your suitcase is at the mercy of the transfer cart.

You may wonder what happens to unclaimed luggage. After at least 90 days of intensive tracking by the airlines, anything declared unclaimed is fair game to be resold to a third party such as the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama.

Over one million items pass through this store annually, including clothing (sweat suits as far as the eye can see), cameras, electronics, sporting goods, jewelry, books (more John Grisham than can fill a courtroom) and of course, luggage.
 
Curiously, prices don't seem to reflect one glaring consideration; the merchandise is used. (Hey, I recognize that pair of wingtips!)