Following The Rules Is Just Phoning It In

(I get a call from my girlfriend’s phone saying that it has been found on the bus and has been turned in to the lost and found. I message my girlfriend to let her know. She calls them and learns that they open after she starts work, so she tells them that I will pick up the phone. I go in the next day.)

Me: “I’m here to look for a lost phone.”

Receptionist: “Do you have a reason to believe we have it?”

Me: “I got a call saying the phone had been turned in. I suppose it might not have been turned in yet.”

(The receptionist looks in the box of phones. I describe it and the woman starts handing it to me.)

Receptionist: “Did you lose it on bus [number]?”

Me: “I think that’s the bus she would have been on, yes.”

Receptionist: “This isn’t your phone?”

Me: “Well, no, but my girlfriend called to say I would be picking it up.”

(The receptionist goes to her computer.)

Receptionist: “I don’t have an email except the one that says the phone was found.”

Me: “Well, yeah, she called the number. Unless you want to open up three hours early just for her, she can’t get it in person.”

Receptionist: “Well, thank you for being honest, but you can’t pick up things for your friend. Can you get her to contact us?”

Me: “If she has to come in and give permission, she will pick it up herself.”

(I understand following the rules, but the website gave a number to call, not an email address.)