If you like to commiserate with unhappy stressed-out people, try hanging out at the Lost & Found at Grand Central Station. I was there a few weeks ago to look for car keys that had fallen out of my coat pocket from the overhead bin on the train. Miracle of Miracles: some one had actually found them and turned them in!

So there I was, all smiles and elation, while the poor man next to me was clearly miserable. His loss was far greater than mine would have been: he had placed, on the overhead bin of his train to Westchester, a large carton containing a brand new Paul Stuart coat that he’d neglected to retrieve when he reached his stop. He’d already been to this Lost & Found numerous times during the past week but to no avail; still, he was still hoping against hope that some one would turn in the missing coat.

I couldn’t help but be saddened by how totally devastated this gentleman was by his loss. I empathized: I had recently lost, on the streets of Manhattan, a gold charm bracelet that my parents had given me when I was a kid (one charm per birthday), as well as a briefcase left in a taxicab containing my appointment book, many notebooks filled with notes, my monthly train pass, a roundtrip ticket to Washington D.C. and a stack of my business cards (that should have enabled the finder to return the briefcase…)

But back to our man at the Lost & Found; it wasn’t just the money, he assured me when we started commiserating, but more the fact that he loved this particular coat (a deep green cashmere, exclusive to Paul Stuart, made in Austria). He was certain he had purchased the very last one in his size and couldn’t bear to go through the rest of the winter without it.

After placing a quick call to my friends at Paul Stuart, I learned of the happy conclusion. They had contacted the maker in Austria, replaced the coat in the identical model, size and color, and had given the customer a good price break for his loyalty. It’s a wonderful example of mutual respect between merchant and client, and a wonderful way to reinforce that special bond.

PS- If you see someone on the train with a gorgeous green cashmere coat, I’d love to know about it. Or about any other Lost & Found anecdotes you might have…