It Started Off Like Any Other Morning...

I strolled into work getting ready to jump into our Adwords account, make some changes on the website and review our analytics from the day before. I'm the 'Marketing Director' for a HVAC/Plumbing company. Essentially glorified IT. They come to me when they think their computer needs some more oil(I convinced them the older computers need oil). I was expecting a mostly uneventful day.

That's when our plumbing supervisor walked in... "We have a problem".

I'm expecting to hear something about the printer not working or how the internet is 'broken'. I was hoping it was going to be a simple fix like the time they called me and I hit the 'Enter' button to complete a transaction.

The Chase Begins

"Well Cody was crossing the street over to the gas station when he realized his iPad was on the roof and fell off".

My heart sank but unfortunately it gets worse.

"When he went to go pick it up someone stopped, jumped out, nabbed the iPad and drove off".

Well I'm ready to go deadpool and throat punch everyone with a machete. My mind is racing and I'm jumping to conclusions. Though not really my fault I felt responsible. Having 20+ tablets for our organization I felt compelled to give a damn because I do. They are the lifeblood of our organization which we rely on them for...

• Text, video and email communication
• Portal to receive service dispatches
• Digital selling materials
• HVAC / Plumbing apps and resources
• Google Maps
  -Grabbing reviews and check-ins

Our iPad Was Nabbed and We Needed It Back

Naturally the first step was to get the insider scoop from Cody. I walked over to the gas station with Ross and asked the typical questions. Cody was already sifting through the footage with the gas station attendant. Finally we see the vehicle but we can't read the plates. After a moment of despair the man behind the counter says he recognizes the guy and knows what company he's with. Eureka! As he looks through the phone book(why, I don't know) we immediately start Googling. Nothing turns up.

Again, defeat.

Eventually the police show up, we give statements but there isn't much to be done at this point. Well, thankfully, all of our iPads have dedicated data plans through Sprint. Though we can go the hard route and try and track it down manually I realize there may be a more effective solution.

I run back to the office and jump onto my laptop. Since all of our iPads have verified Apple ID's I decide to rely on iMessage and Facetime to confront the culprits(I use Apple and Microsoft products alike, I don't get bitchy about what I'm using as long as it gets the job done). Not sure what's going to happen I end up with results better than I expected.

I open Facetime and place a call immediately. It's immediately denied. Bitch'n! That means someone still has the iPad, it's still in working condition(after a spill onto the concrete, thank you Otterbox) and they are most likely looking at the screen. Later I realized the iPad may have been turned off at this point but don't think of this variable. Nevertheless I decide to up the ante hoping they're looking at the screen.

If they are looking at the screen they are probably wondering how in the world is this iPad is piercing their soul and pulling their guilt strings. Maybe they're sitting there wondering if they're imagining this like you do when you're zoned out at 3:00am watching QVC, possibly acid tripping, and start to wonder if the hosts are talking directly at you.

Hoping my message made it I keep placing call after call. I'm hoping their stupidity is at an olympic standard. With a brilliant stroke of luck they answer the call! They definitely took the gold medal. Someones face pops onto the screen and I immediately take a screenshot. Ooops! I can feel the gap narrowing.

I proceed to inform them about the quagmire of a situation they are currently wading through. We know the company, we have your vehicle, we have a picture of your face and I can see your blue dot driving down the interstate passing McDonalds. I let them know these facts and that to avoid anything serious coming of the situation to please return our iPad.

Shortly after we get a phone call from another QT gas station a few miles down the road letting us know they have our iPad. The lock screen has our logo and all the necessary contact information. The attendant immediately asks me if this iPad was stolen based on the culprits strange behavior and basically throwing the iPad over the counter and sprinting away.

I tell him, "Not anymore".