Known Issues, Scope of Work, Internal Notes, and Customer Updates

Keeping repair information in the right place makes the work order easier for technicians to use later.

Known Issues / Symptoms

Use Known Issues / Symptoms for what is wrong, what the customer reports, or what has been observed about the instrument.

Examples:

• Customer reports intermittent output
• Low E buzzes around the seventh fret
• Bridge pickup is noticeably quieter
• Tuning drifts after bends

This field describes the problem. It does not necessarily describe the repair that will be performed.

Scope of Work

Use Scope of Work for the work the shop intends to perform.

Examples:

• Diagnose intermittent signal
• Replace output jack if required
• Full setup
• Level and crown frets
• Install supplied pickups

This lets the shop distinguish the customer's symptoms from the service being performed.

Internal Notes

Use Internal Notes for staff-only information that should remain part of the work-order record.

This is a good place for information such as:

• Technician observations
• Scheduling or timing information
• Parts research
• Follow-up reminders
• Details that should not be shown to the customer

Bench Session notes and measurements should generally stay with the session when they describe work happening at the bench.

Customer Updates

Use Customer Updates for information intended to communicate repair progress to the customer.

Customer-facing information remains separate from Internal Notes so technicians can document freely without exposing private shop notes.

During Intake

Intake follows the same separation:

• Customer-reported facts go to Known Issues / Symptoms
• Requested work goes to Scope of Work
• Technician suggestions stay separate until a staff member chooses to save them