So since I haven't gotten all of my paper work figured out, and me being mobile. Do you print out a work order and when you arrive at the location fill out what the problem is and that you are fixing that issue? Then like you said have a place to check and sign if they want other found issues fixed? I do have invoices made but never thought about work orders.
I only have one form that they sign and that's the work order. A work order is a common form to use in any repair business whether that'd be computers, plumbers, car mechanics, appliance repair, etc. It details all the information about the client, the problem, what was fixed and how much it costed.
As far as printing, I don't print my work orders, I have my clients sign on a tablet. Before the tablet, my work orders were custom-printed, 2-sided duplicate forms. On both the printed version and the tablet, I'd fill out all the information on the client and their general complaint. Once there, I put down in another area what's actually going on after I've spoken with them a little bit. There's a completely separate area for "client instructions". This is where I put that they want their old parts returned or destroyed once replaced, any passwords they use or special instructions. Included in this is if they want something outside of the scope of what was originally discussed.
But do you actually ask questions un related to the problem. Like with this one they had a laptop with a black screen but it would boot and you cold hear the Windows login music play. So I asked and figured out when it happened and that no physical damage was done to it. I guess another probing question would simply be if they have been having other problems before the screen went out?
I, personally, always start off with how long the issue has been going on or when they first noticed. In the case of your example, I would probably say something similar to this:
* What exactly is it doing that you don't want it to do or what's the difference between what it normally does versus now?
* How long has it been doing that or when did you first notice it did it?
* Has the laptop been jostled, dropped or otherwise moved quickly recently?
* Has any liquids been exposed to the laptop's keyboard or any other areas?
After the questioning and putting a flashlight up against the screen to see if I could see an image I would determine what I believed to be wrong with it, advise the client and give them an estimate. At that time I would also tell them about any other possibilities that could be the cause and their costs to repair from least to worst, worst being the last they will remember. I would also ask them if the repair is something worse than what I have estimated, if they would like me to just repair it or call them for authorization. If they want me to just fix it, that goes in the box with their initials.
Then I start asking other follow up questions:
* Have you noticed any BSODs on starting up recently? (could be a driver issue)
* Has anyone changed the display settings recently? (could be out of sync)
* Has it been starting or running slowly?
* Have you seen any errors, popups or programs doing something they shouldn't or don't normally do?
...etc...
If any of those follow up questions are positive, I advise them that they may also be dealing with other things that will not be fixed after I repair their screen issue and that they may or may not be directly related. Again, I ask if they want me to just fix it or leave it. If they want the fix, it goes on that box with their initials.
There may be other ways of doing it that are better, but that's what I do.
