How does your music store manage repairs?
If you still use paper work orders, you’ve likely run into issues with lost slips, illegible handwriting, and a lack of customer communication. If these issues are slowing you down and costing you money, it’s time to upgrade to a digital repair-tracking system.
Unlike loose paper slips, a reliable digital system keeps all repair tickets together, so you can access information when you need it — including customer information, repair status, and parts required. So, whether it’s a guitar restringing or a drum head replacement, you’re prepared to offer great service to each and every customer.
In this blog, we’ll explain why you need digital repair tickets at your music store and how to implement them.
Let’s get started.
Offering repairs for musical instruments is a great way to bring in additional revenue and increase customer loyalty. While managing multiple repairs at once can be stressful, using a digital system to manage your work orders simplifies the process.
(Pro tip: Use a modern point of sale (POS) system to have this feature baked in.)
Let’s look at the key benefits of using digital repair tickets.
Digital repair tickets ensure that each repair job is accounted for, reduce duplicate or lost jobs, and hold all the information a technician needs.
These fields are commonly recorded in work orders:
A digital repair ticket can be assigned to a specific technician, so it’s clear to everyone who’s responsible for completing the repair. If a project needs to be taken over by another technician, you can record this to avoid confusion and mistakes.
A digital system for repairs prevents projects from falling through the cracks — and with a cloud-based POS system, you can check the progress of repairs at any time from an internet-enabled device, including your smartphone or tablet.
Related Read: 15 Music Store Metrics You Need To Track
Tracking all instrument repairs in one system keeps your workflow consistent. If you’re using pen and paper to track these repairs and you have multiple technicians, they might each have their own way of recording information — this makes it difficult to see the full picture of how repairs are progressing.
If you use a POS for these tickets, you can specify which essential fields must be filled out for each repair. Whether you or your employees input this information, you can be sure it’s there when you need it. This way, you don’t have to waste time digging through drawers or asking around about an instrument status — you can filter a ticket by technician, date created, or status to quickly find it in the system.
Related Read: 12 Ways To Streamline Your Music Store’s Repair Department
A digital repair ticket allows you to give direction to repair technicians, eliminating any confusion about what work needs to be done. Include notes about the “symptoms” the instrument is displaying, the primary issue (if you can identify it), and photos of where on the instrument the repairs need to be done.
Let’s say a customer brings in a saxophone and says they “can’t play low notes.” This can be the result of malfunctioning pads, damaged keys, or a mouthpiece/reed setup problem. You can then ask further questions to try to diagnose the issue.
If you need to assign this job to another technician, you’d ideally give them more information than “this saxophone can’t play low notes.” You’d specify in the notes whether the issue was due to the pad, keys, or mouthpiece, so they know where to start on the repair.
You can even include videos or sound clips demonstrating the problem. If there’s a standard maintenance procedure you’d like them to perform on a specific instrument, you can include it here, too. More information and clearer communication leads to better repairs.
Using digital repair tickets also gives you the opportunity to mark certain repairs as higher priority than others.
Some instrument damage is the result of general wear and tear — like the wearing down of corks on a clarinet. Other damage happens quickly as the result of an accident — like a stuck slide on a trombone that was dented when it was accidentally dropped.
Customers with worn instruments might bring them in for a general tune-up, and are typically fine with waiting a few weeks for the repairs to be completed. But customers who unexpectedly damage their instrument may need a faster repair — especially if they have an extenuating circumstance like a school band concert or gig.
Music stores typically charge more for a fast repair — and with digital tickets, you can record the price and timeline in the system to ensure it’s charged correctly and completed on time.
Being able to sort repair tickets by technician and urgency makes it easier to balance workloads among employees — this way, you don’t assign multiple rush repairs to the same employee.
Related Read: Music Service Revenue Tracking: Are Your Repairs and Lessons Profitable?
Customers like to be kept informed throughout the repair process. They appreciate a text letting them know you’ve started working on the instrument, that there’s a delay and you’re waiting for replacement parts, or that the repaired instrument is ready for pickup. Luckily, your POS system allows you to automate these messages.
Set up your system to send a customer a text or email with updates about their repair — this type of communication still requires a personal touch. If you need to ask a customer a question about their instrument, it’s better to give them a phone call or type out a full message. But sending quick, automatic update texts allows you to focus on the repair while keeping customers in the loop.
Because you have all of the repair information stored in a digital ticket, you’re prepared to answer any questions a customer has if they call you asking for an update.
Rather than having to look around for a paper slip or ask them which instrument is theirs, you can simply search them by name, find the ticket, and answer their questions. Providing fast and accurate service helps you earn their trust.
Once the repair is complete, an automatic message lets the customer know it’s time to pick up their instrument. This prevents unnecessary delays and keeps your repair area clear.
If you’re still trying to track musical instrument repairs with pen and paper, there’s a better way. Modern POS systems allow you to create digital repair tickets, so everything’s consistent and in one place. And while there are a variety of POS platforms on the market, a system designed for your industry is your best bet.
Music Shop 360 is a cloud-based POS solution built specifically for music stores. Its dedicated repair module makes it easy to create a ticket, track a repair’s status, assign a specific technician, add photos, and send automated updates to the customer.
Our software is fully equipped with both general and music-specific features, including payment processing, e-commerce, instrument rental capabilities, and access to vendor catalogs.
To see what Music Shop 360 can do for your store, schedule a demo today!