Last month, a customer's inboard had a cracked exhaust manifold. It was under warranty, but the process was a nightmare. First, the supplier wanted serial numbers from every angle. Then they demanded a video of the leak. I spent three hours on the phone with their tech support. The boat sat in my shop for two extra weeks. The customer ended up paying out of pocket to speed things up. I learned to warn people about warranty delays upfront. It's a broken system that hurts small shops like mine.
I put cardboard strips under boat motors when changing oil. This keeps the work area clean and stops spills. The cardboard soaks up the oil so it does not hit the ground. I cut strips from old boxes that would be thrown out. After the oil change, I toss the oily cardboard in a trash bag. It goes to the dump instead of into the water. A few other mechanics at my shop have started doing this too. It costs nothing and helps reduce pollution.
He said 'Sea Breeze' but I heard 'Sea Cheese' and wrote it down. Now I double-check everything, but what's your best method for avoiding communication errors?