Keep the customer in the loop
Open a repair from Orders → Repairs → List. The Customer communication panel is where you message the customer and see what's already gone out. On a wide screen it sits in a column beside the repair on every tab, and that column scrolls on its own: scroll inside it to reach the email templates and the Gorgias card. On a narrower screen it's the Communication tab. Everything you send there also lands on the public repair status page the customer reads from — the same page every repair email links to.
Before you begin
- You need the Update repairs permission to send a message or link a support ticket.
- The customer needs an email on file — without one, sending (and linking a Gorgias ticket by email) is disabled with a plain reason.
- The status page itself needs no login — that's the point of it.
1. Send the suggested message
The Suggested next message box recommends the one email worth sending right now — a label, the reason behind it, and a preview — with a one-click Send. When nothing's due, it reads "Nothing to send right now." Every suggestion (and every mode below) links to Edit email template for the message it's about. The tab also reminds you where email goes: "Emails go to <address>. Every email uses a template you can edit in Settings → Email templates."
2. Compose your own
Switch between three modes:
- Update — a short message in your own words, sent with the Repair update template.
- Request info — ask the customer for something (a photo, an address). Sending it always pauses the repair's SLA clock — the case moves to Awaiting customer — even if the underlying template happens to be switched off, because you're genuinely waiting on them either way.
- Template — pick and send any manual repair template by hand; a template marked "Turned off in Email templates: nothing will be sent" still shows in the list, so you know before you click.
3. Read what was sent
Sent and skipped emails lists every attempt, each with its template or subject, a status chip, who it went to, when, a body preview, and Edit email template. A status is one of:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sent | Delivered. |
| Not sent: email disabled in templates | The tenant turned that template off. |
| Not sent: no email address | No contact or customer email on file. |
| Failed | The error is shown alongside it. |
Sending a template that's switched off still logs the attempt with that "not sent" reason, rather than silently doing nothing. Load older emails pages back through the full history.
4. See which templates are on
Below the timeline, Repair email templates lists every template this repair can send, each with Auto, Manual or Off, and its own Edit email template link — so it's obvious at a glance which ones won't fire.
5. Read the full history on the Activity tab
The Activity tab, at the top of the repair, is the complete record — not just emails. It's a searchable, filterable timeline of every change on the repair: diagnosis, stage moves, costs, quotes, coverage overrides and more, filterable by unit and by event type (each with a live count), and naming who made each change and what it was.
6. Link a Gorgias ticket
The Gorgias tickets card sits below the Customer communication panel. Once Gorgias is connected, type a ticket number and click Link, or click Link the latest ticket from <email> to find the customer's newest ticket automatically. From then on, every status, stage, outcome and tracking change on the repair pushes an internal note onto every linked ticket — visible to your support team inside Gorgias, never to the customer. Unlink only removes SKU.io's link; the Gorgias ticket itself is untouched.
If Gorgias isn't connected, the card shows one line instead: "Gorgias isn't connected. Connect Gorgias in Settings → Repairs & Warranty → Claim Sources to link the customer's support tickets to this repair." The settings part is a link straight to Claim Sources. The ticket-number field and the Link the latest ticket button appear only once Gorgias is connected. If Gorgias is disconnected after tickets were linked, the linked tickets stay listed and the card explains that new tickets can't be linked until you reconnect it.
7. See what the customer sees: the repair status page
Every repair email links to a public, token-only page — no login — tracking the repair through five stages: Request received → Received → Inspecting → Repairing → On its way back. It also shows the expected completion date (or, before coverage is decided, when you'll have a decision), any photos, an update timeline, shipment tracking, a loaner reminder, and open quotes to act on. Only the customer's first name and city are ever shown. An unknown or not-yet-submitted token shows a generic "This repair link is not valid" page rather than an error.
Approving or declining a quote
From a quote on the page, the customer can Approve quote — which starts the work once it's paid, or right away if payment isn't required up front — or Decline, with a short reason, after a confirmation explaining "We won't do the paid work. We'll be in touch about returning your piece." Above a threshold you set, approving also asks the customer to re-type the email the repair is under. A superseded quote version shows "This quote was replaced" and offers no actions.
Adding photos
An upload area appears only while the repair is genuinely waiting on the customer for something. Adding a photo there automatically clears that wait, unless a unit is still waiting on a quote decision specifically. Trying to upload outside that window is refused with a plain message that nothing's actually needed from them right now.
The satisfaction survey
Once the case is Returned or Closed, a "How did we do?" card offers a 1–5 star rating with an optional comment — the Repair survey email, sent a few days after delivery, links straight to it. It can only be submitted once ("you have already rated this repair"), and it's unavailable before then ("You can rate your repair once it is back with you").
Next steps
- Resolve a unit — several outcomes trigger the emails this tab tracks.
- Customize email templates — change the wording of any repair or warranty email.
- Repair emails, alerts & webhook events reference — every repair template and when it fires, in one table.
- Diagnose and work a unit — the repair's own internal Notes and Tags, which the customer never sees.
- Request a repair from the public claim form — where a customer's repair — and its status link — starts.
Video transcript
Before you message a customer, navigate to Orders, then Repairs, then the full repairs list. Click into the search box above the table, type the case number, then press Enter. Wait a moment for the list to narrow down to one result. Then click it to open the full record. Its Customer communication panel sits beside the page, on every tab of the repair. The Suggested next message box highlights the most useful update. Its Send button delivers it to the customer in one click. Switch to Request info to ask the customer for something. Type a short, specific question into the message box below the mode buttons. Sending it pauses the repair's service clock until the customer's reply. Scroll down to see every sent or skipped email, with its delivery status. Below that, Repair email templates lists every template this repair can send. Each row shows Auto for automatic messages, or Manual for messages sent by hand. Every line has an Edit email template link for changing its wording. Below that panel, the Gorgias tickets card links support tickets to this repair. Until Gorgias is connected, it points you to Claim Sources. Every repair email links the customer to their own status page. No login is needed, and Updates lists every message. The progress bar marks each step, from Request received to On its way back. Once the piece is home, the How did we do card asks for a rating. Their score and any comment come straight back to your team as feedback.