The single-person dependency
Every business has someone who 'just knows' — which customers are difficult, why that price was given, what happened on the second visit. That person is simultaneously invaluable and a structural risk.
Why capture usually fails
Because it is extra work performed after the real work, by someone tired. Documentation efforts fail on effort, not on intent.
The only durable fix is making capture a by-product: speaking a note instead of typing it, the system logging the call automatically, the photo attaching itself to the job.
What to capture first
- Why a decision was made, not just what was decided.
- Site-specific details that will matter on the next visit.
- Customer preferences and past problems.
- Commitments, including who made them and when.