Sticky Notes, Communication Log Entries, and Texting a Customer

This article covers the Sticky checkbox on a note, the read-only Comm. Log entry that appears after you email a customer from the system, and the Text Message entry type on the communication log. All three sit on the same task, note and communication log dialog, and all three behave in ways that surprise people.

Questions this answers

• "I marked a note as Sticky on a customer's file but nobody sees it unless they open that exact customer - shouldn't it show up on the dashboard or calendar too?"
• "Once I email a customer from a deal, the communication log entry for it won't let me edit the subject or type anymore - is that supposed to happen?"
• "How do I text a customer from their record, and does the system respect it if they've asked us not to contact them?"

This article is only about notes, Comm. Log entries and customer texting. Tasks, due dates and calendar reminders are covered in their own article.

Where a Sticky note actually shows up

When you add a note you can tick Sticky. The tip beside the checkbox says sticky notes appear at the top of the task list and display a popup alert when opening that vehicle, deal or contact. That is the whole of it, and the wording is precise: it means that record.

A sticky note is attached to one specific record. The popup fires when someone opens:

• the contact record it was stuck to, or
• the vehicle record it was stuck to, or
• the deal it was stuck to (including that deal's payments screen).

It is not a dealership-wide alert. A sticky note does not appear on the dashboard, on the calendar, in a search results list, in an inventory or contact list, or on any other record. A note stuck to a deal will not pop up when someone opens the customer's contact record, and vice versa, because those are two different records.

Inside the record it is attached to, the note is pinned to the top of that record's task and note list and shown with an alert marker, with its text expanded so you can read it without opening it.

Two other things worth knowing:

• Ticking Sticky requires a role permission of its own. If your role does not have it, you can still see the checkbox but it is switched off and cannot be changed.
• Sticky notes stay stuck until someone clears them. They have no expiry.

What to use when everyone needs to see it

If the message has to reach the whole store rather than whoever happens to open one record, use a task instead. Create a task, give it a due date, and assign it to the person who must act on it. A task with a due date also puts a reminder on the calendar, which a sticky note never does. If several people need it, create one task each.

Why a Comm. Log entry from a sent email is read-only

Communication log entries come in two flavours.

Entries you create yourself stay fully editable. You choose the type (Phone, Email, Text Message, Mail, In Person), type a subject, write a description, and optionally set a follow-up date and time. You can go back and change any of it later.

Entries the system creates when you send a customer email from a deal, vehicle or customer account are a record of what actually went out, so they are locked:

• The communication type is fixed and cannot be changed.
• The subject is the subject line the message was sent with and is read-only.
• Instead of a description box you get a View Email Contents link, which opens the message exactly as it was sent, including who it went to.

This is intentional. The entry is evidence of a message that left the building, so it is not editable after the fact. If you want to record notes about the conversation that followed, add a separate manual entry alongside it.

One useful side effect: because these entries only get written when the send succeeds, the absence of an entry tells you an email did not go out.

Texting a customer

DeskManager Online does not send text messages to customers. The only text message the system sends to anyone is the security code used for two-step sign-in, and that goes to your staff, not to customers.

The Text Message option on the communication log is therefore a record, not a send. You choose it to note that you texted the customer from your own phone. Nothing leaves the system when you save it. There is no message template, no delivery confirmation, no reply thread, and no send button.

What that means for do-not-contact requests

Because no message is sent, there is nothing for the system to block, and no do-not-contact or consent flag is checked or enforced when you save a Text Message entry. Saving one will never stop a text from reaching someone, and it will never guarantee one is suppressed either.

When a customer asks not to be contacted:

1. Record the request on the customer's file so the whole store can see it. A sticky note on the contact record makes it pop up for anyone who opens that customer, and a communication log entry gives you the dated record of when they asked.
2. Honour the request in whichever tool actually sends the messages - your texting service, your marketing platform, your phone system. That is where suppression has to be applied.

You remain responsible for meeting the contact and consent rules that apply in your state and to your business; the communication log is a record-keeping tool, not a compliance control.

When to contact support

Contact support if a sticky note does not pop up on the record it is attached to, if a Comm. Log entry created by a sent email has no View Email Contents link, or if you need help deciding where to record do-not-contact requests for your process.