Production support and replacements

A print can need attention after payment: a package may be missing, an item may arrive damaged, or the lab may reject production. Keep that conversation and its decision with the original order. A support request, a refund and a replacement are separate records.

Open a support case

In a gallery’s Orders section, choose Production support for a physical order. The studio can open a case with a reason and a customer-visible description. The customer can also save a request from their private order receipt. The receipt link is a capability: anyone holding it can see that order and submit a request, so share it carefully.

The customer sees their request and the studio’s published update. Studio notes, approval identities, cost ceilings, lab confirmation IDs and internal file manifests stay private. A customer request does not email the lab, cancel production, charge a card or issue a refund.

A full workspace operator can review a case and publish a customer update. Only the workspace owner can authorize the additional expense of a replacement or use its retry/cancellation controls.

Review the original outcome

Start by reconciling the original order’s provider status. An interrupted import may need its original lab confirmation ID from the lab dashboard. The returned reference must match the exact original order. A confirmation belonging to another order is rejected.

A lost response is uncertain, not proof that an order failed. The application keeps uncertain attempts on hold instead of sending another physical order. A late callback updates the attempt it names. It cannot overwrite another replacement’s shipment record.

Tracking is retained per package. Shipped means the lab reported a shipment; it does not certify delivery of every item. The interface shows the individual packages and tracking that have actually been reported.

There is no automatic lab cancellation command in this workflow. Waiting for lab confirmation records the studio’s support status. Contact the lab through its supported process, then reconcile its outcome. A refund never proves physical cancellation.

Authorize an exact replacement

Choose Authorize a studio-funded replacement in the case. Select quantities from the original purchased lines and review their approved crops. The replacement uses the original frozen image versions, product mapping and delivery address. It does not switch to a later gallery retouch or change the original sale.

Enter a maximum studio lab cost and explicitly approve the expense. Preview the exact decision before applying it. The preview contains the chosen quantities, original source checksums, destination, customer update and cost ceiling. If the case, money decision or production facts change before you apply it, review a fresh preview.

The original outcome must be known: a shipped order, or a confirmed rejection/cancellation with no other package still in production. An uncertain or merely held import does not permit another order. An earlier replacement that is active or uncertain must also be resolved first.

The replacement is a separate production attempt with a separate lab reference. It does not create a new customer charge or another customer payment ledger entry. Its studio cost uses the configured fulfillment spending account. A quoted cost above the approved ceiling stays on hold. A released or already settled spending reservation cannot fund a new submission.

If a refund, prepaid return or other payment decision changes after approval, replacement dispatch stops for review. This first workflow deliberately requires the original funds and return state to remain as reviewed; it does not silently combine a refund with a free replacement.

Track and recover a replacement

The owner page lists each replacement, its state, error and reported packages. The customer receipt displays its customer-safe progress separately from the original purchase. Old or duplicate callbacks cannot move shipped/canceled/rejected package state back to generic acceptance.

Use Reconcile lab status with that replacement’s original confirmation ID when a request loses its response. Reconciliation reads the provider; it does not repeat the import or submission. A confirmation must match this replacement’s reference. A newer callback or worker state makes a stale lookup fail so you can refresh and review again.

Retry safe preparation applies only to unsent held/preparation work. It rechecks the frozen decision, money state, reservation and current revision. A rejected/canceled lab attempt cannot be resubmitted through that button; close it and review a new decision. Uncertain or submitted work requires lab reconciliation.

Cancel unsent replacement stops eligible local work before an irreversible submission. It does not cancel a physical order already sent to the lab. Interrupted spending reservations are reconciled separately; uncertain external outcomes remain reserved for review.

Refunds and retained files

Use the gallery’s existing refund and return controls for a monetary decision. Review a separate refund updates the support case but moves no money. The existing controls retain their amount, original-provider, prepaid allocation and tax-reversal checks.

The original order’s prices, payment record, address and approved file snapshot remain intact. Replacement output has its own durable artifact references. Open support cases and retained replacement orders prevent gallery deletion from discarding files they need. Resolve the records before planning destructive retention work.

Rehearse a damaged print

Use the generated review fixture: the original order contains two $50 prints, and one arrives damaged. Open the case, select a replacement quantity of one and authorize a $20 studio cost ceiling. Review the original crop and delivery address before applying the decision.

The deterministic lab simulator quotes $12.50. With an approved spending reservation, that one replacement can submit once. If its submission response is lost, it stays uncertain until the original confirmation is reconciled. The original two-print receipt still shows the original payment; the replacement has separate tracking and no new customer charge. A simulated quote above $20 stays on hold instead.

Before activation

Development tests use generated media, isolated PostgreSQL databases and deterministic provider simulators. No customer charge, real lab order or production message is implied by those tests. Actual lab credentials, catalog certification, spending budgets, account setup and representative provider tests remain part of the coordinated activation.