Privacy Policy
How Production Bench collects, uses, stores, discloses, and protects personal information across the website, the client portal, the workbench, and in-person service.
1. Introduction
Production Bench ("Production Bench," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to handling your personal information responsibly.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect personal information when you:
- Visit our website.
- Create or access a customer account.
- Submit equipment for diagnosis or repair.
- Request an estimate or approve a service order.
- Purchase cables, custom assemblies, or merchandise.
- Communicate with our team.
- Subscribe to marketing communications.
- Otherwise interact with Production Bench.
This Policy applies to personal information collected through our website, service management systems, electronic communications, and in-person business operations.
2. Information We Collect
The information we collect depends on the services you request and how you interact with us.
A. Personal and Contact Information
We may collect your name, business name, email address, telephone number, billing address, shipping address, and account contact preferences.
B. Service and Repair Information
When equipment is submitted for service, we may collect:
- Equipment manufacturer, model, type, and serial number.
- Equipment identification or inventory numbers.
- Reported faults and service requests.
- Equipment condition photographs.
- Diagnostic results and testing records.
- Repair estimates and revision histories.
- Authorized work and replacement parts.
- Repair notes and technician observations.
- Warranty claims and service history.
- Equipment pickup and delivery information.
Equipment photographs may incidentally capture labels, identifying markings, or other information associated with the equipment owner.
C. Account Information
If you register an account, we may collect account identifiers, authentication information, saved contact details, service requests, order history, and customer preferences.
Passwords, where applicable, should be stored using industry-standard one-way password hashing rather than as readable text.
D. Transaction and Payment Information
We may collect order numbers, purchased products, invoice amounts, transaction status, payment method type, billing details, refunds, and applicable purchase order information.
Payments may be processed by authorized third-party payment providers.
Production Bench does not intend to store complete payment card numbers or card security codes in its own application database.
Payment processors may independently collect and process payment information according to their privacy policies.
E. Website and Technical Information
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect information such as:
- IP address.
- Browser and device type.
- Operating system.
- Pages visited.
- Referral sources.
- Date and time of visits.
- Approximate location inferred from network information.
- Website performance and diagnostic information.
- Session, cookie, and similar technical identifiers.
F. Communications
We may retain communications sent through contact forms, email, service messaging, or customer support channels, including attachments and information necessary to respond to the request.
3. How We Use Your Information
Production Bench uses personal information for legitimate business purposes, including:
Service Operations
To receive equipment, create service records, perform diagnostics, prepare estimates, document repairs, conduct testing, and arrange equipment returns.
Customer Authorization
To record approvals, maintain estimate version histories, document customer instructions, and establish which services and charges were authorized.
Order Fulfillment
To manufacture, process, package, ship, and deliver purchased products.
Customer Support
To answer questions, respond to complaints, investigate service issues, and manage warranty claims.
Billing and Accounting
To prepare invoices, process payments, issue refunds, maintain financial records, and administer approved business accounts.
Service Notifications
To provide operational updates, including estimate availability, approval requests, repair progress, completed-service notices, shipment confirmations, and equipment pickup reminders.
Website Security
To maintain website functionality, prevent unauthorized activity, investigate suspected fraud, and identify technical problems.
Business Improvement
To evaluate website performance, improve customer experience, identify common service problems, and improve internal operations.
Legal Compliance
To meet applicable legal, tax, accounting, safety, consumer protection, and recordkeeping obligations.
4. Equipment Photographs and Service Records
Production Bench may photograph equipment before, during, and after an authorized service.
These photographs are used to:
- Document the item's condition at intake.
- Identify existing physical damage.
- Support diagnostic findings.
- Record repair progress.
- Verify completed workmanship.
- Resolve warranty or condition disputes.
- Maintain accurate service records.
Service photographs are treated as business records and are not automatically available for public use.
Production Bench will not intentionally publish identifiable customer equipment photographs for advertising, promotional materials, social media, or public repair demonstrations without an appropriate authorization or other lawful basis.
Customer approval of a repair does not constitute permission to use equipment photographs for marketing.
5. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Processing
Production Bench may use software automation to organize service records, detect missing information, route customer requests, prepare administrative summaries, or improve internal workflows.
If artificial intelligence is used to process personal information, Production Bench will apply appropriate safeguards and limit information shared with external providers to what is reasonably necessary for the authorized purpose.
We will not intentionally submit confidential customer information, identifiable service photographs, or sensitive customer records to public AI systems for unrelated purposes.
AI-generated diagnostic suggestions or administrative recommendations do not replace appropriate human review where required for safe repair decisions, customer approvals, or material service determinations.
Any use of customer information for training third-party AI models must be separately evaluated, disclosed when required, and subject to applicable consent and privacy obligations.
6. Cookies and Website Analytics
Production Bench may use cookies or similar technologies to support website functionality.
These may include:
- Essential cookies: Authentication, session management, shopping cart functionality, and website security.
- Preference cookies: Remembering customer settings and selected preferences.
- Analytics cookies: Understanding website traffic, usage patterns, and technical performance.
- Marketing technologies: Measuring promotional campaign effectiveness, if implemented.
Nonessential tracking technologies will be managed according to applicable law, including any required notices, consent mechanisms, and opt-out rights.
The specific cookies and third-party services used are disclosed through the website's cookie settings.
7. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Some browsers offer Do Not Track (DNT) signals or Global Privacy Control (GPC) settings.
Production Bench will disclose how its website responds to these signals based on the tracking technologies actually implemented.
Where applicable law requires recognition of a valid opt-out preference signal, including GPC, Production Bench will honor that requirement.
A browser's DNT setting and GPC signal are not necessarily equivalent and may be handled differently under applicable law.
8. Information Sharing
Production Bench may disclose personal information to trusted third parties when reasonably necessary to operate its services.
Payment Processors
To securely process purchases, refunds, and related transactions.
Shipping and Delivery Providers
To deliver purchases, arrange return shipments, and provide tracking information.
Print-on-Demand Fulfillment
When customers order applicable merchandise, necessary order information may be provided to Printify and its fulfillment partners.
This may include customer name, delivery address, order contents, and other information required for fulfillment.
Hosting and Technology Providers
To operate the website, databases, customer accounts, email infrastructure, backups, and internal management systems.
Professional Service Providers
To support legitimate accounting, legal, compliance, security, and business administration functions.
Legal and Regulatory Authorities
When disclosure is required by law, lawful process, or other legally recognized obligations.
Service providers should receive only the information reasonably necessary for their assigned responsibilities and be subject to appropriate contractual or other applicable safeguards.
9. Sale and Sharing of Personal Information
Production Bench does not intend to sell customer service records, repair histories, contact lists, or equipment photographs to data brokers.
Any use of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or other activities legally defined as selling or sharing must be accurately disclosed, even if no money changes hands.
Where applicable, customers will be provided with legally required mechanisms to opt out.
10. Information Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, subject to legal requirements and legitimate business needs.
Proposed retention standards include:
- Customer accounts: For the duration of the active account and an appropriate period afterward.
- Service and repair records: Generally up to three years following service completion, unless a longer period is needed.
- Equipment photographs: Generally retained with the corresponding service record.
- Invoices and accounting records: Retained for the period required or reasonably appropriate under applicable tax, accounting, and recordkeeping rules.
- Customer communications: Retained as reasonably necessary to administer services or resolve disputes.
- Technical and security logs: Retained for a limited operational or security period.
- Marketing preferences: Retained as needed to honor subscriptions and unsubscribe requests.
Records may be retained longer when reasonably necessary for litigation, warranty disputes, fraud prevention, or applicable legal obligations.
When information is no longer needed, Production Bench will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy, or de-identify it.
11. Data Security
Production Bench uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the nature of the personal information it processes.
Depending on the relevant system, safeguards may include encryption in transit, restricted account permissions, authentication controls, access logging, secure backups, and security updates.
Access to customer information should be limited to authorized personnel and service providers with legitimate business responsibilities.
No electronic storage or transmission system can be guaranteed completely secure.
If a security incident occurs, Production Bench will investigate and provide notifications when required by applicable law.
12. Customer Privacy Choices
Customers may contact Production Bench to request:
- Information about personal data associated with their customer account or service history.
- Correction of inaccurate contact information.
- Deletion of personal information, where applicable.
- Closure of an online account.
- Changes to marketing communication preferences.
- Information about relevant third-party disclosures.
Production Bench may need to verify the identity or authority of the person making a request.
Some records may need to be retained for legal compliance, accounting, warranty administration, fraud prevention, or dispute resolution.
Requests will be evaluated and fulfilled as required by applicable law.
13. California Privacy Rights
California residents may have additional privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, and other applicable laws.
Where the CCPA applies to Production Bench, eligible consumers may have rights concerning access, correction, deletion, portability, sale or sharing opt-outs, certain uses of sensitive personal information, and non-discrimination.
These rights are subject to statutory conditions and exceptions.
Production Bench will provide the notices, disclosures, request procedures, and legally required opt-out mechanisms applicable to its operations.
This section does not imply that every provision of the CCPA necessarily applies to Production Bench.
14. Marketing Communications
Customers may receive service-related communications necessary to complete or administer their transactions.
Promotional emails, newsletters, and marketing messages will be handled separately from essential service communications.
Where marketing subscriptions are offered, Production Bench will provide the notices and consent options required by applicable law.
Marketing emails will include an appropriate unsubscribe mechanism.
Opting out of promotional messages will not ordinarily stop essential communications regarding active orders, repairs, invoices, or account security.
15. Children's Privacy
Production Bench's website and services are intended for a general adult and business audience and are not directed toward children under 13.
We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through services directed to them.
If we learn that personal information was collected from a child in circumstances that violate applicable law, we will take appropriate corrective action.
16. Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites or services.
Production Bench does not control the privacy practices of independent third-party websites.
Customers should review the applicable privacy policies before submitting information directly to those parties.
17. Business Customers and Authorized Representatives
Production Bench may provide services to companies, production facilities, educational institutions, and other organizations.
When an employee or authorized representative submits equipment or places an order on behalf of an organization, we may associate the relevant service records with that organization's customer account.
Access to organizational records should be limited to authorized individuals according to the applicable account permissions and business relationship.
18. International Data Processing
Some technology providers may process or store information outside the Customer's state or country.
Where international processing occurs, Production Bench will take measures required by applicable law to protect the transferred information.
19. Changes to This Privacy Policy
Production Bench may update this Privacy Policy to reflect operational, technological, legal, or service changes.
The current version will be available on our website with its effective or last-updated date.
When required by law, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent before implementing material changes to the handling of personal information.
20. Contact Information
For questions about this Privacy Policy or requests concerning personal information, contact:
Production Bench. Website: https://productionbench.com. Privacy email: [email protected]. Business operator: Thomas Popp.
Privacy requests should include enough information to identify the relevant account or transaction without unnecessarily submitting sensitive personal information.
21. Relationship to Other Policies
This Privacy Policy explains how Production Bench handles personal information.
Repair authorizations, diagnostic charges, workmanship warranties, returns, payment terms, and equipment release procedures are governed by our separate Service Terms & Conditions and applicable law.
Where a conflict exists between this Policy and mandatory privacy law, applicable law controls.