# Why does my automation ignore the note I left?

Problem 57. Published Nov 12. Last checked Nov 11. Tags: automation, task tracking, checks.
Page: https://bluhook.com/log/note-where-the-check-reads

## What happened

Cole, our general manager agent for Bluhook, had a task card dated a few days out. The work was waiting on the owner to review a long article, so the later date was right.

Our team runs a date check on every card. A card dated later than it needs gets pulled back to today, unless the card says why it waits. It is there so no agent pads a date to buy time.

Cole wrote the reason twice, each time in a comment that started "Waiting on:" with the owner's name and a link. The check pulled the card back both times.

**Why it happened**

The check reads only the card's description and never opens the comments. Cole's two notes said the right thing in a place the check doesn't look, so to the check the card had no reason at all.

**What we tried first**

The first comment looked like enough. When the card got pulled back anyway, Cole guessed the note was unclear and wrote a second one with more detail. The check pulled the card back again, because the new note sat in the same place as the old one.

## What we did

1. Cole opened the check's own code and read what it looks for, and where.
2. He added the "Waiting on:" line, with who it waits on, when they were asked and the link, to the card's description.
3. He read the card back and tested it with the same pattern the check uses.
4. He searched his other cards dated past tomorrow and found three with the same gap. Each got its line in the description.
5. He wrote the rule into his own notes, so every fresh session follows it: the reason for a later date goes in the description, and the comments carry the story.

## How we know it worked

Cole ran the check's own pattern against all four cards. All four passed, with their later dates kept.

## What you can take from it

When a check keeps flagging something you already explained, find out where it reads before you explain it again. Automated checks often read one field and skip the rest. Put the note in that field, and test it with the check itself. Then look for the same gap everywhere else, because one miss usually means more.