What are the "big picture" conclusions you need to draw about a clients weapon & it's intended use.

We all know that safety is the goal when dealing with any firearm but when someone brings me a firearm (especially the older ones) the conclusion I need to draw is usually, do they want a pretty gun or a functioning one. This tells me up front what my end goal will be and what is going to make the client happiest. This is not to say a firearm cannot be both but often times it comes down to show piece or work tool. Pretty guns have had lots of care with regard to their appearance but maybe not so much in the function department. Some of the guns I see broken need to get back into a functional state because the client actually uses it to practice regularly and for self-defense. Usually, a carbon filled gun with broken parts tells me they want function because it broke during regular operation of the firearm. If the firearm comes in with rust all over, it tells me they want restoration but probably not function because it had not functioned for years prior and may be beyond a point of safe operation. Safety and function checks are important but differ between the pretty and the working. Maybe for some restorations you need to remove a part used for function to be safe while with work guns you would focus on the actual safety's ability to function. Damage inspections with firearms will differ as well because you may focus on external damage rather than the internal damage that may be the cause of any malfunctions. So, as the question said, regardless of what type of malfunction you are dealing with, if a new customer asks for my help with a firearm the big picture is usually do you want a pretty gun or a functioning one?