The Internet provides communication between a plurality of service sites and a plurality of equipment sites at which equipment needing periodic service and emergency service are operated. Each piece of equipment includes a sensor array and a manual actuator that is activated when an abnormal mode of operation of the equipment is experienced. When the manual actuator on a piece of equipment is actuated, the equipment's operating conditions that are sensed by the sensor array are stored in memory. Later, when a request to service the equipment is sent from an equipment site to a service site, the service site queries the equipment site as to equipment symptoms. Upon receiving this query, an operator at the equipment site causes the symptoms stored in memory to be transmitted to the service site. Based upon the symptoms received at the service site, a service plan for the equipment is formulated.