I usually say to the flight crew "shure, thats fine" and then grab my radio and advise operations that the delay is not maintenance related due to crew request. It seems to perk a whole lot of ears.
I dont mind filling out delay reports, I actually enjoy writing out individuals names, times, dates, part numbers, etc. A delay report with 'Lack of man power' seems to make all sorts of managers b**ch at you for writing it. But thats just me.