Yes, I use CocoaDialog to prompt for user input. How are you prompting for it? A read-type command?

Note that if you're using AppleScript, 10.9 and up have tightened security in a way that makes osascript trickier to use. You'll want to code something like launchctl bsexec console_pid osascript -e 'tell app "Self Service" to display dialog "Interact with me"'

Yeah, the likely issue is that you're using AppleScript, which is designed and expected to be run by the user. When a script gets run from Self Service, its run as root, and the OS will throw an error since you're (unknowingly) asking the root user to display a dialog to the logged in user.

I am using shell script

@alexjdale yes I am using a read command.

!/bin/sh

echo "Is this a Laptop (l) or Desktop (w)?:"
read type
echo "What is the location of this machine? (BUR, DAL, NHP, etc):"
read location
OS=Mac

sn=$(system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/Serial/ {print $4}')
newsn=$(echo "${sn:4}")

name=$type$location$OS$newsn

Like @alexjdale, I use CocoaDialog for this as well.

Shell scripts don't have really have concept of a GUI. The read builtin expects to work within a terminal session. Opening a terminal window would be possible, but ugly and it would carry security risks. CocoaDialog, Pashua, or AppleScript are your best bets for this sort of interaction.

Brief AppleScript in bash example:

#!/bin/bash

/bin/launchctl bsexec $(who -u | sed -n s/'.*.console.*[ 	]'//p) /usr/bin/osascript -e 'tell app "Self Service" to display dialog "Enter a location (BUR, DAL, NHP, etc) and then click the type of this computer." buttons {"Laptop","Desktop"} default answer "etc"'

You could use the AppleScript choose from list function to ensure valid locations.

Similar to @joshuasee Here is what I used to ask for a printer location.

LOCATION=$(/usr/bin/osascript<<END
tell application "System Events"
activate
set the answer to text returned of (display dialog "Enter a FLOOR or ROOM or PRINTER.
ie: AA1 or AA123 or AA123-P455
Only general use printers may be added." default answer "" buttons {"Continue"})
end tell
END)

You can also upload an AppleScript.

No need for faffing around with bash to AppleScript to bash..

Instead faff around with AppleScript to bash.

Here is and example of what I have used for returning elements in a bash script from Apple script

getSite() {

theSite=$(osascript <<AppleScript

set mySites to {"Minneapolis", "Cupertino", "New York", "Hong Kong", "Amsterdam", "Eau Claire"}

set selectedSite to {choose from list mySites}

AppleScript

echo "${theSite}"
)
}

getSite

echo "${theSite}"

This is what it looks like: