Switched to a butter wrapper rubbed on the pan, then a quick dust of flour, and that finally stopped the sticking for me. Never thought to check for bare spots from the brush though, that is sneaky. Parchment sounds way less messy.

Honestly a grabber seems like a pretty normal tool and not some big deal, same as wearing gloves or using a cart instead of hauling bags by hand. Calling it lazy feels like a stretch when your back isn't wrecked after two hours. If the crew is really worried about missing small bits they can pick those up by hand and save the grabber for the stuff that hurts to reach.

Man, this happens way more than people want to admit. I've noticed the same thing with kitchen stuff, expensive knives that need constant care versus a cheap carbon steel one that just works, and with garden tools too. There's this whole idea that price equals quality, but a lot of the time you're just paying for the name on the handle. That old saw probably got broken in by someone who used it every day, which honestly says more than a fancy label ever could.