I read a thread on a mechanic subreddit a while back where a guy said he started keeping a little pick and some brake clean on his cart just for checking pistons before quoting. He claimed it cut his come-backs way down because guys would leave with a cheap fix and come back for everything else. That tracks with what you're saying, five minutes of poking around beats a fat quote that scares someone off. Plus once you free up a piston and it moves smooth, you know you're not sending a car out that's gonna drag again in a month. The guy in that thread said his repeat customers doubled in a year, mostly from word of mouth. Idk if it's the same everywhere but it makes sense to me.

Been there with the friction saver stuff, and honestly the humbling part never gets easier (I've got boots older than some of these kids). What helped me was going back to the basics on hitch cord diameter and matching it to the rope, since a Distel or a Michoacan only grabs right if the cord is sized close to the host line. If your old wraps were slipping and twisting, chances are the cord was too fat or you had too many wraps stacked up. Try the Distel with the right cord and watch how much cleaner your descents feel, then go shake that kid's hand for saving your hips and your rope.