Why do we all resist the easy fix?

Man, that dish soap trick works because most of those old shifters don't actually break, the grease just turns into glue after 10 or 15 years. What people miss is the pawls inside, those tiny spring loaded teeth that grab the ratchet ring, and once they get gummed up they can't snap back into place. If you want to keep it alive longer, hit it with a dry lube after the soap dries so it doesn't collect dust again. Runners used to save a ton of old trigger shifters this way back in the day.

Man, that story hurts to read because the guy probably cost the homeowner way more than he saved himself. In this trade our name is only as good as the last job we leave behind, and shrugging off a cracked housing like that is how you lose customers for life. Anyone who's been doing this a while knows the right tool costs less than the mistake, so it's a shame that guy didn't get that memo.