My buddy Mark tried to fix his tent's shock cord last year. He got it all threaded back in and gave it a test pull... the whole thing shot out like a rubber band and whipped him right in the cheek. Left a red mark for two days. You're totally right, @barbarac41, it's not built to snap back like that. He ended up having to buy a whole new pole section because the cord was just done for.

Exactly, a demo is worth a thousand words.

My neighbor's "wet floor" sign just says "oops" now.

What kind of maintenance schedule do you even follow for something like that? That's an insane amount of work for one piece of gear. My old winch is on its second rig and I'm starting to believe it'll outlive me. It's a good feeling when the equipment just works.

But honestly, you quoted them for a simple job. They changed it to a complex one. That's on them, not you. New client or not, your time and materials have value. Eating that cost sets a bad precedent. They'll expect the same treatment next time. Charge the full new setup fee, it's just business.