How wet was that original mix, like did it puddle on the board or just slump off the trowel slow? I ran into the same thing on a west facing foundation wall years back, wet mix felt faster but every block slid a hair when I set the next course. What helped me was buying a cheap $10 mortar board and watching how the mix holds a furrow when you drag the hoe through it, stiff mix keeps the ridge, wet mix just flattens back out. Freeze thaw is brutal on wet mortar because all that extra water has nowhere to go, it sits in the joint and pops it apart when it turns to ice. Dale did you a favor even if it cost you 10 minutes of arguing.

Guess it comes down to owners wanting to save a buck.

Man, that line about not growing your jaw back hits hard. I ate it on a dirt bike years ago and my chin bar was ground down to nothing, still have the helmet hanging in the garage as a reminder. The heat thing is real but you dump water on your head at the next stop and you're fine, it's not like you're wearing it in a sauna all day. Same with hearing, yeah it's muffled but you can still hear your bike and other riders fine, it's not like you're deaf. And the guys I know who went down hard on their face, that's a forever thing, plates and screws and soft food for months. Sweaty is a way better trade than that, no question.