Yeah that "focus on the treatment" part is key. I mean, when your gear just works, you stop being a tech and can actually be present with the client. It's like what @alicec86 said about the good knife, you don't realize how much mental energy the bad tool was taking until you replace it. Was there a specific moment with your old steamer that made you finally decide to upgrade?

Our local archive once spent three years just cataloging a single donor's lifetime of postcards.

Two Arby's sauces, always.

Remember reading about a hotel clerk who waived a crazy late checkout fee for a family. Their flight got pushed back and they had a toddler with special needs who really needed the quiet room to rest. The clerk said the official policy was a hard no, but her boss told her to use her head, not just the rule book. Makes you realize the best customer service happens when someone has the power to bend a little for a real human problem.

the technical struggle to play it" is the whole point of my job too.