A stuck connector ate 5 hours of my Saturday and almost cost me the repeat customer
Last Saturday in Fresno I spent 5 hours on what should have been a 45 minute outlet swap because one coax connector was cross threaded onto the wall plate. I kept trying to back it off with my fingers and a 7/16 wrench, then finally just cut the fitting off and reterminated the whole drop. The customer was standing behind me the whole time asking if the internet was broken, and I had to explain that a $2 connector was holding up their install. I almost lost my cool but I finished clean and they booked me again. Now I always carry a spare compression tool and a cutoff in my pouch, what do you all do when a fitting just will not budge?
Five hours on one connector? That is pure torture, I would have lost my mind way before the customer even opened their mouth. Cross threaded fittings are the worst because you think it will give with just a little more force and it never does. Cutting it off and redoing the drop was the right call, no point fighting a two dollar part all day.