Buddy of mine ran a beach cleanup group and the same thing happened, online signups just made it too easy for folks to back out. Paper clipboard meant you looked someone in the eye and they felt bad saying no.

...my buddy Tom had the same thing happen with his sawmill. Watched him hand split shingles for years because he thought a powered splitter was too expensive. Got one at an auction for $80 and he swore he coulda paid for it ten times over with the time he saved. Still brings it up every time we drink.

I read about that same trick in a fiber training guide once, they called it "stress relief bending" and said it's the only way to keep tubes from memory-coiling in the tray. Tried it on a 24-fiber build last week and it honestly saved me like 20 minutes of rework. The thumb pre-bend part is the key, you gotta bend it past where it needs to sit so it settles back into place. Also learned to leave a little extra slack in the tube before the clip, that way it doesn't pull itself out when the tray flexes.