Honestly, mary309, that's how most "experts" are made these days.

Ugh that's the worst timing. Honestly though, that sounds like a manufacturing flaw, not just wear and tear. A good curling iron should last years even with daily use. My old Babyliss survived cosmetology school and five years on the job before the clamp got loose. Might be worth checking if yours is still under warranty.

Been there. I just start pulling sticks one by one.

Stop guessing about signal levels and start testing them every single time. We used to have the same problem until we made it a rule to run a full signal quality check with a proper meter before calling any job done. It takes an extra minute but it catches weak lines that would fail in a week. That shift from just checking for a connection to actually measuring performance was a game changer for our call backs. Our tool of choice is different but the principle is the same, good data beats a good guess every time.

Ever wonder how many petrified forests we paved over? @mitchell.daniel is right about the detail, and that makes me realize we probably built a shopping mall on one somewhere. Kinda humbling and a little sad.