Also the more exotic tools make all the difference.
After literally months of repairing iPads, I developed an "iPad Oven" at work. It was a medium size cardboard box with a raised platform in it. at one end it was open, at the other end there was a slot cut across the top. Place iPad on the platform. Set heat gun to medium, pointing into box, and spaced exactly 8" away. Run for 5 minutes. Remove with garden gloves (it will be HOT!) and quickly lift off the screen before it cools. That setup allowed me to disassemble iPads as fast as the others could assist me with repairing them. It was incredible.
This was after many annoying weeks of burning fingers and digging glass shards from adhesives and replacing melted buttons and bezels.
Last time I stopped into the shop, I saw a tool straight from Apple (more-or-less) that looked like a big clamshell riveter. Place iPhone, plug it in and turn on the switch to turn on heat, lower lever until plunger contacts glass, wait a bit, lift. I looked at that and thought to myself "And that used to take me a half an hour and six wads of hair, with only a 75% chance of getting the screen off without breaking it!"
Yes, the right tool (or in this case, the right jig) for the job makes all the difference in the world.
Also keep in mind that most places don't repair your gear. You get back someone else's that they repaired last week. Yours goes into the pile to be sent to some 3rd party for "remanufacturing". They get a pallet of them to work on, and aren't too concerned with throwing some away that simply aren't worth the effort. Those go to some recycler or overseas to smoke out the precious metals where environmental laws are like what the US will have in the next few years. That pallet may go to mexico or philippines to have some dollar-an-hour kid work on to remove the shattered glass without getting too much in his fingers. Hard to say. Once taken apart and the broken bits removed and adhesives cleaned off, it either goes back to the manufacturer to replace and put back in the warranty return pile, or maybe the 3rd party finishes the repair before returning it. All of this, along with not having to get you back YOUR iPhone in 5 working days really lowers their cost. Boat trips to where the cheap labor is end up saving them a ton.
