The COVID-19 pandemic—with resulting supply chain and workforce problems—surely changed the light aircraft maintenance service industry for the worse. Parts and technician shortages have created long scheduling lead times and a sharp rise in labor rates, and aircraft are sitting on shop floors for much longer than anyone wants.
Moreover, some shops are dissing lower-end aircraft and focusing on high-dollar turbines. A friend who had the same shop wrench his Piper Cherokee for the past 25 years was told it would no longer work on it. So much for customer loyalty.