The very first time I built a computer, I did so with a more experienced friend, but I still managed to bend the hell out of the pins. I also had nowhere near the means to acquire new hardware, nor any kind of support contract that would provide it, as I was an individual. (There was a warranty but it didn’t cover customer incompetence.) My friend took the damaged part and, over about two days, very carefully bent the pins back to straight using, I think, a credit card and a small knife. Unlike the tech you described, though, he didn’t adjust the pins individually; instead he mostly did it row by row and very gently.
Once he was done, we installed it and it did indeed work. I think that system was my gaming computer for a few years before I upgraded again and, this time, installed everything with great care.
The very first time I built a computer, I did so with a more experienced friend, but I still managed to bend the hell out of the pins. I also had nowhere near the means to acquire new hardware, nor any kind of support contract that would provide it, as I was an individual. (There was a warranty but it didn’t cover customer incompetence.) My friend took the damaged part and, over about two days, very carefully bent the pins back to straight using, I think, a credit card and a small knife. Unlike the tech you described, though, he didn’t adjust the pins individually; instead he mostly did it row by row and very gently.
Once he was done, we installed it and it did indeed work. I think that system was my gaming computer for a few years before I upgraded again and, this time, installed everything with great care.