Rant: I bought a $200 signal booster for a job and it was a total waste

Had a job out in the hills where the main line signal was just weak. Everyone online and a couple guys at the supply house swore by this specific brand of amplifier. Spent two full hours installing it, running new power, the whole deal. The signal gain was maybe 2 dB, not even close to fixing the real issue. Ended up having to run a whole new drop from a different tap anyway, so that booster is now a very expensive paperweight in my van. Has anyone found a real use for those things, or are they just a fancy band-aid?