Uh-huh.
Ask a lot of folks who bought the assembly line OCC bikes what they think about 'em.
Ever wonder why Coddington had to bring the cars back into the shop and finish them after the TV "deadline?"
The build quality isn't there. Coddington took a lot of flack for pushing things out and then the owners having the bring them back to make 'em right.
If you're number one concern is build quality then you don't have time for the bullshit that the producers want you to mug for the TV. At that point, you're putting your customer last and the cameras first.
More than a few people left those shops for the reasoning they wanted to build cars (or bikes) and leave the TV behind. Those words should speak volumes in when the cameras are around, the TV folks don't care about the build, they want the drama. Now, when you're buying into that, as the shop owner, where's your concentration gonna be?
Are their exceptions? Sure. You mentioned Foose. Ever see one of his own builds on TV? Or the ones he was doing for customers? No. You saw the "volunteer work." Notice Overhaulin' was also a different kind of show than the majority of them? No shop bullshit, no ego bullshit, the "drama" was keeping the owner out of it. The concentration was on the build itself by assembled team, not on who's nuts were swinging lower.