Or a ignorant lazy tech with a 175/OP?
I've heard and seen it all it seems in over a half a century being around ignorant, lazy techs (and owners).
I would agree that due to ovewetting you can get more complaints with HWE, but actual damage to the carpet goes to the scrubbers.
1. A new brush that hasn't been broken in and damages the carpet/rug.
2. Idiot that uses the drive block itself to try to scrub the carpet, and rips it to shreds.
3. Tech that doesn't lubricate the pad or brush enough and damages the carpet
The above things leave permanent damage.
I have seen permanent damage from jet streaks to be very clear, but not as much as the above three.
Nearly all wetting related issues are eventually correctable.
The way that I would agree with you Mike would be that is is easier to teach a new technician to successfully VLM a carpet than to HWE it, and during the learning curve, you are less likely to get complaints about the work.
My father's carpet in his house, and our rental properties, are maintained by VLM. We use HWE between move out and move ins.
We have the VLM work done by our handymen. I do the HWE.