Absolutely agreed with you!
Dry on top, wet at bottom!
All plants I have bought at Home Depot have Sphagnum Moss so packed it is very hard to remove plant from pot to check roots. I thought, wait until Sphag dries, then water. I just don't know better

!
How come the grower can get the Phals to grow so large and beautiful using that overly packed Shagnum Moss?
That is what confuses me!
