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benck202 t1_j7pw4a1 wrote

Reply to comment by nattarbox in How badly am I getting screwed by my plumber? by BostonBopper

I recently had to call our hvac/plumber because the furnace wouldn’t cycle on. Turns out one of my kids had accidentally flipped a kill switch in the basement I didn’t even know existed. $300 for him to show up and turn a light switch. Did I feel stupid? Yes, but that’s what you get for eating up an hour of an expert’s time (including travel time) for a small problem.

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closerocks t1_j7qs006 wrote

This is awfully close to home. Bought a house in July, it gets cold, heat doesn't work. It's important to know that we have a gas furnace.

I check everything I think of and it looks fine. Call the heating contractor, couldn't make it for a few days but since it wasn't horribly cold, we were okay with waiting. A day later I am talking it over with my partner and I showed her the red switch on the wall that says oil burner emergency shutoff. I tell her "this is a switch for oil burners, I don't know where they put the emergency shut off switch for the gas furnace". We both stop and look at each other then the switch. It's turned off. I flip it on, the gas burner starts up.

I don't know who is the bigger idiot. Me for trusting the labeling, or the furnace guy for not fixing the labeling. Fortunately I was able to cancel the heating contractor visit in time and I didn't get charged a fee.

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yacht_boy t1_j7sqhrr wrote

I was a licensed boat captain for many years.

We had a small boat in our fleet that needed an outboard engine repair. I was sent to pick it up from the mechanic and bring it back. I went to the office, got the key, went to the boat, it wouldn't start. Tried for a few minutes, called the guy at the office.

He walked down the dock, got on the boat, inserted the kill switch clip that is standard on all outboards (and was attached to the keychain on the boat that I drove daily for a living) into the kill switch holder, turned the key and started the engine, and walked away. Never even said a word to me.

I have never felt so stupid in my entire life.

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ApolloSimba t1_j7qgtvh wrote

Lol I did this over the weekend by accident. Luckily figured out it was the switch before we had to call anyone.

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