Checked on my steam boiler in which the pipes were banging extremely loudly and one radiator was leaking. I was happy to pay the $80 diagnostics charge for him to come out and tell me what was wrong. I was confident there weren't major problems present, I just wanted an expert to go through the issue with me, as I am new to it. The tech did two things - closed the valve on 1 radiator (25 seconds with a wrench - and I've done this before) and he opened the spigot on the boiler to let some water out, while shutting the valve before the waterfeeder. Both things anyone would be 100% capable of doing themselves if someone were to tell them to. I just assumed these things were part of the diagnostics check, since he didn't ask me for permission to do either (when i scheduled the service, they said they would give me a quote for any repairs). My final bill ended up being $157 (minus a $25 coupon). So I was charged ~$70 to close a valve and open a spigot! Could have done both myself - and have done several times.
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