Last year I had a service call in Loveland where the homeowner had hung a giant flat screen TV right in front of the main panel. It was one of those big wall mounts that was a pain to take down, took me an hour just to get to the breakers. I told them straight up that this is a fire hazard and if there was ever an emergency, theyd be screwed. They ended up paying me to remount the TV on the wall to the left instead, which took another hour but honestly it was the right call. I started putting a little note in my work order after that about keeping a clear space around the panel, and I mention it on the phone when I book the job. It doesnt always stop people from doing dumb stuff, but it saves me from being the bad guy when I have to move their stuff. You handled it about right, I think charging them is fair since you did the extra work. Most of these folks just dont think about the panel at all until the day they need it.

Man, that cop totally saw the whole thing as a setup for a punchline he wasn't ready for. I once had a 'Jesus is my co-pilot' sticker next to one that said 'I brake for no one' and let me tell you, the looks I got in the church parking lot were worse than any ticket. My buddy even asked if I was trying to start a holy war with my own bumper. I think the real lesson is that stickers are like a two-part joke where the punchline is always your insurance rate going up. These days I just stick to 'My kid is an honor roll student' and even that feels risky when I'm tailgating someone slow.