Wrote a letter to my old crew for a pipe burst I blamed on them, but it was my fault all along

Honestly, I sat down last night to finally write this apology to my crew for a job we did back in March. A pipe burst in a crawl space under a house in Maplewood, and I chewed them out for not testing the pressure right before we left. I was so sure it was their mistake, but I pulled the old job photos and remembered I was the one who installed that shut-off valve near the water heater. It was a cheap brass fitting I grabbed from my truck, not the proper one. I spent like 2 hours drafting this letter explaining how I was wrong and how I let my stress blow up on them. I never sent it, but I think I need to own up face-to-face instead of hiding behind a note. Has anyone else here ever blamed someone else for a fix that you later realized you messed up yourself?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea1mo ago

Cheap brass fitting from your truck"? Dude, you serious?

reed.elliot1mo ago

That cheap brass fitting is doing all the heavy lifting in this story. 😂

kimmurphy1mo ago

Man, that takes guts to even write the letter, let alone thinking about saying it face to face. Most people I know would just let it slide and never bring it up again. The fact that you're sitting with it and want to own up says a lot about you as a person. That cheap brass fitting thing though, I feel you there. We've all grabbed whatever was handy in a pinch and regretted it later. Hope you find the courage to talk to them, because that kind of honesty usually earns more respect than you think you're losing.