(A customer calls in complaining how his service is out.)

Me: “Are there lights on your modem?

Caller: “No.”

Me: “Can you check to see if the power cable is plugged in, or the power turned on?”

Caller: “I am standing knee-deep in water and you want me to check for a power cable?!”

(It turns out he had been calling from an area that had been hit by a hurricane.)