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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Hieloun on 2024-11-10 16:54:45+00:00.

Hopefully a good one for you. Sorry for any mistakes as English is not my first language. A few details are changed for anonymity.

I work at a niche retail store located in the heart of town. Our customers are dedicated and often travel from afar just to visit us, so having a clear and accessible parking lot is crucial for our business. Unfortunately, our next door neighbours, a family-run landscaping and garden supply store, have been a thorn in our side for years when it comes to parking.

The tension between my boss and the landscaping store owner goes back over a decade before I joined, all over something trivial. I know the landscaper once complained about a tree on our side of the lot, which was unsightly for their customers. It was the pettiest neighbour drama you could imagine, but it festered for years.

The final straw came after the ‘rona, when the physical business in town started picking back up and our parking lot started overflowing with cars again, many belonging to the landscaping store’s customers. See, our two parking lots are connected. Ours is about twice the size of his, but the landscaper had decided to reserve almost all his spots for his landscaping vans. Ironically, those vans are rarely even there during business hours. As a result, his customers just parked in our lot, leaving us with few spaces for our own customers.

My boss, trying to be reasonable, approached the landscaper with a suggestion. Maybe they could adjust their parking setup to free up a few more spaces for customers, and that their vans were welcome to park in our lot, if their lot was ever full. But the landscaper shot down the idea immediately, insisting that it was “absolutely crucial” to reserve all of those spaces for his vans, even though they were rarely there during the day. The conversation turned heated, ending with my boss threatening to put up a fence to separate the lots and enforce parking. The landscaper, practically daring him, shot back, “Go ahead.” Probably knowing how expensive that would be. As you can imagine, it ended with both men storming off and not speaking for two years. Typical neighbour stuff.

Fast forward to recently, and we got a golden opportunity when a parking management company approached us with a proposal. They offered to install automated license plate cameras to enforce parking, allowing us to fine vehicles that stayed beyond a generous 3-hour free window, if they hadn’t paid. The setup would be free, we’d get most of the revenue and they would keep any fines issued. It was perfect, especially since we were losing spaces to freeloaders, wouldn’t really impact the customers of the nearby stores, and if anyone had a good reason to park there for longer, then we could give them an extension at our discretion.

However, for the cameras to work, they needed to cover both our entrance and the landscaping store’s entrance. Being the considerate neighbour (again), my boss had the parking company rep reach out to the landscaper to explain the deal and benefits. But true to form, the landscaper didn’t even let the rep finish before kicking him out, making it very clear very clear that, under no circumstances, would his lot become a paid parking zone.

Instead of going through the hassle of putting up the necessary expensive fence, my boss had a better idea: big rocks. One of his construction buddies had a stash of leftover rocks from a recent project and offered to place them for a great price. The parking company even agreed to front the cost, to be repaid through future parking revenue.

On Monday morning, before opening hours, one of the buddy’s employees, a big, burly guy with arms like tree trunks, arrived with a truck and crane to place the rocks. The rocks were neatly spaced to allow pedestrians to pass with carts but completely blocked vehicle access. The landscaper stormed out, yelling and trying to intimidate the worker into stopping. But the worker, unfazed, calmly told him to step back for his own safety, which made the much smaller landscaper back down and retreat in frustration.

The rocks weren’t just a physical barrier. They quickly became a mental obstacle for the landscapers’s employees. Their muscle memory kept bringing them into our lot, only for them to realize too late that they couldn’t drive through anymore. We watched from our newly installed surveillance cameras, just in case the neighbour tried anything, trying not to burst out laughing as their vans ended up awkwardly stuck. They’d have to reverse out and go all the way around to their own entrance, only to perform a series of painful maneuvers to squeeze into their now much smaller parking area. At one point, we even caught one of their rushing vans clipping a rock while trying to maneuver. A little bonus for our viewing pleasure.

The next day, the parking company arrived to install the license plate cameras and set up the signage, which took a few hours. Throughout the installation, the landscaper’s family members were prowling around our lot, snapping photos and videos as if they were on a mission to find a violation. But the parking company was very professional, and had done everything by the book, so there was nothing for them to report. In the meantime, my boss was positively glowing with satisfaction as he helped direct the installation.

Here’s the best part: We noticed that the neighbour’s family had started parking their personal vehicles in our lot, likely out of spite to mess with us. One day, my coworker saw one of the family members dash out of their store and sprint to their car. We thought it was odd at the time but didn’t think much of it until the following week, when the landscaper’s son came into our store looking a bit embarrassed.

Apparently, he had accidentally overstayed the 3-hour limit and received a $150 fine. The son practically begged us to waive it, insisting it was just a simple mistake. My boss politely responded, “Oh, I’d really love to help, but it’s out of our control now. The parking company handles all the fines.”

The look on his face was priceless. He left, shoulders slumped retreating back to their store.

Ever since, our lot has been blissfully clear, and our customers have had no trouble finding spaces. Meanwhile, the landscapers have been grumbling as they have a harder time maneuvering their vans, still trying to pretend they’re not bothered. As for my boss? He’s been smiling a lot more lately.

Sometimes, the best revenge is simply letting people get exactly what they asked for.

TL;DR: Neighbouring landscaping store took up parking, refused to cooperate. We followed their instructions and blocked off our lot and set up parking enforcement cameras. Within a week, they got fined, and came begging us to waive it. Boss simply told them it’s “Out of our hands.” Now, our lot is clear, and we’re happier than ever.