When Daycare Parking Wars Escalate: How One Office Owner Served Cold, Gated Malicious Compliance
If you’ve ever had a neighbor who takes advantage of your kindness, buckle in—this story from Reddit’s r/MaliciousCompliance is a masterclass in patience, pettiness, and poetic justice. Picture this: a small professional firm, a daycare next door, and a parking lot battle that ends with a literal gate crashing the party.
It all began innocuously enough. The OP (original poster), u/RelativeSalad1409, and his partner run a boutique firm—lawyers, CPAs, the works—with a lease that grants them exclusive rights to 24 parking spaces. The daycare next door? Just 10 spots, which get gobbled up by their staff faster than you can say “morning meltdown.” For years, the OP’s generous crew let daycare parents and staff park in their spacious lot. No biggie—there were always empty spaces, and the infectious laughter of toddlers brightened their mornings.
But as the adage goes, no good deed goes unpunished.
The Towing That Tipped the Scales
One fateful day, the OP found himself arriving during peak drop-off hours and, seeing his lot packed to the gills with tiny humans and their parents, did what any reasonable neighbor would: parked in the daycare’s lot. If they could use his, why not return the favor?
Turns out, daycare management didn’t quite see it that way.
After a brief, silently awkward stare-down, the OP’s vintage blue truck was unceremoniously towed. No warning, no friendly note—just a $600 bill and a lecture from the manager about “liability” and “unknown adults.” (Never mind the years her staff and parents had been the unknowns in his lot.) When the OP sought an apology and a compromise, he got another serving of attitude and a hard “no.”
Malicious Compliance: The Gate Drops
So, what’s a mild-mannered, overworked professional to do? Comply, of course—maliciously. The OP contacted the landlord, spinning a white lie about needing a secure, access-only parking gate for “state licensing compliance.” The landlord, perhaps picturing a James Bond villain’s lair rather than a CPA’s office, green-lit the installation immediately.
Two weeks later, the electronic gate went up, and the parking chaos reached a fever pitch. Daycare staff poked and prodded at the keypad, parents double-parked and trekked from distant lots, and the once-cordial morning drop-offs turned into a scene from The Amazing Race: Toddler Edition. The OP, sipping his coffee from a corner window, got to witness the fallout with a grin.
The Sweet Taste of Petty Victory
The daycare manager, now getting a taste of her own restrictive medicine, was less than pleased. She fired off an indignant email to the landlord, demanding answers about the parking arrangement—only to discover, much to her dismay, that the OP’s company had every legal right to those 24 coveted spaces. The landlord shrugged it off, and with two years left on the lease (plus a renewal option), the OP’s parking kingdom remains secure.
And, for those wondering, the OP never stooped to towing the daycare manager’s car in retaliation. Not out of mercy for her, but out of empathy for families who might not be able to weather a $600 setback—proof that even the pettiest victories can be won with a touch of class.
Lessons from the Lot
This story isn’t just about parking spots—it’s about boundaries, communication, and what happens when you take a neighbor’s goodwill for granted. Had the daycare manager simply reached out, a decades-long partnership might have continued. Instead, she got a gate and a daily reminder: Don’t bite the hand that parks you.
So next time you’re tempted to ignore your neighbor’s generosity, remember: Malicious compliance is only a gate away.
Would you have gone full petty, or tried to extend an olive branch? Drop your thoughts (and your own parking war stories) in the comments below!
Reddit Source: u/RelativeSalad1409’s parking lot saga, 20,946 upvotes, 902 comments, and one very satisfying conclusion.
Original Reddit Post: Daycare wants my office to park in our reserved spaces while they use ours too. We did.