Creative Punishment Shows Why You Don’t Steal From Montana Store

It has to be the most frustrating thing for a small business owner when somebody attempts to steal from their establishment. There they are just trying to sell their goods and make a living when somebody decides to try and take money out of their pockets. It might not hurt the profit margin as much when it happens to a larger retail store but I bet it feels equally satisfying when either place catches somebody trying to make off without paying.

Smooth move!

I saw the picture below posted on Facebook from an Ace Hardware store in Billings. It shows the aftermath of what happened after somebody stole something from the store this week. We don't get all the details of how things played out but it sounds like somebody was in a hurry to get out of there and decided to flee on foot while leaving their vehicle behind. And that's when the Evergreen Ace Hardware decided to have a little fun!

There must have been video footage or some other way that Ace employees confirmed that the car in question belonged to the person that took something from the store. As you can see from the post, they decided to position pallets of compost around the vehicle to trap it in the parking lot in case the person attempted to return for it. That's just brilliant! And the use of hashtags with #dontstealfromus and #needanydirt just serves as icing on the cake if the guilty party happens to see the picture online!

How does the story end?

One comment on the Ace Hardware post was a plea for an update on what happens next. The photo was just posted yesterday and as of now, there hasn't been any follow-up to the story. Could they have already found the guilty party and not posted about it? Perhaps. But I choose to keep the fantasy alive and believe that somewhere there's a person that can't get to work or make their appointments because their car is on lockdown in an Ace Hardware parking lot for all the world to see.

Well played, Ace. Well played!