Hey all, for your enjoyment – I present a true story from my younger working years.
This reaches back into the mists of time to slightly over 20 years ago. I worked as an Amusement technician for a local operating company, and my job was literally go from bar, to restaurant, to laundrymat, to wherever, repairing broken Vending Machines, Jukeboxes, Pinballs, Arcade Games, Pool Tables whatever.
It would have been a peaceful life, if my boss hadn't been a total tool.
My employer started to get into a very *gray area* in my state – private “casinos”. The state did eventually rule it as illegal gambling a couple years later, but at the time it was just gray. I however didn't want to touch any of those machines (I had a few close friends that had been Rico'd before, and call me paranoid but I don't want trouble)
For a while that was acceptable to my boss, until he couldn't find someone that would fix them that wasn't also a thief, so he started to apply serious pressure to me to work on them. I told him that I wouldn't be able to accomodate him and he fired me on the spot, and refused to give me my payout for the week. (A very hot-headed sort) In other words, he didn't pay me my last check. (about $500)
I gave up, packed my tools and left. Sometimes, I'm too chill. Fortunately, a guy like me always had odd jobs doing the same work, so I didn't need to run out and get a new job right away, plenty of cash jobs to do, and I was paid on the spot that night for a quick fix from someone else. I was ready to chalk it up as my loss, oh well.
However, my hot-headed former employer didn't stop, he started to spread the word that the reason he fired me was the same reason that he fired others, that I was a “thief”. It came back to me through several others in the business that had known me for years, ones that couldn't believe it.
So I went by the shop and confronted my former boss. I told him to stop. At first he didn't admit it, then he actually laughed, and admitted that he was getting even for my being a jerk about the gambling machines.
Now, beating him down would have been very, very satisfying, I'm a big dude…but I have no interest in jail.
So I did the next best thing. You see, back in the day, before everyone had games on their smartphones, you may remember these bartop games with puzzles, games, NSFW content, etc that were all in bars. Usually, the only lock that would be changed out by the operator was the money lock, but they almost always left the computer lock the exact same factory key. (easier to carry just one key to fix the computers) I had so many spares of that key, it was no trouble grabbing one.
Anyway, the computers had a little anti-piracy security chip, that could be removed while the machine was running, and the game would keep going, because it only checked the security chip during power on cycle.
So, I visited about 15 of his higher revenue bars in one night, popped in, grabbed the security chips, and walked out. I ended up with over 30 of his security chips.
So what happened? The next afternoon, when all the bars powered the games up, NONE of the bartop games worked. This caused a panic when the bars called for service, and they had no security chips so the on call technician could do *nothing*. Ordering replacements was at least 2 weeks away, and so they had to shuffle like crazy to cover their highest grossing locations. He definitely lost more than the $500 he stole from me, but I digress.
So anyway, the day after his personal Armageddon hit, I show up at the shop, and hand him an envelope with his security chips inside. I tell him that he really needs to stop talking about me entirely, in fact, he needs to steer clear of me completely in the future, that I never want to be troubled by him again…because I know way too much about his business, and quite frankly, this is the lowest setting of payback I know.
Ya'll think I went too far? It worked…he never spoke about, or to me ever again. (of course he still has my $500.) =p