Scott Genshaft was surprised Saturday night when he returned to see a metal device disabling his car in the Burger King parking lot.

“I know that lot is just for customers,” the Weinberg junior said. “But I have parked there tons of times for an hour or half an hour to go other places.”

To get the device — known as a boot — removed, Genshaft had to pay $105 to Guardian Parking Management, a private company that began patrolling the lot April 24.

“I could tell it was a new policy because they seemed really excited about catching me,” he said.

Burger King hired Guardian to patrol its parking lot in the 1700 block of Orrington Avenue because its towing policy did not prevent people from parking there for short amounts of time.

“We had been getting complaints from customers that there was nowhere to park, so we needed to enforce it more,” Burger King manager Jay Darshane said. “This is the only restaurant in the neighborhood with a lot, and everyone parks in it.”

Before the booting policy took effect, people could park in the lot for short periods of time because tow trucks were slow to respond to calls, said Joe Grillo, a Guardian supervisor who patrols the lot.

“It’s a lot quicker this way,” he said.

Grillo said his company patrols the lot nearly 24 hours a day. On Monday evening, Grillo and his co-worker waited in the parking lot and watched to make sure people who parked there entered Burger King. When someone walked into another business or apartment building, they attached a boot to the vehicle’s rear tire.

The Guardian employees used a watch and a clipboard to keep track of how long the booted cars were left in the lot. They booted three cars in one hour.

When the lot is crowded, Grillo said he calls a towing company to remove cars that have been booted for more than an hour.

The booting policy is legal, said Cmdr. Dennis Nilsson of the Evanston Police Department.

“Property owners have a right to tow or boot cars if there are signs saying not to park there,” he said.

Evanston does not have any ordinance about booting cars on private property, said Jean Baucom, the city’s parking systems manager. For about 10 years, the city has placed boots on illegally parked cars with five or more outstanding tickets.

Because it has received questions about the legality of booting, Evanston City Council’s Administration and Public Works Committee will discuss on Monday the introduction of an ordinance to prohibit the immobilization of vehicles on private property, said Maureen Barry, assistant to the city manager.

Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) said a restaurant owner complained to him a few months ago about a booting policy in the parking lot of The Bureaus Inc., a collection agency at 1717 Central St.

Guardian has been patrolling the lot for about six months, said John Evans, TBI’s director of collection operations, who also is involved in managing the building. He said the booting policy has been easier and more effective than calling tow trucks for illegally parked cars.

“It’s a no-fuss, no-muss solution,” Evans said.

But he said he understands why some people feel victimized by it.

“These people from the neighborhood got away with something for years,” Evans said. “I’m not trying to be aggressive now — I just want my employees to be able to park.”

Evans also said he has received one complaint from a woman who said she felt physically threatened by Guardian employees in the parking lot.

“I don’t want to have the reputation in the community as being a bully,” he said. “I don’t want an element in the parking lot that does that.”

Genshaft, the student whose car was booted at Burger King, said he was suspicious of the operation because the employees had an unmarked vehicle and would accept only cash.

“It didn’t seem official,” he said. “In retrospect I would have rather paid a towing company because I know about towing companies. But I made sure to get a receipt.”

But Michael Denigris, Guardian’s Illinois manager, said employees wear uniform shirts and identification badges, adding that the company is also planning to get identifying magnets for employees’ cars. He also said Guardian will accept credit cards before 6 p.m. when its office is open.

The company does more than just boot cars. Guardian employees also remove snow in the winter and keep lots clean and in good repair.

Denigris said the goal of Guardian is not to victimize people but to relieve business owners of parking lot responsibilities.

“Our signs are also bigger than towing company signs,” Denigris said. “And our employees get paid by the hour, not for each car they boot, so there is no incentive.”

Grillo also said it’s better to have a car booted than towed.

“Really it’s the lesser of the two evils,” Grillo said. “Tow trucks damage cars and then you have to go down to Chicago and get them.”