Sad that people are allowed to get away with it. They know it too. I’ve seen people pulling stuff at Wal-Mart on quite a few occasions, and I’m only a customer. People like you that work at these places must really get an eyeful every day.
We can deter the amateurs...we kill ‘em with customer service and eventually they go someplace where they won’t get that attention...but the pros—they don’t care. They’ll create a diversion or just run out the door, knowing we can’t do a thing.
“My” solution? First off, no cash refunds for no receipt returns, store gift card only. Second, tie that gift card to the ID that is presented when it is returned. There is a thriving business on eBay selling store gift cards. It is the high tech fence...and they usually get around 90% of the face value of the card....much better than they would ever get at a fence.