So, tonight at work I was on register for most of the evening, and toward close I get a customer with a return. They give me the common line about buying stuff they didn't need, etc. The receipt is from another one of our locations, but date and such are well within bounds so I go ahead and start processing the return.

I scan the first item, and my register tells me it's not on the receipt. I verify that it is in fact on the receipt, and call up my manager to help. While verifying that it's on the receipt, I notice that the transaction was paid for with a check, which in combination with the failed return, is a definite red flag for me. (There are three reasons this happens. Server issues, the item has already been returned, or corporate has flagged the receipt for some reason. We weren't having server issues tonight.)

Anyway, my manager gets up to the front, and I explain the situation to him. Because it was paid for via check, official policy severely limits the refund options. As my manager starts talking to the customer, they ask if we can refund it to cash since apparently we're not going to be able to do a mail-in check like we're supposed to. My manager says no, but to have me start processing it as a non-receipted return to the customer's debit card.

The customer says they don't have a card, to which my manager tells me to just take care of them and refund it as cash. Now, somebody not having a card is a definite red flag, as is someone lying about not having a card (Which this customer was doing. I saw quite a few cards later in the transaction).

Anyway, I asked the customer for ID so I could process the return, and they hand me their ID in one of those little travel tags. I poke at the tag for a moment before realizing the ID is physically sealed inside, and I let the customer know I need to have it out of the tag to scan it. Customer tells me that the ID, which looks brand new and untouched, doesn't scan. I tell them I need to scan it, so the customer digs around in their wallet (oh look at all the cards you don't have) and hands me another ID. A worn ID, actually used ID. Which has completely different information on it and only shares the origin state and photograph. (I think I've been mentioning red flags? All the red flags. Just...wow.)

Anyway, I immediately back away, talk to my manager about this, and tell him to take over the transaction while I finish up with the one he was ringing at the next register. He proceeds to completely ignore everything I just mentioned, all of the red flags, and just give this customer a cash refund while breaking multiple corporate policies that are above the pay grade of anyone in the store. So yeah, that's a thing, I guess.