I agree with above, ask where it is and ask to see the progress (I know some shops near me only do that work at one location of a few). The owner being there is irrelevant to pretty much any of it if some staff is around. If they cannot tell you an exact location where you can verify it then tell them you’re going to have to report it stolen and file a complaint with the BBB and go do that.
Tone when dealing with them may be offputting (kind of like why you got knee jerk reactions here), so perhaps there’s a more constructive approach? I don’t know how you talked with them, but probably worth a self check.