Sep 23, 2008 3:40 pm US/Pacific
Stiff Penalty For Sampling At East Bay Store
BERKELEY (CBS 5) ―
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Customers caught sampling could 6 months in jail.
CBS
One of the most famous supermarkets in the Bay Area has instituted a harsh punishment for shoppers caught sampling food.
The popular Berkeley Bowl supermarket has instituted a lifetime ban on customers they have caught taking a free taste of the goods.
"I am banned for life for sampling two apricots at the Berkeley Bowl without paying for them," said Raphael Brienes.
Brienes was a regular Berkeley Bowl customer, but he had uneven experiences with the fruit selection, he said, so wanted to make sure what he was buying was good. He took a bite of two different types of apricots.
"Two undercover security guards surrounded me and said, 'Did you steal anything?' I said no, I don't think so. They said yes you did, you ate some fruit," recalled Brienes.
"Conceivably you could be charged with 490 of the California State Penal Code which is petty theft, where the value is under $50," said Officer Andrew Frankel of the Berkeley Police Department.
Customers caught sampling could also get 6 months in jail. Well, thought Mr. Brienes, that would be the pits. He already felt like a bad apple, so he signed an agreement never to come back.
"It's a little humiliating," said Brienes.
And he might not be alone.
Michael Hardaway said he was banned for life for using too much cream and sugar in his coffee.
"I paid for the coffee. I paid for the coffee, but it was the amount of cream and sugar in the coffee they didn't like," said Hardaway.
How did Berkeley Bowl respond to these claims? They wouldn't talk to us on camera. Not even a nibble.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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