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broken A/C at the Cosi in Dupont Circle: What Would You Do?
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Anonymous
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I was just out getting lunch at the Cosi on 20th and R, and it was stifling in there. The airconditioner was supposedly broken and being repaired, according to the manager with whom I spoke. I don't believe that for a second, since I've gone in there plenty of other times when it was really hot and stuffy, but of course with this heat wave, it was hugely magnified. They have that wood-fired oven going all day, the doors were closed, and there was no AC. All I could was a) it's totally unsafe for the staff there, and b) how can the food be at a safe temperature when it was hotter in there than it is outside?
I spoke to the manager, as noted above, and expressed my concern, and she told me that there were people working on the AC right at that moment. I didn't question her but told her I was going to contact the company and let them know that the store should be shut until the ac is working, with staff getting paid their usual salary. She got a little worried look on her face and gave me my salad for free, despite my protests. What would you guys have done? I did send a message to the parent company through their website, but not sure if that will amount to anything. I'm really tempted to call the D.C. restaurant inspector office, whatever it's called, and ask them to shut the place down. Is this an over-reaction? The poor people working there looked so miserable. and honestly, I can't even bring myself to eat this salad, it's all warm and gross. |
Anonymous
| OP, I have been in there numerous times and it is always stuffy and hot. I don't believe they even have an AC. You should call the restaurant inspector because it is way gross. Once I was in there and one of the guys working was sweating. I felt bad and also grossed out because he was mixing my salad and I didn't want sweat to get in it! I would not eat your salad. |
Anonymous
| I'd call the DC inspector. It's unsafe for the employees and patrons. |
Anonymous
| That location has had multiple problems in all its incarnations...X and O, what was it before that? D'Agostino? Can't remember now. But they have never had good air conditioning. I would call. |
Anonymous
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Not eat there.
I stopped going to the Cosi in Penn Quarter after I saw one employee continually wiping snot on his forearm. |
Anonymous
OP here. Yeah, I remember back when it originally opened as X and O at the south dupont location. I've always felt like their customer service really sucks so honestly, I don't go that often. But the one I went to today is the closest place to my office to get lunch, and all I cared about was being outside for as short a time as possible. Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm going to take your advice, both on contacting the D.C. inspector, and tossing that salad I got. 
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Anonymous
| Who's the idiot? You already know it is hot and stuffy, so why are you going there? |
Anonymous
Please, enlighten me. What is idiotic about getting someone official to check on the safety of the workers at that Cosi? I don't get a shit about my gross salad. |
Anonymous
| Corporate Cosi either doesn't check their website comments or doesn't care. I saw a rat run across the floor at Cosi in Friendship Heights. The manager didn't seem to do anything or care too much, so I tried contacting Cosi through their website. I never got a response. |
Anonymous
You may not have heard of an invention called air conditioning, which can actually chill warm humid air to quite frosty conditions. I'm actually sitting in my office wearing a sweater and I'm quite cold in my short sleeved dress. OP's expectation of a comfortable lunch environment is in fact quite reasonable. So who is the idiot? |
Anonymous
OP here. Amazingly enough, I did just get a response from the email I sent via the Cosi website, and it was from someone who said he was onsite at the dupont circle location. He actually asked if I had seen a tall man in a blue tshirt with spiky hair, which was him, and I did. He said he appreciated the concern and that they do have mechanics there working on the AC but they are waiting for a part to arrive. And then he told me to come in and speak to the manager next time I'm there to get a free drink.  Oy. I want to believe that they really are working on the problem, but seriously, why not close the store while this is going on? It's not like anyone is in there buying stuff!! Oh, he also said they're monitoring the food very closely to make sure it's at a safe temperature. Um.... ok. I appreciate him responding to me so quickly, but I am not exactly sold. And I did email the D.C. Health Department/Inspector in the meantime...
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Anonymous
Whoops, I meant to say " I don't GIVE a shit about my gross salad." This heat wave is forcing me to make typos everywhere... 
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Anonymous
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Some employess would rather work in a hot environment than be unemployed.
If your concern is for the safety of your food - fine but attempts to get the place shut down and the people laid off is not done for concern for the employees health or safety. |
Anonymous
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Cosi has serious issues. I was at a Cosi a year ago down down (across from the Executive Office Building) and one of the staff called my friend an f-ing B. She did it under her breath in a passive aggressive way, but we both heard it.
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Anonymous
I think that all workers should have a safe environment to work in. That does not mean I want to see people laid off!! A corporation like Cosi, with stores across the country, should damn well be able to afford to close a location temporarily to fix a dangerous problem, while still paying its staff and certainly not laying them off. You really think workers should be subjected to standing in an enclosed space for however many hours their shift lasts, with a freaking blazing oven blasting at them, when it's 100 degrees outside and 120 degrees inside? I'm all for a capitalist system, but that's ridiculous. Bottom line: Cosi is responsible for providing a safe work environment, and they should do whatever they need to to accomplish that, without it affecting the workers themselves. Maybe I live in a dream world, but so be it. |