Can we talk about the thermostat at my local coffee shop that's literally behind a stack of cups

I stopped into Brew & Bean in Portland yesterday and noticed something that drove me nuts. The thermostat for the whole place is mounted on a wall behind the counter, but it's completely hidden by a huge stack of to-go cup sleeves and napkins. The barista told me they've never touched it because they can't even see the display. Meanwhile it's either freezing or sweltering depending on the time of day and customers keep complaining. I asked why they don't just move it and she said the landlord won't let them relocate the unit because of some lease thing. So they just deal with it and hope the weather cooperates. Has anyone else run into a situation where a simple control is just buried behind some daily clutter in a public space?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_viola22h ago

That whole "the landlord won't let them relocate it" thing really got me. I used to think these situations were just lazy employees not caring, but hearing how it's a lease issue changed my mind. It's crazy that a simple thermostat can be locked down by some legal paper, leaving everyone to just suffer through the temps. I had a similar thing at a laundromat where the dryer timer was behind a pile of lost socks for months, and nobody could do a thing about it.

jackson.wesley16h ago

Ha, come on. You really think a lease is what's stopping them from moving a thermostat? That's just an excuse they feed customers so they don't have to do any actual work. I've seen maintenance guys run a new wire through a drop ceiling in twenty minutes. Landlords don't care about thermostats, they care about tenants paying rent on time. Sounds like the store manager just didn't want to deal with the hassle and found a convenient scapegoat.