Cosi CEO Blames Chain's Troubles On His Staff

The CEO of embattled restaurant chain Cosi says his staff is to blame for a recent downturn.

CEO Stephen Edwards was trying to explain why the brand lost $2.1 million last quarter.

He said on a conference call that food wasn't to blame:

“People love our sandwiches, they love our salads,” Edwards said. “We hear it time and time again, it’s never a complaint — a complaint is because someone was rude to me, my sandwich or my salad was incomplete in the ingredients that it was supposed to have … or I got the wrong order or it took me 20 minutes to get my order when there was nobody else in the store."

The brand is working to address the problem, he said.

"Class A hospitality and service experience is what we are really focused on," said Edwards.

Cosi is a fast-casual chain with just over 100 restaurants around the U.S.