Food delivery apps have become a part and parcel of our life! After all, who doesn’t like to be treated with their favorite dish at the doorstep? From snacks to desserts, we end up ordering food at home to satisfy our hunger pangs at least once in a day.
But online food delivery apps land up in soup making some really major goof ups sometimes. And, delivering the wrong order to the customer is one of the most common and risky mistakes ever! Moreover, all hell breaks loose if you are a pure vegetarian and mistakenly the order you received turns out to be non-veg!
Such a case has come to light recently in Pune, where a lawyer Shahmukh Deshmukh ordered a paneer butter masala from Zomato but was delivered butter chicken instead.
“Since the curries of both dishes look alike, he didn’t realize it was a chicken dish and ate it,” reports TOI. The lawyer had filed a case against Zomato and the eatery. The lawyer also alleged that this has happened not once but twice with him. Accordingly, the consumer court has slapped a fine of Rs 55,000 on Zomato.
The man who is a devotee of Gajanan Maharaj had ordered the food from the restaurant to break his fast. After he found that the food he ordered was not paneer but chicken he called the delivery boy. But the delivery boy said that it’s not his fault as they don’t open the parcel and check. So he contacted the restaurant manager. He assured Deshmukh that replacement will be sent for his order. The second delivery boy arrived with the order which was again chicken and not paneer. So, a couple of days later with the help of lawyer Sandesh Gundage, Deshmukh filed a case against Zomato and the restaurant.
A bench of presiding member Shubhangi Dunakhe and member Anil Jawalekar directed Pune-based Zomato office and Gurgaon-based head office along with Hotel Preet Punjabi Swad, located in Hinjewadi of Pune to pay the fine to Deshmukh within 45 days.
Zomato has, however, claimed that the lawyer complained against the food delivery platform to defame it as it had refunded his amount. They also alleged that the goof up was made from the restaurant’s end and accused them of sending the wrong order. But the consumer court considered both the partners to be equally guilty. The eatery has admitted its fault.
The forum has directed to pay Zomato and the restaurant a fine of Rs 50,000 for deficiency in service and another Rs 5,000 for mental harassment.
Have you ever had such an experience with any online food delivery apps? Share your stories with us!