Zomato and veg-non-veg controversies refuse to take a beat. The e-commerce food aggregator was recently in the news for introducing a pure-veg fleet, and now, a customer shared that he ordered veg momos but received non-veg variants instead. Apart from late deliveries, misplaced items, and wrong items sent to customers, veg and non-veg mix-ups keep adding fuel to the fire, especially during festivals like Navratri.
Many e-commerce food aggregators have dealt with similar complaints in the past. Operating at such a large scale increases the chances of human error and the internet keeps on stacking one controversy over the other. Food aggregators and outlets need to be extra cautious with what has been ordered and what they are delivering in a country like India, where the dietary preferences of many people are closely associated with their faith and religious beliefs. Here is what happened and how Zomato reacted.
Man Ordered Veg Momos From Zomato But Received Non-Veg Food
A man, identified as Akash Gupta on X (formerly known as Twitter) tagged Zomato and WoW! Momo, a pan-India restaurant chain selling a variety of momos, wrote, “I am a pure vegetarian, and I ordered veg things but I got non-veg items from your outlet. And the bad thing is Navratri is going on. How can you make this big mistake? There is a clear mention of item detail.”
Not only social media users, but the post also grabbed the attention of Zomato. Replying to Akash Gupta on X, the company wrote, “Hi Akash, this one is a big mix-up. It’s very serious and certainly not what we stand for. Mind sharing the order ID via DM so that we can resolve it ASAP (as soon as possible).”
Even WoW! Momo reacted to the customer's post and said, “Dear Akash! We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience. We would never want something like this to happen. Requesting you to please share your invoice and contact details at crmsupport@wowmomo.com so that we can get in touch with you.”
Akash Gupta’s post is no longer available on X, indicating that Zomato and WoW! Momo was able to rectify the error and compensate him for it. In most cases like these, e-commerce aggregators and restaurants not only apologise but also provide the best solution which can include replacing the meal to sending credit points to be used on the next order.
Social Media Reaction
While this incident involved only three parties - Akash Gupta, Zomato, and WoW! Momo - social media users never shy away from sharing their two-cent advice, despite not being asked for. As Geet said in Jab We Met, “Muft ka gyaan.”
Sanatani ShivKumar said that Aksh should have used his brain and not ordered momos during Navratri, especially from a restaurant that also sells non-vegetarian food.
Another user from Kolkata shared his plight of ordering sweets from Zomato which were delivered to the wrong address. He added that since the amount spent on the order was small, he did not bother himself with complaining. However, he swore to never order food from Zomato.
One user tweaked this isolated incident and gave it a communal angle. They wrote, “Just asking all those who trolled the veg delivery system earlier if pork moms were sent to a Muslim, what would these" pseudo-liberals" say?”
Raghvendra Kumar took it further and commented on the caste to which Deepinder Goyal, CEO and Founder of Zomato, identifies. He said, “I had the same experience when Zomato delivered non-veg food. These guys are looting the public and not even doing basic checks of what they are delivering. Bloody Corrupt Baniyas!”