The rise of food delivery apps has quietly but radically altered how India eats. What was formerly restricted to dine-in culture has grown into a sophisticated digital ecosystem that connects customers, restaurants, delivery partners, and technological platforms in real time. For restaurants, Zomato, Swiggy and other such platforms transformed the very notion of business models. Cloud kitchens sprouted all over, slashing overhead while freeing up culinary experimentation.
At the same time, data-driven insights, such as peak order times, customer preferences, and repeat behavior, enabled restaurants to make informed operational decisions that were unimaginable a decade ago. But this growth also brought its set of challenges. Income stability and algorithm-driven work allocation are some areas that have increasingly drawn public attention and scrutiny. This tension was evident in a recent incident where a Delhi-based restaurateur alleged bias in Zomato’s rider allocation system. Interestingly, Zomato CEO Aditya Mangla has also responded to the allegations.
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Zomato faces allegations of rider allocation bias by a Delhi restaurateur
A controversy has erupted on social media over allegations that the process of allocating rides to customers on the food delivery platform Zomato is being manipulated. The claim popped up on X on November 27, 2025. A user named Gagandeep Singh Sapra shared what they called “video proof” of the problem. In his tweet, he wrote,
Here’s video proof of how rider allocation is being manipulated at @zomato. For 31 days we’ve escalated this, and nothing has changed. Our restaurant is repeatedly shown as ‘unavailable’ at peak hours while nearby outlets within 50 meters keep getting riders. This isn’t ‘dynamic allocation’—it’s system-level bias. @deepigoyal
In his post, Gagandeep had claimed that Zomato’s internal system allocates the riders for orders in a non-transparent and unfair manner. He further said the video shows how the rider allocation allegedly favors select delivery workers and leaves others, who are then regularly bypassed, affecting their ability to get orders regularly. The user mentioned that the issue had been escalated with Zomato for more than 31 days without any corrective action being taken.
The tweet quickly gained traction among both the delivery workers and the users of the platform. Multiple social media users echoed worries about the algorithmic opacity of gig-economy platforms, while other people asked Zomato to publicly explain how its rider-allocation system works.
Have a look at the original tweet
Here’s video proof of how rider allocation is being manipulated at @zomato .
For 31 days we’ve escalated this, and nothing has changed. Our restaurant is repeatedly shown as ‘unavailable’ at peak hours while nearby outlets within 50 meters keep getting riders.
This isn’t… pic.twitter.com/syHpTkvVsi
— Gagandeep Singh Sapra (@TheBigGeek) November 23, 2025
Zomato CEO reacts to the allegations of bias
Upon noticing the post, Zomato CEO Aditya Mangla also reacted to Gagandeep’s allegations. He said that he will look into this matter. In his reply, Aditya wrote,
@TheBigGeek – thank you for sharing this. I’m getting this checked
@TheBigGeek – thank you for sharing this. I’m getting this checked 🙏🏽
— Aditya Mangla (@adimangla) November 24, 2025
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How did netizens react to the post?
Within no time, Gagandeep’s tweet went viral on various social media platforms, with the restaurateur’s allegation triggering a sharp and polarized reaction. Many users sided with the Delhi-based restaurateur, saying the post mirrored their own experiences of decreasing visibility, inconsistent rider allocation, and perceived lack of transparency on Zomato. On the other side, a section of netizens defended the platform, saying large-scale delivery systems are driven by automated algorithms meant for efficiency, not discrimination.
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Have a look at some of the reactions
Devil’s advocate:
Guess drivers also rate restaurants and people who order.
If you delay fulfilling the orders multiple times and make the drivers wait for too long and treat drivers badly, restaurants get bad rating and avoided by drivers.— socialmedia.do2 (@socialmedia_Do2) November 24, 2025
Why the hell they are doing this ?
Are they planning more commission or surge revenue from restaurant Paaji ?
— Nayak Satya (@NayakSatya_SG) November 23, 2025
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I’ve lost 20K and still no solution. They just say contact my manager the very one who caused this! No senior officials have reached out. It feels like I’m being cheated by powerful corporate duopolies with no one to turn to.@zomatocare @deepigoyal @adimangla it is big money 4 us pic.twitter.com/VUtVv1cPC4
— Mathankumar Ramasamy (@mathaninvest) November 27, 2025
This happens all the time. The one nearby place I order from, which actually makes good food, shows up as unavailable because there’s no delivery rider. But when I call them, they say they don’t have any other option and can send the food through their own staff.
Open the app…
— Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) November 24, 2025
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Yes, Zomato pushes restaurants that pay for ads, even if they’re located far away from the customer. With ads on, I end up paying 65%+ to Zomato making the model unviable. When I raised this, all I got was a standard template response. @adimangla
— Saurabh Sharma (@saurabhliv) November 27, 2025
The system is theirs and the coding is done by their hired people. They can manipulate their own algorithm as and however they like. Ganda hai par dhandha hai yeh. There is and never will be a bigger businessman other than Deepi.
— Yogesh Goel (Review Wala) (@ygoel) November 24, 2025
What do you think about this incident? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.
