Zomato, the food delivery app, introduced its ‘Veg mode’ for vegetarian users last year. However, there has been some controversy regarding the implementation which seems to be causing trouble for the company. The food delivery giant revealed that would impose an extra fee for vegetarian food deliveries. This did not sit well with the customers and they went against it on social media criticizing Zomato’s policy.
A LinkedIn post slamming Zomato’s policy to introduce an “extra charge” for vegetarian food deliveries went viral
Ranjan called the fee a “luxury tax” on vegetarians in his post. He also expressed his disappointment and wrote that the food delivery platform’s move had turned vegetarians into a “premium subscription plan.”
Ranjan shared a picture of his bill summary on LinkedIn which showed Zomato charging a “Veg mode enablement fee” of Rs. 2 in addition to its platform fee of Rs. 10, and delivery fee of Rs. 47 and wrote,
“Being a vegetarian in India these days feels like a curse! Zomato’s latest masterstroke—introducing an “extra charge” for the veg enablement fleet—has officially turned us into a premium subscription plan. So, fellow herbivores, brace yourselves! We’ve gone from “green and healthy” to “green and pricey.”
He added,
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Thanks, Zomato, for proving once again that being veg is now a luxury tax!
He ended the post by thanking Swiggy for equal treatment.
Here is the post
The post caught the attention of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal who gave a prompt reply
Goyal apologized for charging an extra fee from customers who opted for vegetarian deliveries. He said that he’d get the fee scrapped immediately. He replied,
“This is absolutely stupid on our part. I am super sorry for this. This charge will be removed today itself”
He further added,
“Will also fix what’s needed to fix in the team so that such s**t doesn’t happen again. Thank you for pointing this out”
Zomato fixed the problem within a day of the issue being highlighted.
Zomato’s Veg Mode
Zomato’s Veg Mode was in demand by Zomato users, which was first introduced last year. When Zomato launched the veg mode, they introduced a separate delivery fleet that would carry only vegetarian food. Some people on the internet were outraged because the veg fleet delivery riders would wear green instead of the usual red. People suspected that it would cause discrimination against non-vegetarian users by their neighbors who’d see red delivery partners delivering food to them.
Zomato then implemented a common uniform for its entire fleet. Then some customers said that the name “Pure Veg” was discriminatory, for which Zomato changed it to ‘Veg Mode’.
In some cities, Zomato doesn’t have the option of opting into a Veg-only fleet. Customers there can only browse through vegetarian dishes on its app through a Veg Mode toggle. It’s not understandable why Zomato was charging an extra fee for vegetarian deliveries in the first place.
Goyal made sure to end the controversy as soon as possible by reverting the rules.
Do you have the ”Veg mode” on Zomato in your city? Let us know in the comments.
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