Food ordering patterns of the Indians have witnessed a radical shift over the past decade. Needless to say, food delivery applications have not only altered the consumption patterns but also provided mass employment to delivery riders, which often comes under flexible employment through technological advancement. However, upon examining the fast-growing industry, glitches in the system, mostly with respect to delivery riders, started unfolding.
Payments are usually location- and time-based. However, the affected riders believe it doesn’t accurately represent the real scenario of traffic, weather, fuel prices, and fatigue involved in the journey, among others. Recently, a food delivery partner’s complaint over low earnings for a long-distance order has prompted a response from Zomato. The concern was raised after a delivery partner shared a screenshot of the wages received in a recent delivery on the X (Twitter) platform, tagging the customer care account of Zomato. This is what happened:
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Zomato delivery partner complains over Rs 62 earnings for a 10-km trip
In the post, the delivery partner named Naveen Kumar recently took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his grievances regarding the payment that he gets after having a long-distance ride. According to his post, he travelled 10.1 kilometers in 46 minutes and got a meager ₹62.93 for the delivery. He shared his frustration, saying that even as he travelled a farther distance and spent quite a lot of time on the road, the payout was not comparable with the effort or the cost of fuel or time spent. He added that because the system usually leaves little choice, delivery partners often have to reluctantly accept such orders when the compensation appears disproportionately less.
The post included a screenshot from the delivery app showing the message, ‘Great job! Delivery complete,’ along with the trip distance, duration, and earnings. The user raises a very valid question as to how such payouts can be justified while arguing that delivery partners cannot decline long-distance orders if they do not want to face penalties or reduced order allocations. In Hindi, he wrote,
Trip Distance: 10.1 kilometers. Trip Time: 46 minutes. Payment Received: Rs 62.93. Despite covering such a long distance and time, the payment received is not fair in comparison to the effort, time, and petrol expenses. For a delivery of nearly 10 kilometers and about 1 hour of time, this amount is very low. @zomatocare
Have a look at the original post:
ट्रिप दूरी: 10.1 किलोमीटर
ट्रिप समय: 46 मिनट
प्राप्त भुगतान: ₹62.93
इतनी अधिक दूरी और समय देने के बावजूद जो भुगतान मिला है, वह मेहनत, समय और पेट्रोल खर्च के मुकाबले उचित नहीं है। लगभग 10 किलोमीटर की डिलीवरी और करीब 1 घंटे के समय के लिए यह राशि बहुत कम है।@zomatocare pic.twitter.com/5o4QjsYjki— naveen kumar (@naveen100591) January 14, 2026
How did Zomato react to the above-mentioned tweet?
Publicly responding to this, Zomato Care acknowledged the concern and said it wanted to understand the issue better. It asked the delivery partner to share his FE ID and registered phone number through direct message, citing that the team at its end would check the details and help further. In Hindi, Zomato wrote,
Namaskar Naveen, we understand your trouble and want to help you. Please share your FE ID with us via DM so that we can check it and contact you with an update.
नमस्कार Naveen, हम आपकी परेशानी समझ सकते हैं और आपकी मदद करना चाहते हैं। Please अपनी FE ID हमारे साथ DM पर share करें ताकि हम इसे check कर सकें और update के साथ contact कर सकें।https://t.co/jcTFuGT2Se
— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) January 14, 2026
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The exchange, however, did not end here. The delivery partner responded fiercely, saying that he did not want to share his FE ID, as it risks his FE ID getting permanently closed. He also asked the company to explain in detail how such payouts are arrived at.
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“हमें अपनी FE ID बताकर अपनी ID बंद नहीं करानी है।
कंपनी द्वारा किया गया payout सही है या नहीं, इसकी कृपया स्पष्ट जानकारी दी जाए।— naveen kumar (@naveen100591) January 14, 2026
What do you think about this incident? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.
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