Zomato appeals amid heatwave: Don't order in ‘peak afternoon’; food delivery executives react

In a bid to seemingly give their delivery partners a respite from the heatwave, food aggregator Zomato recently urged customers to avoid ordering during “peak afternoon” hours. But the appeal, which was sent out as an X post and as push notifications, was slammed left, right and, centre by social media users, who felt the platform was rendering the whole exercise of ordering food, pointless.

“Noon to 2pm is the peak lunch hour. Usi mein meri din bhar ki kamayi hoti hai,” says Raju, 27, from Ghaziabad. The said hour is also when the food app pays delivery executives extra, and Badarpur-based Yogesh Kumar, 31, says, “If we don’t make the maximum during this period, what’s the point of working?”

“When I’m out on the bike to deliver orders, I take precautions such as not drinking cold water at all and placing a wet handkerchief under my helmet,” says Ritwik, 38, adding, “Moreover, most people who place orders in Delhi are large-hearted — they offer us water and cold drinks. Sometimes, I’ve also been offered ice cream!”

We reached out to Zomato for a comment, but were met with no response.

“While professionals have the opportunity to work from home, these agents don’t. So, I asked my Instagram followers to place their order later in the day if possible, unless it is urgent. I mentioned that this also means a major loss of income for the agents,” says food influencer Kalyan Karmakar.

Ask the food delivery service Swiggy if they, too, wish to discourage people from ordering in during peak heat hours to give their delivery agents respite, and the spokesperson says, “We’re not restricting afternoon deliveries since we already have a lot of provisions to take care of our delivery partners. We’re running over 900 recharge zones in high-demand areas, at our pods and through tie-ups with restaurant partners. These zones offer rest areas and refreshing beverages, too. The delivery partners’ uniforms are made from 100% breathable dry-fit mesh fabric, and they have been provided with summer sleeves for added UV protection.”

With inputs by Abigail Banerji

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