Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal was recently prevented from using a Gurgaon mall’s main gate while delivering meals, giving him firsthand experience with the difficulties faced by delivery workers. Goyal and his wife Grecia Munoz worked as food delivery agents for a day, and Goyal captured the event in an Instagram video.
The CEO of Zomato, clad in the red uniform of a Zomato delivery agent, described in the video how he got to Ambience Mall in Gurgaon to pick up an order from Haldiram’s.
But when he arrived at the mall, security personnel told him to go through the stairs rather than the main door. Goyal looked surprised at the order and spoke briefly with the guards, enquiring as to whether delivery agents had access to any special lifts. Still, he was told to go up the stairs to the third story to get to the restaurant.
When Goyal got to the third story, he ran into another problem. He learnt that delivery workers had to wait at the stairs to get their orders because they were not permitted inside the mall proper. “Took the stairs to the third floor, only to realise that we can’t enter the mall and have to wait at the stairs to receive the orders,” Goyal said in the video.
Deepinder Goyal posted a picture of himself and his fellow delivery workers conversing while they sat on the floor waiting for their meal orders.
He said that this experience helped him gain an important understanding of the challenges that Zomato’s delivery partners deal with regularly. He stated in the article, “Chilled with my fellow delivery partners while also getting valuable feedback from them.”
Goyal said in a humorous moment seen in the film that he was able to “sneak in” and get the order while the security guard was taking a break. “And then was finally out to deliver,” he said in a light-hearted way to wrap up the video.
In light of the incident, Goyal underlined the necessity of treating delivery partners with greater compassion and fostering stronger ties with shopping centres to enhance working conditions. “After placing my second purchase, I understood that to enhance working conditions for all delivery partners, we needed to collaborate more closely with malls. Additionally, he added, malls ought to treat delivery partners with more compassion.
Goyal frequently posted updates on social media during his workday as a delivery agent, demonstrating his excitement for the position. He captioned one film, “Loving delivering food to our customers and enjoying the ride,” to show how much he was enjoying the experience. His goal in taking on the role of delivery agent was to learn more about the difficulties that his staff members deal with daily and then use that knowledge to influence good changes for Zomato’s delivery partners.
Many have praised Goyal for taking the initiative to put himself in his employees’ shoes and spread awareness about the working circumstances of delivery workers in India, as the incident has spurred discussions regarding how they are treated in that country.
