Grofers Founder Responds To Criticism Over Company's 10-minute Deliveries

Albinder Dhindsa, founder of Grofers, released a statement on Twitter, responding to the backlash the company received on its 10-minute delivery policy.

"It breaks my heart," Albinder Dhindsa said in his statement

Highlights

Grofers has recently been criticised for its 10-minute delivery policy.
Founder Albinder Dhindsa recently responded to the criticism.
He took to Twitter to respond, "It broke my heart..."

Grofers is a Gurgaon-based online grocery delivery service company that was founded in 2013. Recently, the grocery delivery startup faced backlash online for being able to make deliveries within 10 minutes. Albinder Dhindsa, the founder of Grofers, released a statement on Twitter in this matter. In his statement, Albinder Dhindsa said, “Hello India - I want to chime in about the hate we are getting for delivering groceries in 10 minutes.” Addressing the criticism that alleged Grofers was pushing its employees to drive fast and break traffic rules to meet delivery deadlines, Dhindsa's statement read, “Some people think that we are pushing our riders to drive fast and break traffic rules to deliver groceries in 10 minutes, that we are an inhuman valuation seeking corporation which puts lives at risk to deliver groceries in 10 minutes.”

“Our partner stores are located within 2 kilometres of our customers. We have 60+ stores in Delhi, and 30+ stores in Gurgaon already. Our stores are so densely located that we can deliver 90% of the orders within 15 minutes even if our riders drove under 10kmph. Our in-store planning and tech are now so good that we pack most orders in under 2.5 minutes. Our riders are not (dis)incentivised to deliver orders fast. They do it at their own pace and rhythm. We've had zero reported rider accidents in the last two months since we launched 10-minute grocery delivery,” the statement further read.

I want to chime in about the hate we are getting for delivering groceries in 10 minutes... pic.twitter.com/RNhFvd6ojV

— Albinder Dhindsa (@albinder) August 28, 2021

Despite the clarification, several netizens seem not to be convinced. One user said, “Don't think it's true. Most of the time your riders call and say they are on their way and marking the order as delivered, else Grofers will impose a penalty if they don't deliver it under 15 minutes. They arrive in such a hurry and drive rashly.”

Don't think it's true. Most of the time your riders call and say they are on their way and marking the order as delivered, else grofers will impose a penalty if they don't deliver it under 15 minutes.
They arrive in such a hurry and drive rashly.
(1/2)— Bhanu Pratap Gupta (@21Bpgupta) August 29, 2021

Another comment read, “Also, this 2.5min packaging is a bad idea. Your guys pack all the waste and rotten items and just try to deliver without even checking it once. Instead of time, you guys should focus on quality.”

Also, this 2.5min packaging is a bad idea. Your guys pack all the waste and rotten items and just try to deliver without even checking it once.
Instead of time, you guys should focus on quality..— Bhanu Pratap Gupta (@21Bpgupta) August 29, 2021

Another questioned the need for a 10-minute delivery.

But why 10 minutes? Customers can wait for some time. Certainly heavens will not fall down. Grocery items are not life saving medicines, so why the hurry in implementing the 10 minute time line? @albinder— SUBRAMANIAN (@Subrama00508199) August 28, 2021

Responding to the statement that stated people were against innovating, one user tweeted, “1. No one is against innovation. If they were, so many startups wouldn't have made it big in India 2. The math doesn't add up at 10kmph and delivers in 15 min for 2 km. 3. No ones pulling you down sir, as evident from your success. 4. People are genuinely worried.”

1. No one is against innovation. If they were, so many startups wouldnt have made it big in india
2. The math dont add up at 10kmph and delviering in 15 min for 2 km.
3. No ones pulling you down sir, as evident from your success.
4. People are geniunely worried 1/n— Sandesh Goutham (@sandy_goutham) August 29, 2021

Then, there was this user who praised the online delivery service platform's business model and expressed his concerns.

Thanks @Grofers & @albinder for daring to disrupt the fast grocery delivery market ..

Also kudos on ur effort on innovation ..

Fear is - in the long road to success , exploitation should not trump over innovation...hope u have right checks & balances to not let that happen .— Priyaranjan Mohanty (@mohantypr) August 28, 2021

This person's concerns were addressed by Albinder Dhindsa himself.

Of course, our heart is in the right place! Also, we live in a free country (our employees have 100% freedom to work with us, or not), and do not subscribe to bonded labour.— Albinder Dhindsa (@albinder) August 28, 2021

This clarification comes after a user had tweeted that his Grofers delivery took 13 minutes. To which the company founder subsequently responded in a tweet saying, “That's 3 minutes too long. We will work harder in the future.” This response by Dhindsa led to outrage and criticism and has since been taken down from his Twitter account.