Popular food delivery app Zomato has once again found itself at the centre of controversy. A restaurant owner, Manish, has criticised the company and its CEO, Deepinder Goyal, for allegedly marginalising small businesses. He claimed that Zomato had withheld his payouts for the past two months, causing significant financial distress. Manish also called out the platform for imposing extra service charges and hidden fees without prior notice. In a stern statement on X, he voiced his frustration and grievances, stating that "small outlets deserve better." He also attached screenshots of the transactions as evidence. Manish's restaurant, Saffroma, is located in Noida.
Tagging Zomato and Deepinder Goyal in his post, Manish wrote, "I'm finally pulling my restaurant off your platform. Congrats! Your mystery service charges, surprise ad placements (without consent), and a POC who ghosts like it's a talent show-truly inspiring. Small outlets deserve better. Quality > commissions."
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“Sharing here the screenshots of the zero payout summary for the last 2 months. This ad was applied without our knowledge and consent,” he added in the follow-up post. The screenshots showed that Manish received zero payouts, as claimed, despite fulfilling several orders.
On a concluding note, Manish shared, “Is this how u support small businesses, Mr Deepinder Goyal? 5 months into this business and I'm very clear about one thing... my case is just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless stories of closed/failed businesses that relied solely on online platforms for orders.”
Zomato reacted to the post and asked Manish to share his restaurant ID for the team to contact him.
Here's how social media users reacted:
“Even I'm facing issues, whereas I've seen big brands' payouts with 0 charges for growth and ads, I don't know how their deal works with Zomato, maybe they pay separately,” wrote one.
“Totally support your move. The aggregators gouge you severely in the name of access to the marketplace,” commented another.
“It was bound to happen, Zomato and Swiggy steal from both consumers and restaurants. Have been on both sides,” shared an individual.
“Surprise ad placements without consent are really a menace from Zomato. The Zomato account managers just start any ad or any discount without asking the restaurant, the fees of which get deducted from the payouts. Very hard to earn from Zomato,” read a critical remark.
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So far, the post has crossed 2 million views. What are your thoughts on this?