A Delhi-based restaurateur has publicly accused the food delivery aggregator Zomato of deliberately manipulating its platform, alleging that his restaurant is repeatedly shown as ‘unavailable’ during peak hours, thereby crippling his business.
Gagandeep Singh Sapra, the owner of Tadka Rani restaurant located in the upscale Greater Kailash 1 neighborhood of Delhi, posted video evidence on X to substantiate his serious claims against the tech giant.
The Restaurant Owner’s Accusations
Sapra shared a screen recording demonstrating the alleged manipulation:
- The video shows him opening the Zomato app and searching for Tadka Rani, which immediately appears as unavailable.
- He then searches for several other restaurants within 50 meters of his outlet, all of which are clearly shown as open for business and accepting orders on the Zomato app.
Sapra shared the video with a strong accusation against the company:
“Here’s video proof of how rider allocation is being manipulated at Zomato. Our restaurant is repeatedly shown as ‘unavailable’ at peak hours while nearby outlets within 50 meters keep getting riders.”
He added that he has been escalating the issue with Zomato’s support team for 31 days with no effective change in the system.
In the comments section, the restaurateur leveled an even more serious allegation, claiming that Zomato is engaging in this ‘rigging’ as part of a strategy to increase its commission rates. He directly referenced Deepinder Goyal, the founder and CEO of Zomato’s parent company, Eternal, saying:
“It’s all a game of increase our commission, from the current 52+% that they take on sales, to let’s say a whopping 99% of each sale. The greed is not ending, and Goyal Babu is unable to control the loose canons in his team who are rigging the system.”
Zomato Responds to the Complaint
The public nature of the complaint, directly targeting the platform’s integrity, prompted a swift response from a senior Zomato executive.
Aditya Mangla, the CEO of Food Delivery at Zomato, responded to Sapra’s post on X, promising immediate action:
“Thank you for sharing this. I’m getting this checked.”
Sapra acknowledged Mangla’s intervention, but reiterated his frustration: “Thank you Aditya ji, means a lot you reached out. I have written to all your team members and have several meetings, yesterday was 31st Day, and no one seems to see a resolve.”