Zomato CEO alleges he was prevented from using mall's lift while picking up order, owner takes swift action

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal worked a delivery partner, highlighting challenges faced by executives. He was denied lift access at Gurugram's Ambience Mall, forced to take stairs. Following his social media post, the mall created a dedicated pickup point for delivery agents, improving working conditions.

Deepu Mohan

First Published Oct 7, 2024, 5:15 PM IST | Last Updated Oct 7, 2024, 5:15 PM IST

New Delhi: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took to social media on Sunday to share his experience as a delivery partner, highlighting challenges faced by food delivery executives. While picking up an order at Ambience Mall in Gurugram, Goyal alleged that he was prevented from using the lift and was instructed to take the stairs instead.

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Goyal, accompanied by his wife Grecia Munoz, donned a Zomato delivery uniform to better understand the difficulties faced by their delivery partners. In a post on X, he recounted, "During my second order, I realised that we need to work with malls more closely to improve working conditions for all delivery partners. And malls also need to be more humane to delivery partners."

He described his visit to the mall to collect an order from Haldiram's, stating that he was directed to a different entrance, which required him to take the stairs. After reaching the third floor, he discovered that delivery partners were not allowed inside the mall and had to wait on the stairs to receive orders.

"Chilled with my fellow delivery partners while also getting valuable feedback from them," Goyal noted. He managed to collect the order after the staircase guard took a brief break, allowing him to slip in unnoticed.

Many social media users echoed Goyal’s concerns, pointing out that not only malls but also various residential societies often restrict delivery partners from using main lifts. One user emphasized, "Every society, every mall, and every office should make it mandatory for delivery partners to use regular lifts. There shouldn't be any divide."

This experience follows Goyal's recent posts showcasing his enjoyment of delivering food in Gurugram, where he expressed his love for the job and shared pictures with Munoz, who recently changed her name to Gia Goyal.

Following Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal's social media post, the mall took steps to improve conditions for delivery workers. Goyal, who called for more humane treatment of delivery partners, praised the mall's prompt response to the situation.

In a post on X, Goyal announced that Ambience Mall has established a dedicated and comfortable pickup point for delivery agents. This designated area will allow delivery partners to collect food orders without facing access issues.

"Ambience Mall has already responded to the situation, and created a comfortable online food delivery pick up point for all delivery partners. Thanks Arjun (owner of Ambience) for noticing my post and taking quick action. He’s also agreed to let us deploy some “walkers” inside the mall to quickly shuttle the food from the restaurant to these pickup points to hand over the food to delivery partners," he posted on X.

He also urged other mall owners to implement similar measures, encouraging them to devise innovative solutions that benefit not only delivery partners but also customers, restaurants, and the malls themselves.

"I urge all the other mall owners to please do the same, or come up with other innovative solutions which can help our collective customers, our delivery partners, restaurants, delivery aggregators, as well as malls themselves," Goyal added in his post.

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