Zomato, Swiggy ready to deliver but most restaurants are ‘unserviceable’

Even if some food outlets were open, Zomato and Swiggy delivery boys were stopped by local authorities

With most restaurants and cloud kitchens going temporarily out of service, both Zomato and Swiggy have been having a tough time figuring things out. (Indranil Bhoumik/Mint)

With most restaurants and cloud kitchens going temporarily out of service, both Zomato and Swiggy have been having a tough time figuring things out. In cases where food outlets were open, delivery boys were turned back by local authorities once the 21-day lockdown directive came into force.

"Our delivery partners are facing several hurdles across cities while trying to deliver food which has been classified as an essential service. We are communicating with the relevant authorities and hoping these issues are sorted soon," a Zomato spokesperson told IANS.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal tweeted that they were actively working with authorities to clear the confusion so that essential services can operate without trouble. He also shared a screenshot of the government directive that mentions 'home-delivery' as one of the essential services.  

I wholeheartedly thank PM Modi @narendramodi, on behalf of restaurants and our delivery partners, for acknowledging and supporting the role of home delivery as an essential service for the nation. [1/9] pic.twitter.com/3Rx85Bjj0e

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 20, 2020

Swiggy said that there has been an impact on order volumes, but expects this to be a short-term issue. They are attributing this blow on shortage of supply due to temporary closure of many "high-volume" restaurants in malls etc and disruptions on-ground in certain states.

"However, Swiggy is working with local governments to remain operational and extend our support during these testing times, especially to the customers in need," said a company spokesperson.

Both companies have said that they will continue to operate despite "curtailed"partner network (delivery and restaurants) and have introduced "contactless delivery" option where the delivery boy will leave your food on a clean surface outside your door to maintain social distancing.

(With agency inputs)