Entitlement To Fast Delivery: Has It Made Us Angrier?

Zomato late delivery case: Beauty influencer Hitesha Chandranee who had accused a Zomato delivery man of physically assaulting her, has reportedly left Bengaluru after her address was leaked. This happened shortly after the said delivery man, Kamaraj filed an FIR against her for allegedly hitting him with a slipper. Prior to that, Chandranee had filed an FIR against Kamaraj for hitting her on her face. Where did it all start? With an argument over a delayed delivery.

An investigation is still underway in the Kamaraj-Hitesha Chandranee case, so it seems too early to pronounce any party guilty. However, what is indeed clear is that the spat between the two started because of late food delivery. Chandranee said in an interview that her food delivery was to arrive in 59 minutes but it didn't.

"I was telling them – stop bluffing, we use our hard-earned money. I had full right to fight with customer support when I am paying. I kept saying either cancel my order or do me a favour by making it free,” she said. Chandranee, however, is not alone to feel upset about late food delivery. We have all been there.

You are hungry, you may have already paid for the food and you have been given a time for delivery which you expect the delivery man to meet. Haven't we all intervened when tempers flare among loved ones and friends over such petty issues? Or been the one who is fuming?

Yes, if you are paying for hot, delicious food delivered to your doorstep, then you deserve it. But then who is responsible when the food is delivered late? Who must pay the price for your inconvenience?

The problem isn't with customers raising their voice when they do not get what they are promised, the problem is the feeling entitled to fast delivery, without much consideration about what could have caused the delay and who will end paying the true price for our inconvenience?

Traffic jams, erratic weather, problems with vehicles, improper addresses, delay in preparing food, there as so many reasons for food delivery to not reach us on time. And yet the person at the receiving end of our dissatisfaction is the delivery person. We barrage them with questions about the delay, we threaten them with a poor rating, we demand that they take our food back.

Do we ever consider the kind of pressure people delivering our food have to deal with every day, from both ends of the chain? Do we think about the kind of damage constant scrutiny, criticism and low ratings may be doing to their mental health? We deserve a fast delivery if we have been promised so, but do we need a 30- or 50-minute cap on it? How late is too late?

While we cannot settle for less than what we are paying for when it comes to food delivery, customers need to find a way to ensure that delivery executives are not caught in the crossfire. Unless a delivery person is rude or has a history of being late all the time or tampering with food it makes no sense for them to have to bear the brunt of late delivery just because they are the ones bearing the package. Hot food aside, we can surely afford some empathy for others, can't we?

The views expressed are the author's own.