Mumbai man shares food order bills from Zomato and restaurant, price difference sparks debate

If you are also in the habit of ordering food online or visiting restaurants often, here is a news that may impact you. Well, a Mumbai man has shared food order bills from Zomato and restaurant that has triggered a big debate. The man compared the online and offline food order bills and discovered a disparity in the prices.

The man by the name of Rahul Kabra took to LinkedIn to share pictures of bills for the same food he ordered from Zomato and offline restaurant. The stark difference in the total amount of the bill has left netizens shocked. The orders were from a Mumbai restaurant, The Momo Factory and comprised same items - Veg black pepper sauce, vegetable fried rice and mushroom momo. 

Read | Swiggy, Zomato asked to submit consumer grievance redressal plan in 15 days

While sharing the post Rahul Kabra wrote, "I am doing an apple to apple comparison to online vs offline order. Here is what I noticed. Cost for offline order - INR 512. Cost for Zomato order - INR 690 (after applied discount of INR 75). Cost escalation 34.76% per order at INR 178 = (690-512)/512." 

Kabra further wrote, "Assuming Zomato brings visibility and more orders to the food service provider, should it charge such high price? I think there is a need to cap this cost escalation which should be implemented by the government so as to make this a win-win for all stakeholders."

The post has now started a debate on the extra money charged on every food item by food aggregators Zomato and Swiggy. Thousands of people have commented on the post and more then 10,000 likes have been received. People are now questioning Zomato and Swiggy over this.

One user gave an important but a different prospective to the whole matter. The user wrote, "And my observation, Zomato/Swiggy delivered packages have a lesser quantity than offline pickups from individuals." Another user wrote, "It will be better if they keep the menu as same and take their charges separately. At least there will be no grievance with the users."

Some users were even seen taking the side of food aggregators. A user wrote, "If you value your time, the expense of travelling to a restaurant for pick up (gas prices have risen significantly), and the hassles less than the extra cost you are incurring, it makes sense not to utilise these applications."

Another user wrote, "Zomato does not decide the menu and the price. It's the restaurant partners that provide the same. Some of these partners inflate the price to partly compensate for their commission to Zomato."