What Our Elitist Reaction to the Zomato Delivery Man Tells Us About Our Lack of Empathy

A video uploaded on Twitter showed a Zomato delivery rider eating the customer’s order before proceeding with his delivery. This lead to Zomato users reacting with rage – ‘how could the rider do this?’ they asked. Predictably, the rider was fired. The author says that the incident highlights the growing disparity in Indian society. The average delivery rider earns Rs 19K per month. The riders earn Rs 60 per ride and then with that money “Riders also have to bear all the expenses for fuel, and pay out of their own pocket for any damaged food items.” The typical order he delivers is north of Rs 700, implying that the typical order is out of his reach financially. Furthermore, given how unsafe India’s roads, these riders don’t exactly have a “safe” job – “In August this year, two Zomato delivery executives died in road accidents in Nagpur.”

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