A late-night food order turned into a viral social media grievance after a Delhi resident claimed he tracked down his delayed Zomato delivery, only to discover strangers eating his food.
The Incident and GPS Discovery The customer, identified as Rishabh Kaushik, shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter), detailing how a routine dinner order quickly escalated into an unacceptable customer service failure. According to Kaushik, he placed an order from Khadak Singh Ka Dhaba via the Zomato application at 10:58 PM. Although the app initially indicated that the delivery partner was nearby and would arrive shortly, the order failed to reach his doorstep.
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Suspicious after waiting for a considerable length of time, Kaushik checked the live GPS tracking feature on the app. He noticed that the delivery partner’s location icon remained completely static in the same spot for nearly 40 minutes, even though the order status on the application continued to progress. Intrigued and frustrated by the delay, Kaushik decided to walk to the exact location indicated on the map to investigate the situation himself.
Allegations of Resold Food and Support Failure Upon arriving at the location, Kaushik alleged that he found two individuals actively eating the dinner he had paid for. Furthermore, he claimed he was informed on-site that his food had allegedly been sold off to them for ₹100.
Venting his frustration online, Kaushik criticized both the delivery partner and Zomato’s automated customer support system. Sharing screenshots of the live order tracker and photos of the scene, he tagged Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, sarcastically writing that food delivery had transformed into a “food-sharing economy.” He added that interacting with customer support felt unhelpful due to generic bot responses that failed to address the immediate problem.
Company Response and Online Backlash Following the viral post, Zomato’s official support handle, Zomato Care, responded publicly on social media, requesting Kaushik to provide his specific order details so that internal teams could investigate the matter.
The incident sparked widespread discussion online regarding safety, accountability, and the reliability of late-night delivery services. Several users raised food safety concerns, pointing out that if a delivery partner can divert an order, food tampering becomes a serious safety risk for consumers. Others advised opting strictly for Cash on Delivery (COD) or Pay on Delivery (POD) for orders placed late at night, arguing that it protects consumers financially when orders are canceled, delayed, or stolen.
