With most states putting cities under lockdown, malls, theatres, pubs, exhibitions, dine-in restaurants have been shut down and people have been advised from stepping out in public spaces to contain the spread of COVID-19. However, with deliveries still being open, Swiggy and Zomato delivery personnel will be out on the streets.
In a bid to ensure their safety and safety of their customers, Swiggy and Zomato have introduced contact-less delivery.
Swiggy has introduced a banner that says safety first, which states that users can call and request delivery partners to leave their order at the doorstep, especially if the user is feeling unwell. However, this works only for orders that have been paid for online.
Zomato too, announced on Wednesday that it is rolling out contact-less delivery. Available as a banner on its delivery page, users can opt for it either in their cart or on the order tracking screen.
The Zomato delivery partner will then leave the order outside the door on a clean surface. Users then receive a photo of the delivered order and can pick the package up at their convenience. In Zomato’s case as well, this is only for orders that have been paid for online.
Apart from this, Swiggy and Zomato have been sent our advisories to users outlining the steps they were taking for both their delivery partners as well as customers. In the advisory, both companies stated that delivery partners were being trained in hygiene, how and how often to wash their hands, and in identifying symptoms.
“Should a delivery partner notice any associated symptoms, they’ve been asked to immediately reach out to us and consult a medical professional. We are providing them with free medical consultation through our partners in such cases,” Swiggy said. It further said that they have informed delivery executives to self-quarantine if they notice symptoms, and will be supporting them financially as well.
“We have asked our delivery partners to self-quarantine or reach out to a doctor immediately if they have any symptoms. We will support our delivery partners financially during this time,” Zomato said.
For non cash-on-delivery orders, customers of both companies can tell the delivery executive to leave the package at the door in case they themselves are unwell.
“Delivery partners are being sent various advisories on COVID-19 released by the Ministry of Health & Family Affairs to keep them updated on the situation,” Zomato said.
Both companies stated that they were working with restaurants around handling and packaging.
“We’ll continue to reiterate best practices around food handling and packaging with our merchant partners and drive availability of hand sanitisers across the restaurant for food handlers,” Zomato stated.