Food delivery is a difficult job, and people who do it frequently get ignored and treated like robots. These unseen individuals overcome every challenge—be it intense heat, pouring rain, or the unearthly hours of the night—to guarantee that your supper will arrive on time. Unfortunately, people appear to have a habit of making fun of them when they arrive late or even blaming them for being hungry when they themselves haven’t had a satisfying dinner, rather than appreciating their human efforts.
A woman recently posted a picture of a Zomato delivery partner asking for a tip after delivering her food in the early hours, adding to this strange situation. Her message, which she had intended to be amusing, took a surprising turn when people on the internet started criticising it and calling it a social media gaffe.
The story started when ‘X’ user @priiyyyyy shared a screenshot of a courteous message from a Zomato delivery partner, asking for a gratuity after the delivery and emphasising that it was “for late night.” The woman took a screenshot and posted it on social media with the description, “ajeeb hai bhai (it’s weird bro),” because she thought the situation was hilariously strange. The communications specifically stated that the order was being delivered after 11:30 p.m.
The public reaction to the post wasn’t exactly thunderous applause as it gained traction. “It’s a shameful act to take screenshots and share them without consent; it reflects greed and lacks empathy and self-respect,” a user wrote in a comment. “Such a mean thing to do,” said a critic in response. Another remarked, “The best thing you could have done is tip the guy. Not even hiding the name, as if the person committed a crime asking for a tip for a late-night delivery.” A third laughed. Not posting this would have been the second best option. Did you anticipate receiving a lot of likes and chuckles for this?
In response, a fourth person said, “It’s not right to not tip the rider, but sharing screenshots of this conversation on social media and trying to make fun of a minimum wage worker just to make jokes is really disgusting behaviour.”
The original poster emphasised that she did tip the delivery executive and even shared some halwa with him in reaction to the growing criticism. “I was just sharing my experience, and he’s not working for free plus delivery charges are already high,” she said, adding, “aur wo employee hai.” Her attempt to post about the incident on social media, however, drew harsh criticism for being indecent.
