App-based food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy have focused on the safety of delivery staffs and taken multiple measures to mitigate any negative impact on consumer deliveries amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, ET Tech has reported.
From telling consumers to let delivery partners leave the packages at the door to offering insurance and financial support to delivery staff in case they are infected with the virus, the firms have adopted several proactive measures, said the report.
Swiggy issued an advisory to customers, saying, "You (customers) may request the delivery partners to leave packages by the door (in case of online payment), if you are feeling unwell or prefer so."
Swiggy delivery staff are getting trained in best practices for respiratory hygiene, proper and frequent hand washing and identification of associated symptoms, said the Bengaluru-headquartered firm.
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"To ensure financial safety, we are committed to supporting them (delivery partners) financially, providing them free medical consultation and financial support in case any of them shows symptoms," it said.
The company further asked consumers to raise complaints, if any, through the Swiggy app.
Zomato said it was working on plans for insurance cover for its delivery staff.
"We are currently exploring compensation with our insurance partners, in case anyone from our delivery fleet is infected with Covid-19," a company spokesperson told the publication.
At present, the delivery partners of Zomato are covered with health and life insurance in partnership with Acko and Religare, said the report.
Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato, announced a contactless food delivery option on Twitter. He said the contactless food delivery is already available on the Zomato app. An app update over the weekend will make this explicitly clear to everyone, tweeted Goyal on March 13.
“We are confident that with the right practices, and adequate social distancing, we can help curb the spread of COVID-19,” Goyal said in another tweet.
Zomato and Swiggy together deliver an estimated 2.6 million orders every day, the report suggested.
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