Zomato apologises for employee's ‘Hindi is national language’ comment after Twitter storm

Food delivery company Zomato landed in a soup after its employee told a customer that Hindi is the “national language” and everyone should know it. The comment took Twitter by storm and the hashtag #RejectZomato started trending shortly after.

The screenshots of a conversation with a Zomato agent was shared by a user named Vikash who was reportedly schooled for not knowing Hindi and faced problems while trying to get in touch with the restaurant to discuss issues with the order due to a “language barrier.”

The Zomato customer in question had reportedly said that the company must hire people who understand Tamil if it is offering its services in Tamil Nadu. To this, the agent had replied saying: “For your kind information, Hindi is our national language. So it is very common that everybody should know Hindi little bit (sic)."

Sharing his ordeal on Twitter, Vikash wrote:

Ordered food in zomato and an item was missed. Customer care says amount can't be refunded as I didn't know Hindi. Also takes lesson that being an Indian I should know Hindi. Tagged me a liar as he didn't know Tamil. @zomato not the way you talk to a customer. @zomatocare pic.twitter.com/gJ04DNKM7w

— Vikash (@Vikash67456607) October 18, 2021

The tweet went viral and netizens started slamming Zomato over the issue. The Member of Parliament for Dharmapuri constituency also asked Zomato that why should a customer in Tamil Nadu know Hindi and asked the food delivery company to address the problem and apologise.

“Team @zomato @zomatocare from when did Hindi become a National language. Why should the customer in Tamil Nadu know hindi and on what grounds did you advise your customer that he should atleast know a little of Hindi. Kindly address your customer's problem and apologize,” he tweeted.

The agent apologised later for the trouble caused and said that there was no way the company can compensate the customer except by offering an apology.

Zomato issued an apology as well stating that the employee has been terminated stating that the behaviour was not in line with the company’s protocols. “We are sorry for the behavior of our customer care agent, we have terminated the agent for their negligence towards our diverse culture,” the company said in a statement.

“The customer care agent’s statements do not represent our company’s stance towards language and diversity,” it added.

Zomato further revealed that it is building a Tamil version of the app.