Food delivery service Zomato has been criticised for offering to provide hygiene audits to restaurants amid the current coronavirus crisis, and charging almost AED1,000 for the service.
Although not mentioning the Covid-19 pandemic, an email to restaurants from the delivery giant claims there has been a “drastic increase in users searching and making decisions based on the hygiene features on Zomato”.
It went on to say that “multiple restaurant partners” have contacted the company to request the Zomato Hygiene Audit. For the audit to take place and “stickering”, the charge is AED945 for a single year.
In a statement to Arabian Business, Zomato said it regretted having sent the email, adding that it “was sent by an individual of their own prerogative”, and did not “reflect the efforts Zomato is making to help the restaurant industry in these times”.
It added: “While it is true that a hygiene audit is an important service – where we simply put the restaurant in touch with the auditing facility and make no money – and filter for users, the tone and the context of the email was opportunistic and in poor taste.”
Zomato also said it has “re-iterated to our sales team that we need to pull all stops to help our restaurant partners during these difficult times”.
The email shows a selection of Zomato’s “best rated hygiene places rated for you” with an option to promote hygiene standards for an additional fee, believed to be around AED600.
The promotion has received a backlash from Twitter followers.
@foodsheikh tweeted: “Oh @ZomatoUAE – this is how you support your restaurant partners in difficult times? By selling them ‘hygiene audit’ stickers for 1,000 dhs so they perform better in the searches? Can’t we do better than this?”
While @LejlaCharif added: “What a cheap shot. Plus there are regular official hygiene check-ups by authorities no need to pay Zomato for this.”
@danielnargunam said: “Any company that tries to make money now is sick… The restaurant owners are already affected with less people eating out,.. It’s time to support the community not make money.”
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