Instant food and grocery delivery apps have often faced criticism for adding additional charges such as platform fees, long-distance service fees etc. In a recent post on X, a Zomato customer from Bengaluru alleged that the company charged a "rain surge fee" even when it wasn't even drizzling. Taking to his X handle, the user wrote, "It's not even drizzling a little bit, but Zomato has rain surge fees added from last 4 hours. Bangalore! Next, there will be a traffic surge at 1 am .. Lol..@zomato @zomatocare."
Responding to the complaint, Zomato's official handle Zomato Care wrote, "Hi Prakhyath, we'd like to get this checked. Please share your registered contact details/order details via DM so that we can look into this."
Offering suggestions to fix this reported glitch, the user continued, "Audit the surge logic - specifically the dependency on weather APIs. Introduce fallback validation rules (e.g., if rain data is older than X minutes or not verified, don't trigger a surge). Your rain surge was more than 6 hrs! Check the time of my tweet! Location: Whitefield, Bangalore."
For the unversed, a weather API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocols and tools that allow for the retrieval of weather data from various sources.
Also Read: Rapido's Foray Into Food Delivery In India Sparks Social Media Debate
In a recent update, Zomato also informed users that Gold members will no longer be exempt from surge fees during rainy weather. An in-app notification message said, "Starting May 16, surge fee waiver during rains will not be part of your Gold benefits." As per reports, Zomato said this extra charge will help the company provide better compensation to delivery partners who work in difficult weather conditions.
