Deepinder Goyal Reveals Most Common "Scams" Customers And Delivery Riders Try On Zomato

Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Eternal (the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit), recently appeared on YouTuber Raj Shamani's podcast, where he spoke at length about Zomato, 10-minute delivery, the founder mindset, and doing business in India. Among several interesting insights, Goyal discussed the most common scams customers attempt on Zomato and how the company detects them. He also revealed the top reasons for terminating delivery partners and explained Zomato's unique 'karma score' system, which helps resolve disputes between customers and riders.

Common Customer Frauds When Ordering Food Online

According to Goyal, customers commit "insane frauds", such as placing their own hair in food and then raising a complaint for a refund.

"Nowadays, AI-generated images are used. They will add an AI-generated fly, an insect, or a foreign object, such as a nail. AI has even made it easier to convert your perfectly fine cake into a smashed, smudged cake. I was like, suddenly, 5 per cent cake smashes. How has this risen so suddenly?" Goyal said.

Also Read: This Indian Restaurant Claims Customers Are Using AI Images To Fool Food Delivery Apps

Top Frauds Committed by Online Food Delivery Partners

Goyal revealed that Zomato terminates approximately 5,000 gig workers every month due to various types of fraud.

One common scam involves marking orders as delivered on the app without actually handing the food to the customer. Another is cash-on-delivery abuse, where the delivery partner claims they don't have change and promises to return after getting it, but never shows up.

Zomato's 'Karma Score' To Resolve Customer-Rider Conflicts

To settle disputes, Zomato relies on a 'karma score' system that tracks the historical record and behaviour of both customers and riders. Goyal admitted that determining who is at fault is often challenging. "We can never be fully right," he said.

How does the system work? In case of a dispute, if the rider's reputation is stronger than the customer's, Zomato sides with the rider, and vice versa.

Also Read: "Not Asking To Drive Fast": Deepinder Goyal Explains How 10-Minute Deliveries Work

Goyal added that in 50-70 per cent of contested cases, Zomato "takes the hit" by allowing the rider to keep their job while also issuing a refund to the customer. "When the mismatch is very stark, and patterns repeat in complaints against the delivery rider, then we terminate them," he explained, noting that termination decisions are based on repeated behaviour rather than isolated incidents.