Exclusive: Zomato Offers Restaurants More Delivery Riders For ₹5,000 Per Month

Amid a slowdown in the growth of the food delivery sector, Zomato is piloting a feature that promises restaurants an increased availability of delivery executives to help eateries service more orders in exchange for a monthly fee of ₹5,000.

The 'up-time' pack guarantees that at least 95% of relevant customers within a 6-km radius can place orders from a restaurant, according to the company’s communication with restaurant partners. As per the mail sent to restaurants, a copy of which has been seen by Outlook Business, the charge for the Up-time pack is Rs 5000 for 30 days (plus applicable GST).

Until press time, Zomato didn’t respond to Outlook Business’ queries about the development.

“In case Zomato is not able to fulfil the condition, the whole amount will be refunded to you along with taxes,” it further says. The pack is valid for the duration in which your restaurant remains open to serve customers.

The pack, which has been rolled out since July, will get auto-renewed every 30 days till a restaurant cancels it. This development comes when restaurants have been complaining about riders not being available to deliver orders on time. This causes order delays and cancellations, and hurts the brand image of restaurants.

A restaurant owner said anonymously, “About 20% of cancelled orders happen due to rider availability or other issues. In high-density zones, demand outpaces delivery supply. It's frustrating and affects customer experience.”

Several restaurant partners have expressed disappointment with this fee. A restaurant owner who didn’t want to be named, said, “This means that if you don't pay the uptime fee, the rider will be allotted first to the restaurant that does pay it. If you don't pay, you're given second priority, and your outlet might be switched off. So, it feels like direct extortion — if you pay, the rider is assigned to you first; if not, you won’t get a delivery rider.”

The 'up-time' pack is in addition to a long distance fee that the Gurugram-headquartered firm introduced in May this year. As part of the scheme, restaurants now have to pay ₹20 per order if the delivery is between 4 and 6 km and the order value is over ₹150. For deliveries beyond 6 km, the fee increases to ₹40. But if the order is ₹150 or less and delivered within 6 km, no extra fee is charged to restaurants.

The food delivery platform levies several other charges such as platform fees, packaging mandates, rain surcharges, and visibility payments for better search rankings on restaurants and consumers.