Zomato users furious after Gold membership usage gets tweaked by app

Mohit Mahale, Devarshi Mukhopadhyay and Abhijeet Vaishnav

Users of restaurant search and food delivery app Zomato are feeling a golden itch. Members of its Gold programme are expressing displeasure on social media regarding a disappointing alteration the company made this week, by limiting the number of people who could use the membership on the same restaurant table. Zomato Gold, introduced in November 2017, is a paid subscription programme that offers complimentary dishes and drinks at its partner restaurants and bars among other benefits. Earlier, if two Gold members were dining out together, both could use their membership for free food and drinks. However, after the policy change on September 10, only one of two members at a table can do this.

Odd and even
Based on the table provided in the app's FAQs, the number varies. If three are at a table, only one can use Gold, whereas for four, two can use it. Subscribers aren't happy, especially since many didn't even receive a notification regarding this. Among those is Mohit Mahale, 32, who became a Gold member in March. "I didn't know about the change until now. Usually, Zomato keeps bombarding you with messages and notifications about every trivial detail, but it didn't inform us about this. Finding out about it at the restaurant can be quite embarrassing for the members." Despite the change, Mahale will continue to use the app.

Breach of contract
Another such member is Devarshi Mukhopadhyay, 25, who's been using the app every four days since February, when he became a member. He was less forgiving about the change, especially since even he didn't get notified. "I think it's a breach of contract and misrepresentation on Zomato's part. They have changed the terms of the contract without the customer's permission. The change is shameful, particularly because they're not even offering the option to unsubscribe." Abhijeet Vaishnav, 32, also feels cheated, "I've been a loyal customer for a long time and I've been putting up food reviews regularly. I'd signed up for Gold to try more dishes, but this limits that option now."

Some positive change
Mangesh Toraskar, 23, who has been a Gold member since its launch is among those who did receive a mail from Zomato. He forwarded it to his member-friends. While Toraskar feels the change could help curb the amount of food that is wasted when people over-order, he agrees it is unfair to users. "Users would have signed up based on certain conditions. Once members find out about the restrictions, they won't be happy about it." Many wrote on Twitter, calling the change "unprofessional" and "betrayal of the customers' trust". Many also demanded an option for a refund, while suggesting that the change should apply to new users and not existing ones.

40k
No. of Gold subscribers

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