Online delivery often comes with various additional charges such as ‘packaging charges’, ‘small order fees’, ‘platform fees’ and so on. A recent viral post on X (formerly Twitter) by a user named Anand (@PiratesShield) has brought into question “packing charges” with respect to the advertisement on food packaging. In the post, the Zomato user who ordered a shawarma from Empire Restaurant, Bangalore, questioned why he “needs to pay” extra for the Bengaluru Football Club advertisement on the packaging. The user wrote, “Hi @zomatocare. I ordered shawarma from Empire Restaurant, Bangalore and paid 12 rupees as packing charges. But found that the package is wrapped by @bengalurufc Advertisement. Why do I need to pay for their Advertisement? How many orders rolled out with this box for paid users?”
Hi @zomatocare I ordered shawarma from Empire Restorent, Bangalore and paid 12 rupee as packing charges . But found that the package is wrapped by @bengalurufc Advertisement. Why I need to pay for their Advertisement. How many orders rolled out with this box for paid users????? pic.twitter.com/gQxEyjOXKD
— Anand (@PiratesShield) December 15, 2024
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Seeing this viral post, Indian football goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu replied, “GPay number dedo bhai – wapis karta hoon 12 rupees (Give me your GPay number brother – I will return 12 rupees).”
GPay number dedo bhai – wapis karta hoon 12 rupees. https://t.co/MWDBartmEa
— Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (@GurpreetGK) December 16, 2024
While Zomato has not yet responded to the post, in a previous similar viral post questioning “container charge”, Zomato Care explained, “Hi Khushboo, while taxes are universal and vary from 5 – 18% depending on the type of food. Packaging charges are levied by our restaurant partners, they are the ones who implement and earn from this practice. For further clarification please feel free to initiate a private.”
Hi Khushboo, while taxes are universal and vary from 5 – 18% depending on the type of food. Packaging charges are levied by our restaurant partners, they are the ones who implement and earn from this practice. For further clarification please feel free to initiate a private (1/2)
— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) August 2, 2023
The viral post questioning extra charges and whether they are linked to the advertisement has received mixed responses in the comments section.
“The same thing happened in the case of shopping bags in malls. If the brands are promoting themselves on the bags, they can’t sell them,” another user added.
One wrote, “Is it package charge? Or packing charge? It seems like both are different. Because the package charge is the one you’re mentioning I think. But the packing charge is a service charge for doing the packing. Just my observation on it.”
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An X user shared, “Dude, I think it’s packaged by the Empire restaurant and not Zomato. Bengaluru FC has partnered directly with Empire. Nice monetization I see.”
Another opined, “Be it Zomato or the restaurant, they’re advertising with the packaging. In that case, packaging charge shouldn’t be levied for the customer.”
