A late-night food order in Delhi took a bizarre turn after a customer claims he tracked down his delivery partner, only to discover two strangers casually enjoying the meal that was meant for him. The story, shared on social media by a man named Rishabh Kaushik, has since gone viral, sparking a wider conversation about the safety and reliability of late-night food deliveries.
Rishabh Kaushik explained that he had placed an order from a Delhi dhaba through Zomato around 11 pm and was told the delivery partner was close by. But after the food failed to show up, he decided to check the delivery tracker himself. He noticed the rider’s location hadn’t moved for nearly 40 minutes, and, growing suspicious, he went out to investigate in person. According to his post on X, instead of finding his dinner, he found the delivery partner’s location and two people happily eating what was supposed to be his meal.
He further claimed that he was told the order had been sold off for a small amount of money. Rishabh Kaushik also took aim at Zomato’s customer service, saying his complaint was met with what felt like an automated, unhelpful response. In his post, tagged directly at Zomato’s CEO, he joked that food delivery had essentially turned into a food-sharing economy, adding sarcastically that the delivery partner was apparently still standing at the same spot.
Here is his post:
https://x.com/RishabhKaushikk/status/2096668171755507842
Along with his post, Rishabh Kaushik shared screenshots of the order tracker and images that he said supported his claims, showing the delivery partner stuck at one location while the order status kept updating as if the delivery was progressing normally, even though the food never arrived.
Zomato’s support team responded publicly to the complaint, asking Rishabh Kaushik to share his order ID so they could look into the matter further.
The post quickly caught fire online, with people sharing similar experiences and debating what might have actually happened. Several users suggested opting for cash-on-delivery for late-night orders specifically, citing worries about delays, cancellations or food simply never arriving.
One person said they exclusively choose cash-on-delivery after 10 pm purely for peace of mind. Another raised a safety concern, arguing that if a delivery partner is capable of taking the food altogether, there’s nothing stopping them from tampering with it in other ways too, questioning what that means for consumer safety. A third user claimed a similar incident had happened to them, adding that despite providing evidence, they never received a proper resolution from Zomato and suggested that paying on delivery at least ensures the restaurant or company bears the loss in such situations.
This is really ridiculous, what is your take in this regard?
