Swiggy has made headlines for the wrong reasons after a customer in Chennai found a bloody band-aid in his food after eating it halfway.
The customer, Balamurugan Deenadayalan, a resident of Selaiyur in Chennai had ordered a portion of Chicken Schezwan Chop Suey from a restaurant called 'Chop n Stix' on the night of February 10.
Balamurugan had taken to Facebook on Sunday to complain about the food. In a detailed post, he said, "Found blood stained bandaid in Chicken Schezwan Chop suey ordered through Swiggy, disgusting! Half eaten and then noticed the stained band-aid!"
He added that he contacted Swiggy and the restaurant immediately after discovering the band-aid. He said that he was disappointed that the restaurant did not offer any replacement and Swiggy did not reply for a while.
He then said, "Want to badly sue both restaurant and Swiggy too for partnering with restaurant which doesn't practice general hygienic method like using hand glove or not allowing any kitchen staff with injured fingers/hands in the kitchen!"
Balamurugan's post gathered a lot of attention with many people sharing their unpleasant experiences with the food aggregator app. Swiggy's official Facebook page also replied to his post apologizing for his experience. Balamurugan later informed everyone that he had a word with the restaurant owner who explained that the food was prepared by a new employer and did not know that he had to inform the manager if he had an injury.
He said, "Restaurant owner educated and sensitised the employee and took corrective measure to ensure hygiene and SOP is followed by all employees without fail. I did not ask for any compensation as I was satisfied with the kind of sincerity with which the restaurant owner investigated the issue, took corrective measure and informed me in detailed about the whole incident and provided unconditional apology."
Swiggy responded to this saying, "We cannot begin to express how much we all appreciate your inputs and the reaffirmation of all that you encountered with regards to the way the issue was addressed. You have just put a spring in all our steps and we are grateful to you for being so eloquent. We look forward to seeing you with us again and ensure that you have nothing short of the best."
Statement from Swiggy
We understand that consumers trust Swiggy with their health and safety, and are committed to working with restaurants to ensure that only hygienic and quality food is delivered to them. We deeply regret the issue faced by one of our users and apologise for the angst it has caused. This is certainly not the level of service we intend to promote.
While the restaurant has acknowledged a lapse at its end, based on the complaint, we have suspended not only this specific outlet but also the other outlets under this franchise, pending further investigation by an external agency. Swiggy conducts stringent third-party hygiene audits across our restaurant partner network- regularly, and is invested in working with them to ensure a safe and delightful food experience for our consumers.
