Grofers founder responds to criticism; explains how co delivers groceries in 10 minutes

Grocery platform Grofers' founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa on Saturday responded to the "hate" the company is getting for its promise of delivering groceries in 10 minutes and said "not all companies are built on the back of exploitation of the poor".

Dhindsa said some people think the company is pushing its riders to drive fast and break traffic rules and that it is an "inhuman valuation seeking corporation" which puts lives at risk to deliver groceries in 10 minutes.

Explaining how the company delivers groceries in 10 minutes, Dhindsa said Grofers' partner stores are located within 2 kilometres of its customers, and it already has over 60 stores in Delhi and more than 30 stores in Gurgaon.

"Our stores are so densely located that we can deliver 90% of the orders within 15 minutes even if our riders drove under 10kmph!" a statement shared by Dhindsa on Twitter said.

Also Read: Grofers 'confident' of under 10-min grocery delivery within 45 days

The statement claimed that the company packs most orders in under 2.5 minutes and it has had zero reported rider incidents in the last two months since it launched 10 minute grocery delivery.

It said the company's riders are not incentivised to deliver orders fast and they do deliveries at their own pace and rhythm.

"Last but not the least, not all companies are built on the back of exploitation of the poor. There are companies which are built by creating large swathes of employment, and generating tremendous amounts of value for all shareholders. We are and want to continue to be one of these companies," the statement said.

Dhindsa said it "breaks my heart" that instead of celebrating innovations coming from India, "some of us stay cynical/ envious of people who are trying to break the status quo. We need more people who dare, and less of those who pull them down".

Dhindsa had come under fire from social media users after he responded to a tweet by a user, who said his order from Grofers was delivered in 13 minutes, by saying, "That's 3 minutes too long..."

While the user deleted his tweet, the tweet by the Grofer's founder is still available.

Social media users had accused the company of "exploitation" and endangering safety of its riders.

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