#LOGOUT continues. Restaurants that quit Zomato Gold stuck to their decision even after the third party aggregator announced some tweaks to the discount programme. The NRAI dismissed what seemed like a tepid bid at reconciliation as an ‘attempt to stuff old wine in a new bottle’.
The standoff had gone beyond a bunch of restaurateurs expressing their displeasure over the ways of a hugely funded aggregator. Battle lines have been drawn. In the face of the NRAI’s refusal to yield, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal taunted the association’s president Rahul Singh, bringing up a loyalty programme at his Beer Café chain: ‘I welcome the NRAI president, Rahul Singh embracing the Gold standard at his own restaurants. Welcome to Gold, Rahul!’
Restaurants have always had promotions and loyalty programmes and this personal taunt has not gone down well with the industry.
Goyal’s other tack has been to address the restaurants that haven’t logged out yet and those that are undecided. He wrote: ‘This is not about aggregators vs restaurants; this is about the small restaurant owner vs the large restaurant owner – and we are being painted as bullies.’ Clearly, the strategy is to try and drive a wedge in the industry that has come together possibly for the first time in such a show of solidarity. Restaurants should, in fact, draw more strength from the fact that they can demand changes in a system that is frequently skewed against them and have their demands met when they come together and speak with one voice.
As someone who has followed the restaurant industry for over two decades, I know that the ‘large restaurants’ Goyal speaks of are led by people who have genuine concern for the industry as a whole, and are not just looking to build their own businesses. (Watch video below)
This isn’t about taking on Zomato. It is about asking for fairness and a conducive environment for restaurants to function and possibly flourish in so that they can do what they are supposed to – create good food experiences for the customer, across budgets. So, if deep discounting is hurting them, they should protest and demand an end to the practice. The same goes for delivery by third party aggregators and I hear protests about this that are growing ever louder. We’ll take up that discussion soon on restobiz.
Meanwhile, let the restaurants stick together as unwaveringly as they have these past few weeks.
