11:30am, 5 April, UPDATE: Foodpanda Riders Apologise For Assaulting Penang Restaurant Workers, Owner Forgives Them
A local store reported a serious incident involving a Foodpanda rider and the rider’s friend who threw drink and menu at one of their female employees.
In one viral CCTV footage, two delivery riders, one wearing a Foodpanda shirt and one wearing a blue helmet, were seen coming into the store and talking to the staff about an order.
Angered for being replaced by another rider
According to Fumi Honey House’s Facebook post, they had an order waiting for 30 minutes already.
When the original rider didn’t show up, they notified the Foodpanda system about it. It then arranged for a new rider to deliver the order. After 45 minutes, the original rider arrived with a friend.
He came to the store to argue with the staff because he was unhappy about being replaced.
He then threw a beverage at the female staff, who then started crying because she was scared.
The other staff stood up for her and said that this behavior was not tolerated.
After a few arguments, the rider then threw a menu book at her and challenged them to call the police. He claimed that his house was just behind their store.
Fumi Honey House clarified that they were not authorized to replace delivery riders, and they were just worried that their customers would file a complaint for waiting too long.
No action taken from the police yet
Besides that, they tried reporting the incident to the police, but the authorities couldn’t do anything to help the situation as no one was hurt and nothing was damaged in the store. They could only file a report, and no action was taken upon it.
Fumi Honey House hoped that the delivery rider could be punished accordingly and apologize to their female employee.
They have reported this issue to Foodpanda too and found out that one of the delivery riders is still delivering food, believed to be using someone else’s identity.
In a media statement cited at TRP, Foodpanda has responded to the incident, expressing regret for the unsatisfactory experience the food merchant had with their riders. They clarified that their riders are independent contractors and do not represent the company as a whole.
WeirdKaya has reached out to the restaurant owner for comments on the incident, but has yet to receive a reply.
