Saturday, July 19, 2014

Myntra, Flipkart, Snapdeal and all other online stores- Will you care to answer?

A motorcycle, heavy traffic, an enormous bag and scorching heat. The man keeps driving, trying to make his way between honking cars, half his attention on the bag hanging on one side of the bike. He had placed the heavy bag correctly on the rear seat and tightened both the straps as well before starting, but as usual, it had slipped to one side. He slows down to adjust the bag, but the bike wobbles. He tries to turn right, looks in the rear view mirror and sees his hanging bag, the traffic behind him makes him nervous. At night, his back aches, and recently, his left shoulder had been paining, possibly because the bag had been hanging to his preferred right side. He wants to look for a better job, but can not find one. He has to earn for his family, he can not give up just for his pain, while his family can not be sure he will be always safe on Indian roads.







No doubt we love to have our online orders delivered within 24 hours, but is it really worth risking someone's life? Yes, we are talking about the delivery man here who just delivered your trendy shoes, or maybe your new electronic gadget, someone whom you have never seen, and probably will never see again, carrying a mammoth bag, driving over 150kms a day on a motorcycle, jostling through busy traffic in scorching heat, often driving fast just to make sure YOU are not disappointed.

Yes, we all like everything to be delivered free, but should it be at the cost of a miserably low paid employee who has to face the extremely unsafe Indian roads everyday just because he has to make a living? Can the online stores be a little more sensitive and make sure that the bags are not huge, or make sure the delivery man does not travel more than 50 kms a day? Can they just fix some metal frame in which the bag can be placed safely? or can they at least compensate them well by charging Rs. 10-20 from the customer for every delivery? Do the delivery men have any accidental insurance sponsored by their company? A customer pays extra for faster delivery, does it ever reach the delivery boy? Is there any incentive for delivering orders before time? Are factors like heat and rain taken into account while distributing orders? Possibly, NO. Will Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal etc. WILL YOUR CARE TO ANSWER?


(Pictures have been taken randomly from the internet and though my camera too, hope Flipkart and Myntra do not target these people for getting clicked while working! )