'Totally disgusting': Woman spots delivery rider pouring spilt soup back into container from plastic bag

To avoid getting penalised for spilt food, a delivery rider tried to salvage the situation by pouring the wasted food back into the container. 

Unfortunately for the rider, his action was caught on one homeowner's CCTV, reported Stomp. 

Wendy told Stomp that she decided to check her home's CCTV footage after noticing soup stain rings at the staircase of her residence.

According to the footage, the incident took place in front of a building next to Wendy's home along Somme Road at Jalan Besar last Wednesday (Nov 1), at about 11.45am. 

The 40-second clip showed the rider removing two food containers from the plastic bag. He then pours the spilt soup from the bag back into one of the containers. 

"It's unhygienic and totally disgusting," said Wendy, who wondered if it was the rider's fault or the restaurant's. 

"He should have explained to the customer and left it to the customer to file a complaint with the restaurant or delivery company."

In light of such incidences happening too frequently, Wendy shared that she has stopped ordering from food delivery platforms over a year ago.

"The Singapore Food Agency really needs to make a rule that food boxes have seals or stickers so that one knows if their covers have been opened," she said. 

Refund policy on spilt orders

Although customers can sometimes get refunds for their spilt orders, who bears the cost of these accidents? 

According to a report by CNA published in August, the cost of spilt food is usually borne by the food delivery companies. 

"Delivery-partners are only penalised if they have been consistently negligent in handling orders and have had multiple similar complaints raised against them," a representative from Grab told CNA. 

Foodpanda delivery riders also don't face penalties if customers ask for a refund over spilt food. 

"In the event that the actions of delivery partners are not in line with these policies, or in any instances of suspected fraudulent behaviour, we will thoroughly investigate each case and take appropriate action. This includes issuing of warnings, or even suspensions," said a Foodpanda representative to CNA. 

The same rules also apply to Deliveroo riders. 

"For such incidents, our riders are advised to contact the Rider Support team which will inform them what to do with the order and organise a redelivery for the customer if necessary, with Deliveroo compensating the customer for the order based on the particular circumstance," said a Deliveroo representative. 

ALSO READ: Too thirsty? Grab bans delivery rider caught drinking customer's iced Milo

ashwini.balan@asiaone.com