Scam Alert: Hyderabad's Food Delivery Apps Are Full of Fake Restaurant Listings!
I’ve noticed a concerning trend on two major food delivery apps in Hyderabad: what looks like a wide selection of restaurants is actually the same cloud kitchen operating under different names. These places are just recycling the same food, repackaged to look like it’s from a new spot. It's a blatant scam that needs to be addressed.
If a proper investigation were done, I’m sure a lot of these so-called restaurants would be shut down. It’s frustrating when you try to avoid a place after a bad experience, only to unknowingly order from it again because it’s hiding under a different name.
You can easily spot these duplicates: their location is always the same distance from your home, they offer almost identical menus with slight variations, and the prices are often identical too. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
I’d provide screenshots and examples, but I honestly don’t feel like putting in the work right now. Just wanted to rant a bit.
Why is this a problem?
I don’t have an issue with cloud kitchens in general—they’re convenient and cost-effective. The problem is the deception. These apps are bombarding us with fake options, making it seem like we have more choices than we really do.
Picture this: you order from Restaurant A, and the food is terrible. You vow to never order from that place again. The next day, you carefully avoid that restaurant and choose a different one. But surprise! It’s the same kitchen, just with a new name and packaging.
Why It Hurts Customers and Legitimate Businesses
Lack of Transparency: Customers have a right to know where their food is coming from. These fake listings deceive people into thinking they're ordering from different places when they’re not. This lack of transparency undermines trust in food delivery platforms.
Unfair Competition: Genuine restaurants that put effort into maintaining quality, hygiene, and customer service are pushed out of the market. These ghost kitchens flood the platform with fake options, making it harder for legitimate businesses to compete for visibility. This hurts restaurants that deliver good food and value.
Degraded Food Quality: Since these cloud kitchens are often focused on volume over quality, they tend to produce substandard food. Customers end up with a bad experience, thinking they’ve tried several places when it’s just the same kitchen with no real commitment to improving quality.
Customer Safety and Hygiene Concerns: Multiple "restaurants" running from the same location can raise questions about food safety and hygiene standards. If one place fails to meet standards, it's likely that the others from the same kitchen are just as bad, putting customer health at risk.
Fake Reviews & Ratings: These places often manipulate the system by boosting reviews for their multiple listings. When customers search for genuine options, they are fooled by inflated ratings, making it harder to find quality food. This practice devalues the entire review system, which should help customers make informed choices.
Wasting Customers’ Money: No one wants to pay for a bad meal, let alone fall into the trap of ordering from the same bad kitchen again and again without realizing it. People end up wasting both their money and time, with no real option to hold the business accountable.
Time for Action
These practices are clearly damaging to both customers and honest businesses. We need more transparency from food delivery platforms, and perhaps a crackdown on how listings are managed and verified. It's only fair that customers know where their food is really coming from, and that genuine restaurants are given a fair chance to thrive.