App-based aggregator’s doorstep-to-doorstep delivery service goes offline in Kol, other cities
Times of India | 5 May 2025
Kolkata: App-based food aggregator Swiggy has suspended its pick-up and drop-off service, Genie, in Kolkata, similar to some other metro cities, for now. Several residents of the city, who used the service frequently, discovered on Sunday that it was no longer available on the app. Upon contacting the customer care, they learned about the closure of the service, which resulted from the aggregator's challenges in hiring and retaining delivery partners.
Prakhar Lodha, a class XII student of South Point High School, relied on the service for the exchange of books and class notes with his friends. "This morning, I opened the app while trying to send a book to my friend. I learned that the service was unavailable. The customer care personnel I called informed me that the aggregator suspended the service temporarily due to operational issues. Apart from books or class notes, I also sent birthday cakes to my friends using this service. Now I shall have to avail myself of the similar service provided by Uber and a few other e-commerce platforms."
TOI reached out to a spokesperson of Swiggy, who confirmed that the service was suspended in the city since Saturday, and its resumption was uncertain. The service used to run in more than 70 cities.
The aggregator has posted on social media: "Genie is currently taking a little break... While there is no concrete timeline for Genie's return just yet, our team is working hard behind the scenes to bring it back as soon as possible." Doctor Sudipto Narayan Roy, MD of Powell Group, used to dispatch medicines to patients with the help of this service. "Swiggy Genie was our silent helper. With its exit from Kolkata, we are juggling with delivery headaches. It is not a crisis but a convenience lost," he said.
In the past, several consumers across the country raised issues like communication gaps and the disappearance of items by delivery partners. In Jan this year, actress Swastika Mukherjee raised concerns over Swiggy Genie's reliability as she reported that a Swiggy delivery boy stole two tickets for an India vs England cricket match at Eden Gardens. Abhishek Paul, an employee of a private real estate firm, has been using the service regularly since the pandemic-induced lockdown in the city. He said, "Recently, I used Genie three times to send important documents to an office, but I noticed they had timing issues and communication gaps." Users like Jadavpur's Sreeranjani Banerjee were hoping for its relaunch soon.