"Kaisa laga mera mazak": Zomato replies to Bengaluru-based customer's complaint; Netizens criticize

In a recent interaction that has caught the attention of netizens, Zomato found itself in the spotlight after responding to a Bengaluru-based customer's complaint with a mix of humor and confusion.

The customer, Shobhit Bakliwal, raised a concern on Elon Musk-owned X about the inability to edit birthdays and anniversaries on the Zomato app. Highlighting a potential issue for those who might remarry, Bakliwal's query was met with a response from Zomato that left many amused and others bewildered.

what if someone remarries @zomato pic.twitter.com/nM3oTNpXfa

— Shobhit Bakliwal 🦇🔊 (@shobhitic) March 8, 2024

Zomato's customer care team replied with a playful comment, suggesting that they hadn't considered the app becoming a marriage counselor. They joked about celebrating a customer's decision to "remarry" their meal with extra flavor and possibly a side of confetti.

Oh, no "edit" for anniversaries? 😱 We didn't anticipate Zomato would become a marriage counselor! If someone decides to "remarry" their meal, we'll just have to celebrate their culinary commitment with extra flavor and maybe a side of confetti.

— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) March 8, 2024

The response, intended to be light-hearted, prompted Bakliwal to question, "Bhai, kehna kya chahte ho? [What do you want to say?]"

Bhai kehna kya chahte ho @zomatocare pic.twitter.com/AnjLgPgWvW

— Shobhit Bakliwal 🦇🔊 (@shobhitic) March 9, 2024

Zomato further engaged by asking, "Kaisa laga mera mazak! Samajh nahi AI? [How did you like my joke! You don’t get it?]" assuring that they would address the issue.

Kaisa laga mera mazak!
Samajh nahi AI?
But jokes apart, thank you for catching that. We'll get it sorted. 😇

— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) March 9, 2024

The post quickly went viral, sparking a debate among social media users. Some found Zomato's approach to customer service refreshingly humorous, while others criticized it for being confusing. A number of users speculated that the response might have been generated by AI, with comments suggesting it resembled the output of early-stage language models that attempt humor without fully grasping the logic.

This ain’t funny really but Zomato and Zomato PR thinks it’s very funny to joke and ridicule a customer!!

— The India Talkies (@TheIndiaTalkies) March 10, 2024

Another prime example of using Ai/LLMs for your customer support and responses.

You start spitting trash content that nobody understands and damaged your brand value saving you a few rupees.

But who cares? Maybe the seth @deepigoyal https://t.co/gRCW0zNFjl

— Nikhil Sharma (@udibawa) March 9, 2024

For the love of god, if you have built a social brand as great as @zomato over a decade, don’t ruin it overnight by plugging LLMs into it 🥲🥲🥲🥲 https://t.co/3pNgPwbapZ

— Arnav Gupta (@championswimmer) March 9, 2024

This incident has led to a broader discussion on the use of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in customer support. Critics argue that relying on AI for customer interactions can result in "trash content" that damages brand value in an attempt to save costs. In contrast, supporters appreciate the attempt at injecting humor into customer service.

The debate comes in the wake of Zomato's announcement in September 2023 about the launch of Zomato AI, a personalized chatbot designed to assist consumers in choosing their meals.

As companies increasingly integrate AI into their services, the balance between automation and human touch remains a topic of discussion.