Uber fallout: services industry stepping up checks on employees

The recent molestation of an Uber passenger has sparked off a debate on the safety measures provided by services-led industries such as e-commerce, logistics service providers and quick service restaurants (QSRs) while making the last mile delivery.

Recently, a woman in Hyderabad accused a Flipkart delivery boy of molestation while a pizza delivery boy was convicted for rape of a woman in Mumbai.

Companies which are providing convenience to consumers by offering door-step delivery are soon realising its peril and trying to put in proper checks and measures to avoid such situations in future. BusinessLine spoke to several such companies, which are of the view that besides increased vigilance on background check and tough screening protocols, their human resource department need to look at sensitising their employees on customer behaviour.

More cautious Tarak Mehta, CEO, Mad Over Donuts, said, “We have become extremely cautious and top-level management personally screens the applicants. Since all our employees are on payroll, we also undertake training.”

Similar strategies are being undertaken by other organised QSRs such as Dominoes, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s amongst others.

Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director, DTDC Courier and Cargo, says while background checks and verifications are a part of employee screening, the company has also engaged a third-party verification agency. DTDC has 18,000-20,000 field staff.

The company, which has both employees on roll and outsourced employees, says it has also invested on promoting soft skills such as mannerism and grooming, among other thing.

“This is the most entry level employment category but with high consumer interface. Our business is growing and we will be spending about ₹2-3 crore on training and maintenance of employees.”

According to experts, there is no accurate data on how many consumers, mostly women, have been sexually or mentally harassed by delivery boys or the blue-collar workforce, which have become an integral part of the e-commerce ecosystem.

There are a few companies such as Pepperfry, Urbanladder, Fabfurnish and Snapdeal, who provide installation services. They require delivery boys to enter a customer’s house. Kashyap Vadapalli of online furniture firm Pepperfry said that the company has trained its 275-odd blue-collar workers on how to behave with women customers and even elderly people.

The company calls up and checks with the customers for the delivery timings. Many of these companies also do late evening deliveries considering the fact that there are other members of the family at home.

Urban Ladder works closely with its vendors and agencies that provide such blue-collar workers, in verifying the identification and background of the employees.

They also invest a substantial amount of time in the interview process of these workers.