'I miss you, says i-Pill': Zepto's notification to Bengaluru woman sparks backlash

An notification landed the quick commerce app Zepto in the soup. A woman in Bengaluru received a notification stating that the emergency contraceptive pill i-Pill is 'missing' her.

Pallavi Pareek was dumbfounded when she gets the notification that read, “I miss you, Pallavi. Says i-Pill emergency contraceptive pill”. The message was also accompanied by three teary-eyed emoticons.

Pallavi took a screenshot of the notification and voiced her concerns on LinkedIn, tagging Zepto and Zepto Cares.

"First of all, I have never ordered an emergency pill from you. Even if I had, you should realize that this is not something that should be described as missing me or that I should be missing it," Pallavi wrote.

She said, "Are you suggesting that I need to take an emergency contraceptive?" and added, "Why am I receiving this when I never placed an order with you?"

As a professional working in the field of workplace sexual harassment prevention and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Pallavi expressed that the company's messaging crossed a line. "Messaging is appropriate only if it is sensitive, humorous, or logical. I draw the line when notifications become flirty or sleazy. This is just too much."

However, she also made it clear that she is still a fan of Zepto’s services as she regularly relies on quick commerce platforms in her day-to-day life. "This post is meant to highlight the flaw in thoughtless logic and messaging, not to criticize the i-Pill promotion or its availability," she clarified.

Her post triggered a long chain of discussion among the netizens.

A user said, "They wanted you to make a post about it so that they can get free publicity. That's how marketing is working now a days."

Another user commented, "Hey Zepto, I think my groceries are getting a little too personal. I'm here for the fresh produce, not emergency products that miss me more than my ex! Maybe let's leave the flirty messages to Tinder? Just saying. You went too far, BY THE WAY."

Zepto have issued an apology, admitting that they had "messed up." "Hey Pallavi, we messed up, and we're truly sorry. We understand how thoughtless and potentially harmful this was," the company wrote on LinkedIn.

The company further assured customers that they had taken immediate action to address the issue and had corrected the error and retrained their team to prevent such mishaps in the future.