KOCHI: Over 300 customers in the city were in for a major disappointment on Thiruvonam after a prominent catering unit failed to deliver the Onasadya, despite making bookings much in advance.The incident happened at the Edappally franchisee of Poornasree catering based in Tripunithura. A customer who arrived at the franchisee, where the order was placed, said he was shocked to learn they were not providing the parcels. “The women at the counter told us the parcels had not arrived from the main unit in Tripunithura. It was disappointing. We had ordered a box for five members worth Rs 1,500,” he said.
Another customer said he had placed the order with the caterer because it had a good reputation. “However, some who received the parcels said certain items were missing from the sadya. A few others complained that the food tasted raw,” he said adding that the overall experience was bitter all who ordered from the caterer felt betrayed. There are reports that the caterer failed to deliver the lunch order at a few other units too. However, the owner of the catering unit Sunil Thampan refuted the allegations that the food supplied was of poor quality.
“Our catering unit was established in 1967. We pride ourselves on our capacity to provide quality food in time,” he said. He admitted they were unable to supply the requisite number of parcels on time due to the unexpected staff shortage. “This has never happened to us in the past. Around 15 of our staff couldn’t make it to the main unit where the food is prepared as they suddenly had to go under quarantine. We managed to make the deliveries to all our customers, except 325 who placed the order at the Edappally franchisee,” he said.
He added they were able to complete the food delivery by 3 pm. “The money was refunded to those who didn’t receive our parcels,” said Sunil who also posted an apology video on social media. He said they received over 7,000 Onasadya orders on Thiruonam day.