Blinkit under fire after Bengaluru resident threatens legal action over Hindi notifications; post goes viral

A recent incident involving a Kannada-speaking man and Blinkit's customer service has sparked a heated debate on social media regarding language preferences and customer satisfaction. The controversy began when the man, identified as @Metikurke on 'X', expressed his displeasure after receiving notifications in Hindi from the delivery app, which he referred to as an 'alien language' for Bengaluru. His frustration led him to contact Blinkit's support team, threatening to involve the police if the issue persisted.

According to his account shared on 'X', the man received a notification in Hindi from Blinkit that read, "Dekho ye order 12 minutes mein deliver ho gaya" (See this order was delivered in just 12 minutes). He immediately took to social media, posting screenshots of his conversation with Blinkit's customer care. In one of his posts, he stated, “Blinkit sent a harmful notification and wished me ‘Gaya,’ which means ‘wound’ in Kannada. I told them, if I received one more threatening notification, I would lodge a police complaint. After that they stopped sending nonsense in alien languages. That's how we need to deal!”



His threat seemed to have an impact, as he later claimed that Blinkit had switched to sending notifications exclusively in English. He mentioned, “Following my complaint, I noticed for over a month that they only send notifications in English now. No more nonsense in alien languages.”

The incident quickly gained traction on social media platforms, with the original post accumulating over 5.8 lakh views and nearly 1,000 likes. However, the response was polarized, with many users criticizing the man for his approach. One user commented, “Only shows that people need to get jobs and have a life. You could have simply closed notifications. Instead, you sit and think of every situation where we can do a language angle.”

Another sarcastically remarked, “Wow, what an achievement! Sir, you should get the Nobel prize.” A third user questioned, “Why can’t you type your responses to them in Kannada?”

Despite the backlash, the incident has brought attention to issues of language diversity and customer service in multilingual regions like Bengaluru. It raises questions about how companies should cater to diverse linguistic preferences while ensuring effective communication with their customers.