Public heaves a sigh of relief as delivery platform commences services amid curfew

AMMAN — The Mouneh.Jo platform commenced its services as of Saturday morning, bringing much-needed relief to those living in remote areas.

The government-designed platform enables its users to order groceries either from major hypermarkets by delivery or by offering a directory of minimarkets in neighbourhoods, providing the name, phone number and website of each listed store.

The platform presents a range of stores that sell groceries, vegetables, fruits, bread and other necessities, with each citizen allowed to order once a day.

“This is a relief for those of us who live in remote areas, as the previous government decision that allowed citizens to walk to the nearest supermarket did not do us much good, as I would have to drive, not walk, for 10 minutes to reach the nearest shop,” said Rand Zubaidi, who lives in a remote part of Abu Nuseir in Amman.

Zubaidi told The Jordan Times over the phone that major hypermarkets were “overwhelmed with orders” when the platform first launched on Saturday, but that one of the listed supermarkets in his area offered delivery services.

“I was astonished at the amount of supermarkets listed in each area. There was a very diverse collection of minimarkets, supermarkets, fruit and vegetable shops and bakeries, most of which told me they had delivery services just like the hypermarkets,” added Zubaidi.

Up until Saturday at noon, the platform has had 250,000 users, according to Mouneh’s website.

Besides hypermarkets offering delivery services and a list of markets by area, Mouneh also provides citizens with the names of companies and licensed applications that offer delivery services in all governorates of the Kingdom.

“I tried calling several hypermarkets but all their lines were busy, and then I tried contacting the shops near my house but none of them had delivery, so I called one of the delivery services, told the driver what I wanted and he was at my house within an hour! Very impressive!” said Mustafa Kurdi in a tweet.

Despite praise from the public, Mouneh.Jo clarifies that it is a “neutral entity and is not responsible for the quality of services provided by the bodies mentioned on the platform”.

Some citizens have complained of the slow delivery of supplies, but store employees said that this is due to the “high demand on stores and applications listed on the platform, which has made even the large hypermarkets find difficulty in absorbing such a large number of visits and requests”, as put by Mahmoud Jurati, a worker at a supermarket.

Jurati told The Jordan Times over the phone that the demand was at its highest on Saturday, and that situation has been gradually calming down since then.

Mouneh.Jo has also listed procedures that both citizens who go out to shop and delivery employees must implement for the purpose of public safety, namely wearing a face mask and gloves, keeping a safe distance of at least a metre between people and limiting the use of banknotes and resorting to electronic payment, as well as avoiding direct touching of elevators and building doors.