Grabfood customer leaves rider to foot the bill

image : freepik.com

Our hunger pangs are easily fulfilled by clicking ‘order’ on food delivery applications. Most of the time for convenience, our credit cards are our payment method of choice. Food delivery apps Grab and Foodpanda have the option for customers to top up its in-app payment method and utilise those for added convenience. On the other hand, cash is rarely a go-to payment choice for most, due to the hassle of needing exact amounts on hand. Unfortunately for a grab rider, his customer opted for the ‘cash-on-delivery’ option. Trying to fulfil his order as per usual, the rider attempted to reach the customer when he saw there was no unit number listed on the order. From 9.15am to 9.45am, the customer did not respond to the rider’s messages or calls. He tried to contact Grab to inform them of the situation, but to no avail. Finally, he decided to wait an additional 30 to 45 minutes for the customer to respond, after which he gave up and left with the food.

The customer’s total order was worth S$19. The rider’s payout would have been S$27. The cash payable by the customer was then deducted from the rider’s wallet leaving him with a S$27 loss. According to the rider, the S$27 loss would have been enough to buy three meals for his family. Instead, he was left with a single Mcdonalds meal. Grab Singapore commented on the affected rider’s TikTok video and said that the issue had been resolved with the rider. This included reimbursing him for the job. They also emphasised that delivery-partners would be able to reach them more efficiently via the Help Centre in the app, or through Facebook and Instagram messaging. This is not the first controversy with cash-on-delivery for Grab. In 2022, a post went viral, showing a cash-on-delivery customer insisting the rider should pay for his food if it does not arrive on time. In 2020, a 27-year old was jailed for ordering more than S$700 worth of food from food delivery platforms to his neighbour’s houses, and opting for the cash-on-delivery method. He would then notify the riders saying that payment would be made via Paynow or Paylah. However, he did not do so.

A larger issue that happened throughout 2021 was the increase in loan sharks abusing the cash-on-delivery payment method to harass people. A Grab spokesperson mentioned that they limit the order value for “potentially-errant” users who opt for a cash-on-delivery payment method. However, they remained silent on the larger problem revolving around the removal of the option completely. Foodpanda explained that the cash-on-delivery option is an “inclusive service” to those who may not have access to cashless payment options. They added that they will be rolling out additional limitations for cash-on-delivery orders to better ensure the authenticity of each order.

A petition to stop cash-on-delivery options for Grabfood, Foodpanda, and other food couriers in the Philippines was launched in April 2021. The aim of the petition was to protect riders and restaurant owners from “fake bookings”. Nothing similar has been done to address the main problem in Singapore.