Unless you haven’t been a decent citizen lately, we all know this fact for sure: GrabFood’s system is wack.
I once booked a driver to have lunch delivered to my office. While waiting, I was bothered by how my driver repeatedly messaged me to wait, as if he was begging me not to get mad and eventually cancel my order. I wasn’t even a bit irritated, especially because it wasn’t even taking so long. This driver kept saying “pasensya na po,” attaching unnecessary updates on the current status of my order. I could feel how anxious he was. And that struck me: How many canceled orders did he endure to get this kind of paranoia?
Read more: Booking a Grab is about to get harder this June
This is only one of the many complaints scattered across the interwebs. Other people have witnessed nearby drivers getting canceled on by GrabFood users, even if the drivers have already picked up their meals and drinks from the selected restaurant. What happens after this? The driver is left with food he didn’t even order, and his own pocket money just flushed down the drain. But if an order takes so much time, is it even the driver’s fault? Is he in control of the long lines and heavy traffic?
So to everyone who’s called Grab’s attention on this issue—good job. In a Facebook post yesterday, June 19, Grab expressed how they’ve modified their seemingly anti-driver system. Grab made it clear that cancellations aren’t allowed once orders are placed. “These incidents are called NO-SHOWS,” Grab wrote.
Well, in case of no-shows, Grab pointed out that drivers will be reimbursed for the money they had to pay in advance. No-shows can face possible account suspension. For the user’s end, Grab laid out tips to avoid the need to cancel orders. It’s the user’s responsibility to double-check the drop-off address and order. If in any case a cancellation is needed, the user has no choice but the user has to call Grab admin. And don’t we all hate making calls?
Art by Gabriel Cruz