Grab and Uber in Thailand not really "door to door"

[Jingthing]

OK, I have enough experience using these services in Thailand (Pattaya) to notice a really annoying pattern.

 

You book a ride to pick you up at a very specific location (such as a business) and if it's inconvenient or more likely in the wrong direction to your destination to pick you up in front of the called for location, they arrive on the other side of the road.

 

Now that's certainly no biggie if it's small road, with little traffic, in fair weather.

 

But the other night I called for a Grab in the rain in front of a business on a large road, with heavy traffic, in the rain.

 

Hoping (in vain) that in such a case the driver would have the common sense and courtesy to arrive directly at the called for place.

 

Nope. No such luck.

 

He arrives opposite on the large road and has serious attitude about ordering me to come to him quickly, never mind the risk of crossing that road in heavy traffic in the rain.

 

I've had similar experiences other times, but never quite that annoying.

 

It seems to be a Thai cultural thing even with "professional" drivers that serve people without vehicles to be completely tone deaf about the situation and risks for pedestrians here. 

 

So they expect a full star RATING for that kind of crap?

 

Important to clarify -- this issue has absolutely nothing to do the Uber not being legal thing. People should be savvy enough about Uber that if using Uber take care to not book a pickup or destination very close to where local transport "mafias" gather. Also to understand if the Uber driver asks you to change it a little for that reason. That has been discussed elsewhere. It is OFF TOPIC here. 

 

Comments please. 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Jingthing

[FarangSerbia]

I usually had that happen when pinning down the location in the app as opposed to typing the actual address. Not sure if it's the app or the drivers, but if I don't enter the exact address but pin it down instead, the chance that they would arrive at the right address/side of the street is roughly 50-50. 

[Jingthing]

Understood, but I usually have the exact pickup location pinned because it's based on the name of a business, not an address. 

 

Oddly, I have not had this problem at destinations. 

 

I guess the RAIN thing really got me. One reason people use such services is to avoid walking in the RAIN in the first place. Also, being polite and a little apologetic rather than BARKING would have helped. I do understand it might take them 10 minutes out of their way to do the exact pickup, but they should have patience when demanding people cross busy roads. 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Jingthing

[recycler]

It's the general laziness and lack of courtesy that prevails here.

[impulse]

Irritating as it is, looking at it from their side they may have to drive 20-30% further to make the U-turn, only to be paid the exact same amount for the route. 

 

Like taxi drivers who refuse fares, I chalk it up more to the ridiculously cheap taxi fares that pretty much require them to take actions that we see as unacceptable- just so they can make a decent living.  In fact, one of the challenges of riding in BKK taxis is to figure out how to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible when it's in the driver's best interest to take a slower route to increase the km or the wait-o-meter, or avoid tolls, or whatever.

 

Edit:  And I should add that some drivers will take a shorter but slower route thinking they're saving me money because the km and fare will be lower, or they'll avoid a toll for me.  But I don't give a rat.  I want to get there quickly and I don't care about saving a few baht.  That's the difference between living on a Thai salary and a western salary.

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by impulse

[alant]

Never had a problem with Uber, Grab on the other hand refuse to recognise my place (my wife's holiday rental) unless she puts it on foursquare and gets a number of hits. The fact it is listed on Google maps means nothing to them.

[Dazinoz]

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

OK, I have enough experience using these services in Thailand (Pattaya) to notice a really annoying pattern.

 

You book a ride to pick you up at a very specific location (such as a business) and if it's inconvenient or more likely in the wrong direction to your destination to pick you up in front of the called for location, they arrive on the other side of the road.

 

Now that's certainly no biggie if it's small road, with little traffic, in fair weather.

 

But the other night I called for a Grab in the rain in front of a business on a large road, with heavy traffic, in the rain.

 

Hoping (in vain) that in such a case the driver would have the common sense and courtesy to arrive directly at the called for place.

 

Nope. No such luck.

 

He arrives opposite on the large road and has serious attitude about ordering me to come to him quickly, never mind the risk of crossing that road in heavy traffic in the rain.

 

I've had similar experiences other times, but never quite that annoying.

 

It seems to be a Thai cultural thing even with "professional" drivers that serve people without vehicles to be completely tone deaf about the situation and risks for pedestrians here. 

 

So they expect a full star RATING for that kind of crap?

 

Important to clarify -- this issue has absolutely nothing to do the Uber not being legal thing. People should be savvy enough about Uber that if using Uber take care to not book a pickup or destination very close to where local transport "mafias" gather. Also to understand if the Uber driver asks you to change it a little for that reason. That has been discussed elsewhere. It is OFF TOPIC here. 

 

Comments please. 

I live a mooban with only one entrance. A few sois,including the one I live in are not shown on the app map. The first few times drivers found my house by following gps to pinned location. However the last 3 pick up could not find me. I was following them on my app and they drive straight past the entrance. One called many times and could not follow direction. She even asked for my location to be sent in Line app. I did but still couldn't find me. It was fir a friend and in the end I drive her to Uber car. I reported that one to Uber. Yesterday I contacted Uber regarding the last 3 pickups and they just replied with thanks for telling us. 

 

Most drivers  I have found good and now wondering if Uber app problem or drivers. 

[Lazy Farang]

Talk about a pathetic whine, with a bit of racism to boot. Go OP!

[1FinickyOne]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Understood, but I usually have the exact pickup location pinned because it's based on the name of a business, not an address. 

 

Oddly, I have not had this problem at destinations. 

 

I guess the RAIN thing really got me. One reason people use such services is to avoid walking in the RAIN in the first place. Also, being polite and a little apologetic rather than BARKING would have helped. I do understand it might take them 10 minutes out of their way to do the exact pickup, but they should have patience when demanding people cross busy roads. 

Usually the question with drivers is compensation - you say an extra ten minutes and surely at times depending on the road, it can be significantly more - or less. Are they adequately compensated for their time? 

 

I see a lot of complaints here about fares and little concern for the drivers trying to make a living. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, kenk24 said:

I see a lot of complaints here about fares and little concern for the drivers trying to make a living. 

And yet, there's certainly no shortage, at least in BKK, of taxi drivers (in fact, just the opposite, there's generally considered to be an oversupply). So there must be some attraction to the job.

 

[Rc2702]

The problem is common around the world but the issue is worse when the uber drivers do it on purpose to simply gain a cancellation fee. That was my experience last time I grabbed an uber in London by great portland st. The other experience was getting charged £85 to heathrow from N1. Price with a private hire is no more than £45. Ouch.

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And yet, there's certainly no shortage, at least in BKK, of taxi drivers (in fact, just the opposite, there's generally considered to be an oversupply). So there must be some attraction to the job.

 

Yes, the over supply of course will lower the wages... I think depending where you are, driving a taxi can be a good job. It was my first job [in NYC] after graduating university. I didn't do it for a long time but I loved the freedom. No boss in the taxi with you, take a break when you want, listen to music, talk with people... not great money, but ok. And there were no demands. You could work every day or 2x a week. 

 

My comment was geared toward people in Thailand who are looking for the cheapest form of transportation but expecting 5 star service. The ones who want to pay 20 baht and are upset that the driver is not a college grad with English language proficiency... that is available, but not going to be the cheapest option. 

 

As to the OP - he does not state if he is willing to pay for the extra time and mileage for the driver to pick him up on his side of the street... 

[Fairynuff]

5 hours ago, Lazy Farang said:

Talk about a pathetic whine, with a bit of racism to boot. Go OP!

Read the OP back  to try to find a "whine" or evidence of racism....couldn't find either

[Dazinoz]

6 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Read the OP back  to try to find a "whine" or evidence of racism....couldn't find either

Usual troll.

[Fairynuff]

1 hour ago, kenk24 said:

Yes, the over supply of course will lower the wages... I think depending where you are, driving a taxi can be a good job. It was my first job [in NYC] after graduating university. I didn't do it for a long time but I loved the freedom. No boss in the taxi with you, take a break when you want, listen to music, talk with people... not great money, but ok. And there were no demands. You could work every day or 2x a week. 

 

My comment was geared toward people in Thailand who are looking for the cheapest form of transportation but expecting 5 star service. The ones who want to pay 20 baht and are upset that the driver is not a college grad with English language proficiency... that is available, but not going to be the cheapest option. 

 

As to the OP - he does not state if he is willing to pay for the extra time and mileage for the driver to pick him up on his side of the street... 

Why should he pay extra to be picked up where he asked? Presumably the driver knew where the puck up up point was, he didn't have to take the job in the first place

[Jingthing]

Back to the topic please. There was no such racist edit as accused.

[Jingthing]

15 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Why should he pay extra to be picked up where he asked? Presumably the driver knew where the puck up up point was, he didn't have to take the job in the first place

Yes, and it's even more layered than that.

 Actually I'm not sure about Grab's customer rating system but I know Uber driver's rate customers and you can see the rating. 

So let's consider in the case I am talking about, being aggressively ordered to cross a busy street very quickly in the rain, if I said to him -- No. It's raining, and I booked the car to come to where I'm at. Please pick me up here.

 

I've never done that. But what would he do? Cancel the booking? Pick me up but rate me very low? Claim that I cancelled it because I refused to meet the car where he was and lower my rating on their system? I don't really know.

 

Also, I now have a theory on why this is more of an issue on pickups than at destinations.

 

At destinations is when you might tip in some cases (I pay cash so I do tip) and also RATE the ride. The memory of the pickup will be less fresh by then. 

 

In case you don't know, if you're customer rating is low, drivers are less likely to accept your bookings at all. 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Jingthing

[Ron19]

A troll post has been removed.

I don't wish to see any more as I have posted in another topic, holidays are on special today so keep that in mind.

[Dazinoz]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

In case you don't know, if you're customer rating is low, drivers are less likely to accept your bookings at all. 

 

Didn't know customers got a rating. Where do you see that?

 

UPDATE: Ok found it. I have a 4.87.

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by Dazinoz

[Jingthing]

25 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

 

Didn't know customers got a rating. Where do you see that?

 

UPDATE: Ok found it. I have a 4.87.

 

Yeah I'm sure Uber has them but not sure about Grab. Does anyone know?

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Why should he pay extra to be picked up where he asked? Presumably the driver knew where the puck up up point was, he didn't have to take the job in the first place

Sometimes it can be a long way and a lot of time to get around those blocks and if you end up heading in the wrong direction, have to do it over again...... and no, he did not have to take the job, I agree, but I do have some sympathy for the driver too... and my other point is that too many people hire cheap services and then complain about poor service... that's all. 

[wpcoe]

On a smaller scale of a similar issue, several times when I've arranged Grab or Uber to pick me up at my condo building, they've gone to the rear entrance while I'm waiting at the front door.  They do call to ask where I am and all but one agreed to drive around to the front, but one driver insisted I come to the rear entrance.  Not a big deal, but I find it annoying and puzzling.

 

Why would they drive to the rear entrance (service delivery entrance)?  And, no, there's no taxi stand in front that might be a threat to the driver.

 

And (moreso in the OP's situation than mine), what if the customer were mobility impaired?

[Jingthing]

I'm not mobility impaired but where he wanted me to cross nowhere near a traffic light people are sometimes killed crossing. Also how did he know I had an umbrella when he positioned his car? Did he want soaking wet passengers? I guess the answer is they shouldn't take rides that are inconvenient for them to position themselves.

 

I had considered telling him to f off and keep his damn ride but mainly because it's an app where my rep could be ruined that I caved.

 

I guess that's part of their business model. Control the drivers and the customers.

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I wonder if we are seeing the mentality of some of the regular taxi drivers start to appear in the "App Drivers" now?

 

 

 

[impulse]

4 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

I wonder if we are seeing the mentality of some of the regular taxi drivers start to appear in the "App Drivers" now?

It's pretty much inevitable.  No matter how good the system, some players will eventually learn to game it.  Make the system too "un-game-able"  and it will be effectively unworkable. Metered taxis were probably shiny, new and very welcome when they first came on the scene...

 

[JohnLick]

One asked me to cross Phetchaburi Rd in Bangkok.... FIVE lines road and the closest bridge was 200 metres away

 

I told him no f way + I had so much stuff that I would have to go twice.

 

Another time my gf had b-day so we went for a dinner to 5* hotel... <deleted> asked if he can drop us opposite site so he doesn't have to take u-turn. This was 4 line road with heavy traffic.

 

You can imagine what I told him, and how.

Edited September 27, 2017 by JohnLick

[Fairynuff]

20 hours ago, kenk24 said:

Sometimes it can be a long way and a lot of time to get around those blocks and if you end up heading in the wrong direction, have to do it over again...... and no, he did not have to take the job, I agree, but I do have some sympathy for the driver too... and my other point is that too many people hire cheap services and then complain about poor service... that's all. 

Totally agree that metered taxis and the often higher priced Grab (I don't use uber) are very cheap, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect good service. 

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Totally agree that metered taxis and the often higher priced Grab (I don't use uber) are very cheap, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect good service. 

Well, in Pattaya Grab/Uber fares are about or more than DOUBLE the fares of Bangkok taxi meters by distance. That is objectively not that cheap. I'm not buying the it's cheap so expect crap argument. 

Edited September 27, 2017 by Jingthing

[Rimmer]

A nasty troll post and two replies have been removed

 

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[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Totally agree that metered taxis and the often higher priced Grab (I don't use uber) are very cheap, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect good service. 

 

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Well, in Pattaya Grab/Uber fares are about or more than DOUBLE the fares of Bangkok taxi meters by distance. That is objectively not that cheap. I'm not buying the it's cheap so expect crap argument. 

I am just saying it may be a long way around the block and then they might have to retrace to get pointed back in the right direction, you might be talking 20-30 minutes... in this type of situation, it might not be that unreasonable to ask someone to walk across a street... which may not be crap service, but the idea is that if you want first class, pay first class, there are people out there who know how to treat a customer well and will deliver, though I don't expect they are driving Uber and such...