Video: Grab vs "Win" turf wars leaves foreigner dumbfounded!

 

Caption: You wanna be stabbed - foreigner shocked as trouble making "win" confronts Grab

 

A video doing the rounds of Thai social media showed a motorcycle taxi rider pull out a sword and threaten a Grab rider outside the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday. 

 

The "win" rider threatens the Grab rider with being stabbed before the Grag guy races off in fear of his life.

 

It appears that the Grab rider was called by a tourist who is left confused by what happened. 

 

He said to the motorcycle taxi rider:

 

"Why are you doing this? I want to take him. What is wrong?"

 

The only reply from the jacketed rider is that they don't understand English.

 

"Why can't I take Grab," the tourist continues as another English speaker suggests he cross the road or take a regular motorcycle taxi. 

 

To this suggestion the tourist says:

 

"I don't trust them".

 

Springnews said that the video was being widely discussed on Thai social media.

 

 

Source: Springnews

 

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Another glaring example of the Thai old guard's main method at dealing with 21st century issues.

It will be a good day when these kind of idiots are forced to actually work for a living

Brandishing a sword is definitely not the way to handle a frustration. 

 

This Grab situation is a polarizing one for me. I sympathize with the frustration of the motocy-taxi guys having to go through the time of meeting regulations (yellow plate, etc.) that inevitably cause extra expense to do their job then having to compete with others who avoid the same regulations.

 

At the same time, if they don't like the rules they're made to follow, they're free to quit and sign up with Grab, assuming they can qualify to meet the company's standards.  It's interesting that the the guy trusted a Grab rider more than a gov't "regulated" rider. 

 

Free enterprise is generally good, but a fair playing field must also exist. 

21 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

This Grab situation is a polarizing one for me. I sympathize with the frustration of the motocy-taxi guys having to go through the time of meeting regulations (yellow plate, etc.) that inevitably cause extra expense to do their job then having to compete with others who avoid the same regulations.

That is the main issue. Also when companies like Grab have monopolized and taken over, prices will go up, service will go down and they will pay their riders/drivers less. They only care about their shareholders and fiancers. And before anyone starts crying, that doesn't mean I am codoning the actions of the guy in the video, he is an idiot for pulling out the sword. 

5 hours ago, Inn Between said:

This Grab situation is a polarizing one for me. I sympathize with the frustration of the motocy-taxi guys having to go through the time of meeting regulations (yellow plate, etc.) that inevitably cause extra expense to do their job then having to compete with others who avoid the same regulations.

this is all about the ability to rip people off, GRAB gives a set fare based on distance 

 

nothing much more to say on the matter - it really is very simple

 

be fair or stuff your fare

Thais don’t like competition in any form

So, next year, when Grab is legal(?), all this kind of behaviour will cease too. I doubt it.

6 hours ago, smedly said:

this is all about the ability to rip people off, GRAB gives a set fare based on distance 

 

nothing much more to say on the matter - it really is very simple

 

be fair or stuff your fare

Grab also leaves a papertrail in the app history if something happen or you forgot something.

 

You can also leave a review about the ride and the driver. Too many bad review and the driver is removed. 

 

I trust Grab more than random (moto)taxi that you need to beg to give them work. 

Another tale of the unexpected for a tourist to tell his friends back home. If this happened in Vietnam, Malaysia etc, the police would go mental 

11 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

That is the main issue. Also when companies like Grab have monopolized and taken over, prices will go up, service will go down and they will pay their riders/drivers less. They only care about their shareholders and fiancers. And before anyone starts crying, that doesn't mean I am codoning the actions of the guy in the video, he is an idiot for pulling out the sword. 

 

In Indonesia Grab takes around 30% of the fare. But there the "taxi" guys are not organized or government "supervised". 

30% seems a lot for what is no more than an updated taxi radio despatch system.  

Just now, lemonjelly said:

Another tale of the unexpected for a tourist to tell his friends back home. If this happened in Vietnam, Malaysia etc, the police would go mental 

It happened to my friend in Vietnam. He arrived to his destination and a mob of taxi driver extracted the driver and started beating him. 

58 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

It happened to my friend in Vietnam. He arrived to his destination and a mob of taxi driver extracted the driver and started beating him. 

Blimey, I stand corrected. I thought this kind of malarkey only went on in Thailand. 

1 hour ago, Tayaout said:

It happened to my friend in Vietnam. He arrived to his destination and a mob of taxi driver extracted the driver and started beating him. 

I use Grab bikes regularly here in Vietnam, never had a problem. The regular motorbike taxis rip farangs off, Grab doesn't. Fair pricing, always have change. Never witnessed any altercation with regular taxis, so I find your story hard to believe. 

It's quite simple.

 

Orange vest motorbike taxi rip off foreigner.

 

GRAB bike charge fair price.

 

Charge the same fair price / market rate and orange vest guys will win back the grab taxi customers!

 

Double your price and customers will choose the cheaper and friendlier option!

 

Time to wake up!

6 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

I use Grab bikes regularly here in Vietnam, never had a problem. The regular motorbike taxis rip farangs off, Grab doesn't. Fair pricing, always have change. Never witnessed any altercation with regular taxis, so I find your story hard to believe. 

Yes did not happen to you (and me) so it possibly can't happen to anyone. 

Grab cares for Grab and no one else. Grab drivers here in Thailand are illegal and have to pay a lot if stopped by the police. Grab will not pay the fine. But they will take their share from every illegal ride. 

31 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

I use Grab bikes regularly here in Vietnam, never had a problem. The regular motorbike taxis rip farangs off, Grab doesn't. Fair pricing, always have change. Never witnessed any altercation with regular taxis, so I find your story hard to believe. 

Me also never seen a problem with Grab in Vietnam and they are everywhere you go so I reckon he’s mixed it up with Thailand

18 minutes ago, cnx101 said:

Me also never seen a problem with Grab in Vietnam and they are everywhere you go so I reckon he’s mixed it up with Thailand

I used Grab in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam without issue. Doesn't make my friend a lier. Grab is also in a gray area in Vietnam (They have some court case in the news) and it's not a stretch to imagine some driver don't like to lose customer. Vietnam is not some magical paradise where everything is better than Thailand. My friend came from Vietnam to visit me and told me this crazy story that scared him and his girlfriend and asked me if the same thing could happen in Thailand. 

https://kr-asia.com/vietnam-prosecutors-want-verdict-against-grab-overturned

15 hours ago, Inn Between said:

Brandishing a sword is definitely not the way to handle a frustration. 

 

This Grab situation is a polarizing one for me. I sympathize with the frustration of the motocy-taxi guys having to go through the time of meeting regulations (yellow plate, etc.) that inevitably cause extra expense to do their job then having to compete with others who avoid the same regulations.

 

At the same time, if they don't like the rules they're made to follow, they're free to quit and sign up with Grab, assuming they can qualify to meet the company's standards.  It's interesting that the the guy trusted a Grab rider more than a gov't "regulated" rider. 

 

Free enterprise is generally good, but a fair playing field must also exist. 

I couldn’t agree more!  Properly structured competition is a good thing, but all competitors have to play by - and be held to - the same rules 

 

To me, I don’t think you can really ever “go back” in terms of change.. so whether or not the specific Grab-based model succeeds or fails here is still unanswered, the reality as I see it is that some form of an “online-based rise share” type model WILL exist in some form..

 

The “old school” win drivers can push back as much as they like... but IMHO, change WILL come to the transportation model .... and no amount of push back (be that via legal or even illegal means such as violence) by them is going to change that.. 

 

get in front of it or get left behind by it.

 

20 hours ago, rooster59 said:

A video doing the rounds of Thai social media showed a motorcycle taxi rider pull out a sword and threaten a Grab rider outside the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday. 

And they wonder why foreigners are boycotting Thailand.

19 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

That is the main issue. Also when companies like Grab have monopolized and taken over, prices will go up, service will go down and they will pay their riders/drivers less. They only care about their shareholders and fiancers. And before anyone starts crying, that doesn't mean I am codoning the actions of the guy in the video, he is an idiot for pulling out the sword. 

Sorry but in many places where Grab operates, there are other similar companies doing the same. That keeps prices reasonable since most people have multiple apps on their phones for the different services. Same with drivers, many work multiple apps at the same time and jump to whichever offers the best deal.

The current system in Thailand IS operating like a monopoly and that's why in many places service sucks and prices are exorbitant. Vietnam used to be awful until Grab and other apps became popular - the old scammers are still around but at least you have an option for an honest ride. 

On 12/15/2019 at 4:37 AM, Creasy said:

Thais don’t like competition in any form

and companies in the West do? 

15 hours ago, phkauf said:

Sorry but in many places where Grab operates, there are other similar companies doing the same. That keeps prices reasonable since most people have multiple apps on their phones for the different services. Same with drivers, many work multiple apps at the same time and jump to whichever offers the best deal.

The current system in Thailand IS operating like a monopoly and that's why in many places service sucks and prices are exorbitant. Vietnam used to be awful until Grab and other apps became popular - the old scammers are still around but at least you have an option for an honest ride. 

and what happens when one of them starts buying up the others? Where is you fabled free market competition then?

Another trouble making tourist.

On 12/15/2019 at 8:08 AM, hotchilli said:

And they wonder why foreigners are boycotting Thailand.

Foreigners are not 'boycotting' Thailand.

On 12/15/2019 at 5:14 AM, lemonjelly said:

Blimey, I stand corrected. I thought this kind of malarkey only went on in Thailand. 

Happens in UK too.

10 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Foreigners are not 'boycotting' Thailand.

The foreign friends that I have who had Thai partners and children relocated back to Germany this year most certainly are.
They refuse to come to Thailand even on holiday, they have relatives & friends here but say enough is enough, never again Thailand.
Stating poor education, cost of being here, value for money, rip-offs, possible violence and the political uncertainty.... and the ever changing immigration policies all added up to them boycotting Thailand.

Their children now have a high standard of education, an affordable health insurance that pays 100%

[not a percentage] their salary gives them a better standard of living, they can walk the streets without fear of being robbed and they can afford a family holiday anywhere in Europe for less than coming here.

 

 

 

On 12/15/2019 at 10:56 AM, thenewgoo said:

So, next year, when Grab is legal(?), all this kind of behaviour will cease too. I doubt it.

By that time there will be rules in force detailing what kind of weapons can be carried and how much physical harm you can do before you are forced to say sorry and wai three times.

The existence of Grab actually opened up Chiang Mai for me. Without it, I would go out far less often, and put far less money into the Thai economy, for a very simple reason: I do not enjoy getting ripped off, and even trying to negotiate a fair deal with those lousy red buses was stressful.

Now, regardless of location or time, I can summon a car to pick me up within minutes. I don't have to worry about having the right change, or about the route he takes, or about whether the taxi meter is rigged, and the attitudes of Grab drivers are so much better.

I now have the confidence of knowing that I can go anywhere on a whim, and get back home to the suburbs just as easily.

That has transformed this city for me, at a time when almost every other aspect is getting worse - traffic, rising prices, early burning season, Chinese tourists etc.

The availability of Grab is also a consideration for me when traveling. My upcoming Christmas visit to a smaller city in Vietnam was decided by the fact that Grab is available there. I know that I will be able to fly in and not get ripped off by taxi drivers at the airport, which was previously a rotten start to many Asian trips. I know that it will be easy and cheap for me to explore the region, which is makes it all fun again.

On 12/14/2019 at 6:57 PM, rooster59 said:

"Why can't I take Grab," the tourist continues as another English speaker suggests he cross the road or take a regular motorcycle taxi. 

 

To this suggestion the tourist says:

 

"I don't trust them"

The Thai Samurai proved him wrong on that !!