Users slam Grab for charging extra in time of crisis

By The Nation

 

 

Delivery company Grab came under fire after it announced it was collecting Bt3 extra from users of GrabExpress (Bike) and GrabAssistants.

 

On April 1, Grab also launched “GrabCare”, a new campaign to cut down on the commission taken from providers from 35 per cent to 30 per cent and allowing GrabCar and GrabTaxi to deliver food. The company is also giving discounts for food deliveries to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, Raj Pracha Samasai Institute, Ramathibodi Hospital, Chulalongkorn Hospital, Rajavithi Hospital, Siriraj Hospital, and Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital.

 

However, on the Grab application, there is a new announcement that users of GrabExpress (Bike) and GrabAssistants will be required to pay an extra Bt3 for every delivery ordered. This announcement was slammed, with people saying the company is taking advantage of the crisis, when people are forced to stay home and are suffering from financial problems.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30385203

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-04-01

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Am I reading this correctly - 3 baht price rise?  And folks are going nuts??  

4 minutes ago, Bobobirdiebuddy said:

Am I reading this correctly - 3 baht price rise?  And folks are going nuts??  

God forbid some motorcyc delivery boy living under a bridge should earn 3 extra baht for a delivery, this class society concept seems flawed to me. 

Not sure if I am reading this correctly. Is it a 3THB increase for the Grab drivers or for the receiving customer?

If the driver has to pay extra (or to lose it off his commission) then I am in agreement that this seems like an unnecessary increase / deduction however,  if 3 THB is extra for the customer then is it really that much more expensive? If so, go pick up your food yourself and see how much that will cost you in time, inconvenience and money. You might even get a free corona virus whilst your out there 

Sounds like Grab is reducing their cut on the restaurant end from 35% to 30%, which is really needed, as the restaurant owners I speak to say that make almost no profit when they lose 35% on the order. Grab is then charing the person ordering the food 3THB more. It is shifting cost to the consumer, which is reasonable, especially considering it is only 3THB. If Grab's outrageous commission on the restaurant side puts the restaurants out of business, everyone loses.

Grab also removed the weekly promotion from platinum users as well due to covid 19.

I  would pay an extra 5 baht if they can guarantee their riders change face makes numerous times a day, wash their hands and take showers. 

Immaterial to me. I would never order food through Grab or Food Panda, because there's no way of knowing how long the meal is sitting around for, or how badly the rider has contaminated it.

I go to the restaurants myself, and get takeaway. Best of all is when I cook for myself.

It should cost more. These guys are on the front line. Same as 7-11 workers/supermarket workers. 

How much would you charge to put your life on the line everyday?

They deserve a lot more than extra 3 baht for the risk they are putting themselves into, to get your food!

 

Thank you MK for your buy 1 get 1 free duck set promotion...

 

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

However, on the Grab application, there is a new announcement that users of GrabExpress (Bike) and GrabAssistants will be required to pay an extra Bt3 for every delivery ordered. This announcement was slammed, with people saying the company is taking advantage of the crisis, when people are forced to stay home and are suffering from financial problems.

How lucky for people that can stay home and only have to pay 3 baht extra during a time like this. Try to think about the poor people working and deliver during risky times. Maybe they would be happy if they just had to pay 3 baht instead.

Anyone know what FoodPanda is doing in these times? 

I've heard they have upped their charges for consumer and restaurants too.  Any restaurant owners or people in the know please speak out.

... and as always in such situations some small criminals who try to take advantage by stealing money from those who don't already have it ... an example, JD Central (online shopping) charges for a simple mask 293 Baht plus shipping...

14 hours ago, Bobobirdiebuddy said:

Am I reading this correctly - 3 baht price rise?  And folks are going nuts??  

Part of the problem I suspect is because relatively speaking this involves small numbers.... so any increase — when expressed as a percentage — will now appear on an optics basis, to be much bigger than the raw number increase itself....

 

the same can occur with much larger numbers..... a base number - say 50,000 - can appear to be quite small if it’s expressed as just .2% — but that’s from the larger number of 25,000,000

 

So, my guess here is that it’s not so much about 3 baht per se... but that the 3 baht, expressed as a percentage, now optically appears to be quite big.

12 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Best of all is when I cook for myself.

Goof for you, not everyone has the same options.

3 hours ago, Matzzon said:

How lucky for people that can stay home and only have to pay 3 baht extra during a time like this. Try to think about the poor people working and deliver during risky times. Maybe they would be happy if they just had to pay 3 baht instead.

It's the drivers that get hit the hardest during times like these, risking their health making absolute peanuts.  I used to do DoorDash as a side hustle in the US, which is a similar service to Grab food.  They wanted me to drive 5 miles to pickup and deliver burger king for ~$6...lol.  When you run the numbers you're not even making minimum wage most nights working for these companies.

Mustn't let the wife read this story - she might want a pay rise