Thailand’s food delivery drivers feel pinch as Grab, Line rack up losses

[StayinThailand2much]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

But after two years of delivering food to homes and offices, Piti’s earnings have taken such a dramatic hit that he is looking to switch jobs.

Guess, what? The pandemic is over, restaurants are full, so there's less need to race the sidewalks... (And yes, there are way fewer food delivery drivers around than one or two years ago.)

Edited September 11, 2023 by StayinThailand2much

[msbkk]

My previous brother in law was driver for Grab before and during Covid making around 40,000 Baht on average per month including tips.

Even this required long working hours it was quite a lot of money for a young man without any meaningful school education. Compared to other jobs I considered it overpaid. Now income is between 20,000 to 30,000 Baht. In my opinion there is not really much to complain about.

 

[jaideedave]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I always tip them. They make so little. If they are getting 9 baht for a delivery, gotta be hard to make a living. My 20 baht tip has to mean alot to them. And it means nothing to me. 

Ditto here...if its rainy I go for 30 b.

[RichardColeman]

Pretty sure that the money they make will be far outweighed by the obesity bill in 10-20 years or so

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, jaideedave said:

Ditto here...if its rainy I go for 30 b.

That is the spirit. I know some guys who move here and start counting in baht, as of it were dollars! We are talking about small tips that really help the locals. And tipping keeps the heart open. Not tipping can make the heart grow very cold. Life is too short for that. I don't want to be remembered as the cheapskate. 

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

That is the spirit. I know some guys who move here and start counting in baht, as of it were dollars! We are talking about small tips that really help the locals. And tipping keeps the heart open. Not tipping can make the heart grow very cold. Life is too short for that. I don't want to be remembered as the cheapskate. 

Sorry, but American BS.

Employers need to pay a living wage, not expect their customers to cover their exploitation of their workers.

Edited September 11, 2023 by BritManToo

[Celsius]

3 hours ago, zig said:

It is a common misunderstanding that the drivers get only the amount quoted as the delivery fee. No driver would work for 9 baht. Grab adds extra incentives for drivers from the commission Grab gets and even for very short rides the driver usually gets 20-40 baht. 

 

Exactly.

 

That is why they are going bankrupt.

 

Another good example is from shopee and Lazada. 

 

20, 30, 50, 90, and 100% cashback vouchers.

 

25% to 30% off on promo days.

 

The seller barely pays for these vouchers (maybe 1-2% extra off the order total). The buyer certainly does not pay. The total commission is way less than these promo codes. It is another mystery of Thai economics. 

 

My guess is that Thai people are bankrupt. My wife just switched jobs and it was supposed to be easy sales to car dealers and factories, but she is struggling with over 20 years of experience. She lost all the sales to cheapest of the cheapest Chinese junk. 

 

They are handing out these vouchers like candies, probably to impress shareholders with amazing "revenue". It is a total scam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Celsius

[Shop mak]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's really clueless to claim its easy money.

Also it's a high risk job.

 

2,000 per day during peak of C19.

Compare with win motorcycle taxi who hardly made 300 per day during the same time.

Compare with the millions of people who temporary was without salary, or less than 50% salary during C19.

High risk? Not more than motorcy taxi.

 

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I still tip if very late or they're clearly incompetent

If they're clearly incompetent you should report them to Grab, rather than tip for obvious incompetence.

Some drivers need 1 Strike on their driver record, and retraining, before they take their job seriously.

 

I guess you also tip every motorcy taxi drivers, even you probably know you mostly pay a extra 20+ baht farang tax, more than the Thais.

 

Tip is supposed to be for extraordinary good service, not for the work their paid to do.

 

[SuperSaiyan]

DRONES.

 

Fk the drivers.

 

I hope they all get replaced with drones.

[oxo1947]

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They make so little. If they are getting 9 baht for a delivery

Piti says he has been receiving a starting rate of 38 baht ($1.07) per food order,

 

10 hours ago, webfact said:

“I used to earn about 2,000 baht [$57] per day, but now some days I earn just 900 baht [$25],

Minimum 900 on a bad day before tips isn't a bad for an unskilled wage -- Waitress would get a lot less on her feet all day

[eisfeld]

10 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

Got to pay those shareholders and the top bosses their bonuses

Shareholders don't get bonuses. In fact it's the shareholders who have paid for all the losses. They have lost more than two thirds of their capital since Grab went public. Why is it that in 99.9% of posts on social media that complain about "shareholders" it's always from someone who doesn't even know the very basic stuff about how companies work. They paid 30 billion USD from which these drivers are paid because the delivery fee doesn't cut it but somehow are the bad guys?

[fallup88]

10 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

Exactly.

 

That is why they are going bankrupt.

 

Another good example is from shopee and Lazada. 

 

20, 30, 50, 90, and 100% cashback vouchers.

 

25% to 30% off on promo days.

 

The seller barely pays for these vouchers (maybe 1-2% extra off the order total). The buyer certainly does not pay. The total commission is way less than these promo codes. It is another mystery of Thai economics. 

 

My guess is that Thai people are bankrupt. My wife just switched jobs and it was supposed to be easy sales to car dealers and factories, but she is struggling with over 20 years of experience. She lost all the sales to cheapest of the cheapest Chinese junk. 

 

They are handing out these vouchers like candies, probably to impress shareholders with amazing "revenue". It is a total scam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It simply down to fighting for market share and trying to squeeze out competitors to see who can last the longest. Lazada is own by alibaba in China, they have a huge money pool at their disposal whenever they need a money injection.

[PremiumLane]

7 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Shareholders don't get bonuses. In fact it's the shareholders who have paid for all the losses. They have lost more than two thirds of their capital since Grab went public. Why is it that in 99.9% of posts on social media that complain about "shareholders" it's always from someone who doesn't even know the very basic stuff about how companies work. They paid 30 billion USD from which these drivers are paid because the delivery fee doesn't cut it but somehow are the bad guys?

Bonuses was about the bosses,,, try reading before you get your panties in a twist. 

[fallup88]

17 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

Yes. Quite odd this tipping culture.

 

I would rather tip 7/11 and McDonald's staff. How cum people don't tip those? They work extremely hard with no breaks at all.

 

I tip massage staff very nicely because it is a service industry and it requires quite a lot physical effort.... 2 hours without any rest and then off to the next customer.... if they are lucky. Now that is work. 

 

Do you tip postal workers and Lazada delivery guys? Makes as much sense as tipping Grab drivers. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes. Majority of 7-11 workers are part time workers too and are not even paid according to minimum wage.

 

Some are there for internship work also, I believe pay is none to almost non existent as 7-11 company has a management school for kids in order to be able to have a steady supply of workers at their stores.

[jacko45k]

18 hours ago, redwood1 said:

I hope everyone tips the food delivery guys....I always tip on every order...

Tipping is another issue, I would like to see them paid a decent fixed income and not be dependent on mooching off customers. 

[fallup88]

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's really clueless to claim its easy money.

Also it's a high risk job.

It is more physical than most folks think, they are walking and on their feet the whole day too.

 

but for folks with no special skill or low education, it’s an easy job to earn decent money compare to other jobs which would have paid around 15,000 per month.

 

The average grab makes around 25-35k per month, which is not bad.

[fallup88]

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Sorry, but I don't believe everything I read. For many, who live in smaller towns the total cost is 120 baht for two dishes. Plus 9 baht for delivery. Who pays the 40 baht the article speaks of. I think that is nonsense. 

 

If it hurts you to offer the delivery person a tip, or you want to give them more, so be it. I will continue to show them kindness and gratitude. 

40 baht is paid by grab to the driver. Grab gets a commission of 30% of food cost from restaurants, and they get the delivery fee on top. Delivery fee shown is not what driver earns.

[watchcat]

19 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I must be in the minority who never found the need to use one?

No you're not.

[spidermike007]

18 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Sorry, but American BS.

Employers need to pay a living wage, not expect their customers to cover their exploitation of their workers.

One of the terrible things about a powerful mind, is that it is capable of coming up with 100 different ways of justifying any position. Including being cheap.

[Jingthing]

Just on cue I just had a delivery.

Driver had a bad limp.

Accident.

Don't tell me it's a safe job.

[steven100]

On 9/11/2023 at 11:54 AM, spidermike007 said:

I always tip them. They make so little. If they are getting 9 baht for a delivery, gotta be hard to make a living. My 20 baht tip has to mean alot to them. And it means nothing to me. 

same ... always give 20 or 30baht.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

same ... always give 20 or 30baht.

Yeah I think 20 to 30 is a normal tip. It's not based on percentage of bill.

[eisfeld]

On 9/12/2023 at 1:14 AM, PremiumLane said:

Bonuses was about the bosses,,, try reading before you get your panties in a twist. 

So what exactly did the shareholders do to earn your scorn? How did they get paid?

[Jingthing]

On 9/12/2023 at 5:47 PM, Jingthing said:

Yeah I think 20 to 30 is a normal tip. It's not based on percentage of bill.

...

Count our blessings that we're in Thailand

 

 

[KhunLA]

On 9/11/2023 at 11:47 AM, redwood1 said:

I hope everyone tips the food delivery guys....I always tip on every order...

Rarely use, but yes I always round up, and don't ask for change.  Unless they took an unrealistic time to arrive, which is also rare, as they are quite good at what they do.  A savior when in a metro area and feeling lazy.

[JayClay]

On 9/11/2023 at 1:33 PM, WHansen said:

Personally i can't feel sorry for them when my girlfriend only earns 300 Baht for a ten hour day with short breaks.

Sounds like easy money for riding a motorbike between a food outlet and a customers home to me.

If it's such easy money then why doesn't your wife switch jobs?

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

...

Count our blessings that we're in Thailand

 

 

Well in the West food delivery is very expensive..

 

In Thailand food delivery is very cheap...

 

 

What  food delivery is like in the USA...

 

Me and my gf tried to order shake shack using a app the other night, 2 burgers, fries and 2 drinks and the chicken bites was almost $60 with tip and tax and delivery fees,

 

 

I tried it once, and immediately felt uncomfortable paying $50 for $20 worth of food available 6 minutes away. How does anyone do that more than once?

[PremiumLane]

3 hours ago, eisfeld said:

So what exactly did the shareholders do to earn your scorn? How did they get paid?

I have this crazy idea that shareholder primacy shouldn't be the end goal of a company. 

 

Now I was making a flippant comment on a <deleted>ty forum, but based on evidence of other new gig-economy companies, I would say that Grab  engage in the ideas of shareholder primacy i.e. their profit is the most important factor that drives decision making in the company. 

[eisfeld]

7 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

I have this crazy idea that shareholder primacy shouldn't be the end goal of a company. 

 

Now I was making a flippant comment on a <deleted>ty forum, but based on evidence of other new gig-economy companies, I would say that Grab  engage in the ideas of shareholder primacy i.e. their profit is the most important factor that drives decision making in the company. 

The whole fundamental idea of a company is to make money for its owners - the shareholders. If a company does not have profits as its goal then they set themselves up as a non-profit instead. One has to have the right expectations. The big difference then comes from factors of wanting short term profits vs long term profits. For example a company like Apple will try to maintain a good image and deliver good user experiences because they want to be profitable for many decades and so the customers also win. But there are other companies that only want to sqeeze a product short term and therefore don't care much abouth the customers. Grab isn't even in the profit phase yet. They are reaching the end of the investment stage where they burn through money from shareholders to establish the business and the surrounding infrastructure. At some point though the owners will want to see some kind of return. But that's totally fair and to be expected. People risk their money so should be able to see some reward. That's what keeps the economy working. There's nothing bad about that.

[Felton Jarvis]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:11 PM, redwood1 said:

I Always tip between 20-30 baht.....And they always seem pretty happy with the tip...

I tip 40 baht. That seems to keep waitresses and food delivery drivers happy.