Grab app

[piston broke]

 

A message to all you seasoned Grab App users ....

 

a couple of weeks ago, i took the plunge and downloaded the app - over the last 2 weeks, i have made 4 orders (typical time 4pm to 7pm) and after various comments like "they could be busy, lets give them some time, looking for driver - Please be patient, driver making multiple deliveries" etc - And while this was going on, the delivery time kept being put back....

 

The food arrived around 2 hours after i placed the order ....

 

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

TIA

[Upnotover]

Isn't it possible to pay extra for priority delivery?  I would guess that is what everybody ahead of you is doing.  Or cook.

[jas007]

1 hour ago, piston broke said:

 

A message to all you seasoned Grab App users ....

 

a couple of weeks ago, i took the plunge and downloaded the app - over the last 2 weeks, i have made 4 orders (typical time 4pm to 7pm) and after various comments like "they could be busy, lets give them some time, looking for driver - Please be patient, driver making multiple deliveries" etc - And while this was going on, the delivery time kept being put back....

 

The food arrived around 2 hours after i placed the order ....

 

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

TIA

That's not typical, but it can happen.  Usually, if they can't find a driver, your order will be cancelled after about 20 minutes.  Or sometimes, a driver will accept the order but will  be delivering multiple orders on the same delivery, and it'll take a long time.  Part of it may depend on which restaurant you order from.  Some seem to have drivers waiting around. Others, maybe not.

 

Just a while ago, I ordered from Robin Hood.  As soon as I submitted the order, I got a message back."Your order is in the kitchen."  So they had someone sitting around waiting for an order.  I think it was finally delivered about 45 minutes later.  

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, piston broke said:

 

A message to all you seasoned Grab App users ....

 

a couple of weeks ago, i took the plunge and downloaded the app - over the last 2 weeks, i have made 4 orders (typical time 4pm to 7pm) and after various comments like "they could be busy, lets give them some time, looking for driver - Please be patient, driver making multiple deliveries" etc - And while this was going on, the delivery time kept being put back....

 

The food arrived around 2 hours after i placed the order ....

 

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

TIA

 

I had the same issue.. 

 

I've started using the 'priority delivery' option.. But, if everyone is doing that, then its no longer priority is it. 

 

 

 

 

[balo]

I think it depends on the area you live in and which time of the day you placed the order. Normally in the evenings they are very fast with deliveries in the Jomtien area.

[still kicking]

6 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Isn't it possible to pay extra for priority delivery?  I would guess that is what everybody ahead of you is doing.  Or cook.

Not many condos or dormitories' have cooking facilities  

[harryviking]

13 hours ago, piston broke said:

 

A message to all you seasoned Grab App users ....

 

a couple of weeks ago, i took the plunge and downloaded the app - over the last 2 weeks, i have made 4 orders (typical time 4pm to 7pm) and after various comments like "they could be busy, lets give them some time, looking for driver - Please be patient, driver making multiple deliveries" etc - And while this was going on, the delivery time kept being put back....

 

The food arrived around 2 hours after i placed the order ....

 

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

TIA

The drivers are often too busy on their telephones to do a decent job!

[ricklev]

Both Foodpanda and Grab screw up bad every once in a while and there is nothing you can do about it as neither offers the option anymore of actually chatting or talking with a real person.  

 

So every time you order you have to accept that it is a calculated risk but it usually works great.  

 

Delivery from both is cheap enough and convenient enough that it is worth the relatively small risk of an extended delivery time or some other absurd weirdness.  In my opinion, that is.  I use one or the other every day.  

 

They do generally refund my money if an order does not arrive at all or it is the wrong order.  

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, piston broke said:

s this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

Maybe, just maybe, it is the fact of it being peak season......

[georgegeorgia]

15 hours ago, piston broke said:

 

A message to all you seasoned Grab App users ....

 

a couple of weeks ago, i took the plunge and downloaded the app - over the last 2 weeks, i have made 4 orders (typical time 4pm to 7pm) and after various comments like "they could be busy, lets give them some time, looking for driver - Please be patient, driver making multiple deliveries" etc - And while this was going on, the delivery time kept being put back....

 

The food arrived around 2 hours after i placed the order ....

 

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

TIA

Ummmmm......it's High season...did you know it's busier in December than July ?

 

[Burma Bill]

20 hours ago, piston broke said:

Is this typical, or have i just been unlucky ...

 

I have no idea which company delivered my food, but recently having arrived late in Chiang Mai from Cambodia, the local street food market was closing and my hotel very kindly used an app to order hot food for me. It arrived after 30 minutes but it was cold, greasey and disgusting. I will never order food using an app again.  I prepare and cook all my own food back home in Cambodia.

[richard_smith237]

6 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

I have no idea which company delivered my food, but recently having arrived late in Chiang Mai from Cambodia, the local street food market was closing and my hotel very kindly used an app to order hot food for me. It arrived after 30 minutes but it was cold, greasey and disgusting. I will never order food using an app again.  I prepare and cook all my own food back home in Cambodia.

 

Erm... so you have no idea what App the hotel used (if they even used an App).

The food was not good.

The conclusion - you'll never order from any restaurant in Cambodia again.

 

And the thread is about ordering food from the GRAB App in Thailand...    

 

 

[Dan O]

6 hours ago, ricklev said:

Both Foodpanda and Grab screw up bad every once in a while and there is nothing you can do about it as neither offers the option anymore of actually chatting or talking with a real person.  

 

So every time you order you have to accept that it is a calculated risk but it usually works great.  

 

Delivery from both is cheap enough and convenient enough that it is worth the relatively small risk of an extended delivery time or some other absurd weirdness.  In my opinion, that is.  I use one or the other every day.  

 

They do generally refund my money if an order does not arrive at all or it is the wrong order.  

Delivery may seem cheap to the customer but from the resturaunt side the fee can be 30%  of the order value.  I have a cafe and I can't understand how restuarunts are absorbing that amount and can't pass it off to the customer in whole and make any appropriate profit.

[Burma Bill]

23 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Erm... so you have no idea what App the hotel used (if they even used an App).

The food was not good.

The conclusion - you'll never order from any restaurant in Cambodia again.

 

And the thread is about ordering food from the GRAB App in Thailand...    

 

 

 With respect, my bad experience was in Thailand (Chiang Mai) not Cambodia where I never order food by app because I prepere and cook my own (as stated in my post)

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

 With respect, my bad experience was in Thailand (Chiang Mai) not Cambodia where I never order food by app because I prepere and cook my own (as stated in my post)

 

Haha.. fair enough.. I completely miss-read that part... (flight from Cambodia to Chiang Mai).

 

But...  as I'm sure others will attest - there are plenty of very good restaurants that deliver on Grab, I wouldn't let one experience impact the convenience of delivery options. 

[Pattaya57]

I've never used any food delivery app as I live 5-10 minute walk from many restaurants. But I also just don't get it. If your food can take up to 1-2 hours to deliver as said in this thread then surely your food is cold and disgusting (as it appears transport is slow not the actual cooking)

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I've never used any food delivery app as I live 5-10 minute walk from many restaurants. But I also just don't get it. If your food can take up to 1-2 hours to deliver as said in this thread then surely your food is cold and disgusting (as it appears transport is slow not the actual cooking)

 

Thats the complaint - usually the food arrives quite quickly... 

However, I think recently the Grab App evolved for riders to accept multiple jobs (or at least more than one)... so they could be picking-up your food first, and end up delivering it last...  thus, its taken too long and the customer is not happy.... (cold slow food).

... So, the customer is 'forced' to use the 'Priority delivery' option, when then everyone starts using and we are in the same boat...   then, people get more and more fed up with slow service and stop using Grab when a viable alternative comes up. 

 

 

GRAB's taxi service was excellent when there was competition with UBER - they killed that off and standards quickly slipped.  The same can be said for the food delivery - it was good, but standards have slipped. 

 

IMO - Foodpanda was always terrible (too many repeated issues) - LINE Man was good, but the interface was tricky to use, GRAB has a very good interface, but as exampled, issues to economise (or take greater profit) to the detriment of service is also now slipping through. 

 

Call it development, or companies getting greedy and losing sight of what made them popular in the first place - but it seems business modelling is at the root of this 'long delivery' issue.

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

23 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I've never used any food delivery app as I live 5-10 minute walk from many restaurants. But I also just don't get it. If your food can take up to 1-2 hours to deliver as said in this thread then surely your food is cold and disgusting (as it appears transport is slow not the actual cooking)

That late is very rare.

As far as cold food, sure that happens sometimes.

Much more common is lukewarm which is worth the bother to heat up a bit in the microwave.

You learn quickly what types of food travel well or not

For example, fried foods are obviously not ideal. 

Other foods can be an hour old and heat up very well. 

Also I can tell you're not seriously into food if you're satisfied by only nearby restaurants.

As I don't have any vehicle the variety of restaurants that I really would never bother actually going to (too far, too much bother, etc.) is incredible for me.

On top of that Grab and Panda have loyalty programs that for a nominal monthly fee you get some really great discounts, including free or discounted delivery fees.

I recall one month Grab sent me a report saying I had saved 3000 baht on promotions.

Also consider we are so spoiled here compared to countries (like the US) where delivery food has become a luxury item (overpriced food, delivery fees, and more or less required large tips). 

 

 

[Caldera]

Delivery times in my area are usually quite acceptable, but I tend to avoid the peak hours whenever I can.

 

But I don't order food deliveries nearly as often as during the Covid days any longer. Lots of food just doesn't travel well, and going on a walk is a lot healthier than waiting for a delivery at home. 

[NanLaew]

9 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

 

I have no idea which company delivered my food, but recently having arrived late in Chiang Mai from Cambodia, the local street food market was closing and my hotel very kindly used an app to order hot food for me. It arrived after 30 minutes but it was cold, greasey and disgusting. I will never order food using an app again.  I prepare and cook all my own food back home in Cambodia.

 

I have people do all that for me.

 

Back to the OP, your location may be the issue. Maybe you're down the east end of Soi Yensabai and the Grab guys are scared of those burly ladymen that menace the locals and visitors alike down that way?

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

I have people do all that for me.

 

Back to the OP, your location may be the issue. Maybe you're down the east end of Soi Yensabai and the Grab guys are scared of those burly ladymen that menace the locals and visitors alike down that way?

 

 

Are you betraying intimate knowledge of a soi most of us have never heard of ???

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

 

Are you betraying intimate knowledge of a soi most of us have never heard of ???

No such luck, just telling the members what my mate told me.

[ricklev]

18 hours ago, Dan O said:

Delivery may seem cheap to the customer but from the resturaunt side the fee can be 30%  of the order value.  I have a cafe and I can't understand how restuarunts are absorbing that amount and can't pass it off to the customer in whole and make any appropriate profit.

This surprised me, according to Google:

 

"Line Man does not charge restaurants a commission on their food orders in Thailand. However, Line Man does charge customers a high fee for deliveries. 

As of the first half of 2024, Line Man had the largest market share of food delivery transactions in Thailand, with 44 percent."

 

Lineman definitely does not cater to the expat market.

 

  Also interesting is that Foodpanda is not profitable although Grab is, I guess because of their ride hailing service.  

[Dan O]

35 minutes ago, ricklev said:

This surprised me, according to Google:

 

"Line Man does not charge restaurants a commission on their food orders in Thailand. However, Line Man does charge customers a high fee for deliveries. 

As of the first half of 2024, Line Man had the largest market share of food delivery transactions in Thailand, with 44 percent."

 

Lineman definitely does not cater to the expat market.

 

  Also interesting is that Foodpanda is not profitable although Grab is, I guess because of their ride hailing service.  

Line and Grab charge restaurant delivery in Thailand as follows¹²³⁴⁵:

• Commission : On average, they charge merchants around 15%-30% commission on the order value. In Thailand, the average order value is around 150-200 baht, resulting in a commission of around 22.5-60 baht.

[ricklev]

7 minutes ago, Dan O said:

Line and Grab charge restaurant delivery in Thailand as follows¹²³⁴⁵:

• Commission : On average, they charge merchants around 15%-30% commission on the order value. In Thailand, the average order value is around 150-200 baht, resulting in a commission of around 22.5-60 baht.

Interesting.  Maybe they do charge the restaurants, but here is another article, although it is from 2020.  Maybe they have changed their policy.  I am curious. 

 

Grab isn’t the only player in town. Its rival Line Man charges customers a considerably high fee for deliveries, but does not charge restaurants any commission on their food orders, except venues that opt in its low-fee delivery programs.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bangkok/2020/04/01/grab-reduces-restaurant-commission-fee-after-uproar/

[josephbloggs]

On 12/27/2024 at 7:58 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

I had the same issue.. 

 

I've started using the 'priority delivery' option.. But, if everyone is doing that, then its no longer priority is it. 

 

I don't think so. Priority delivery just means you pay extra so that driver will only take one delivery at a time. So even if everyone pays it your driver will only take your order directly to you so it would still be better.

 

It's the multiple deliveries on a single run that cause all the issues.

[Dan O]

2 hours ago, ricklev said:

Interesting.  Maybe they do charge the restaurants, but here is another article, although it is from 2020.  Maybe they have changed their policy.  I am curious. 

 

Grab isn’t the only player in town. Its rival Line Man charges customers a considerably high fee for deliveries, but does not charge restaurants any commission on their food orders, except venues that opt in its low-fee delivery programs.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bangkok/2020/04/01/grab-reduces-restaurant-commission-fee-after-uproar/

I have a cafe and been exploring this for over a 2.5 years. After covid finished that shut down the true need but the convenience for customer is there like so many things in life. They all follow a similar format on using their service.   I don't know how the little noodle shops do it as thats a huge chunk of your profit.  Im down in NST and we have lineman,  grab and one other but they now started offering grab taxi as a delivery. 

I've toyed with the idea of just hiring a local part and get the insulated boxes and do a lunch only limited area delivery option.

[Burma Bill]

12 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

I have people do all that for me.

 

Back to the OP, your location may be the issue. Maybe you're down the east end of Soi Yensabai and the Grab guys are scared of those burly ladymen that menace the locals and visitors alike down that way?

 

With respect, I have never heard of Soi Yensabi in Chiang Mai. My hotel was in the Chang Phueak district, not far from the RAM Hospital. I do not own a smartphone and that was the reason the hotel ordered food for me, delivered by a motorcycle rider to whom I paid money - double the cost (80 baht) of a similar dish (40 baht) from the local street market. Whatever, this was my first experience of food ordered from an app - never again!

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

 

With respect, I have never heard of Soi Yensabi in Chiang Mai. My hotel was in the Chang Phueak district, not far from the RAM Hospital. I do not own a smartphone and that was the reason the hotel ordered food for me, delivered by a motorcycle rider to whom I paid money - double the cost (80 baht) of a similar dish (40 baht) from the local street market. Whatever, this was my first experience of food ordered from an app - never again!

 

I was responding to the OP who posted right here in the Pattaya forum. Soi Yensabai is in Pattaya.

 

You say you arrived late at your hotel in Chiang Mai. How late? Was it a week day when most cookeries would have been shuttering earlier than a busier weekend?

 

It's up to you to banish the thought of ever ordering food on an app when, on the single food delivery you have ever used, you didn't use an app and have no idea if the hotel did either. They could easily have called some place they knew and had someone else deliver.

 

There's a reason the delivery apps have reviews and star-ratings. In my experience with Grab and Food Panda, these are accurate. Any restaurant selling substandard and overpriced food will disappear quickly.