GrabWalk courier purportedly requests $4 tip after hour-long bubble tea delivery, customer left ‘really frightened’
A food delivery rider who purportedly spent over an hour delivering an order on foot purportedly asked for a $4 tip and called the customer repeatedly, much to the customer’s alarm.
Instagram user @spyvonne_chloe — who goes by Yvonne — said in a post on July 30 that she had placed a bubble tea order from the iTea outlet at Elias Mall via the Grab app, as she was feeling dizzy and craving something sweet. She was later assigned a GrabWalk courier, a delivery mode in which orders are delivered on foot.
In her post, the 40-year-old shared that her home is a 30- to 45-minute walk from the mall, or about three to five bus stops away.
Attached to the post were also screenshots of messages apparently from the delivery rider, who said that her home was “quite a distance” from the mall.
Another message sent at 1.10pm read: “The time taken to deliver to your place is equal to the time to deliver to an HDB flat. Is it possible to compensate the $4 loss of income by paying me some money. Tks.”
The Grab app showed that the order was delivered at 1.16pm after being delayed twice, but Yvonne claimed the drinks were nowhere to be found when she opened her door.
Yvonne added that she texted the courier at 1.20pm to ask where the drinks were, but there was no reply.
Rider apparently calls customer repeatedly
Just 10 minutes later, she alleged that he started to call her repeatedly through the app, though the call history only logged a single call.
Frightened and apprehensive of what might happen, Yvonne did not answer the calls. Later, when the drinks finally arrived, she said the rider did not leave and continued trying to contact her.
“The calls just didn’t seem to stop. Imagine how scared I was,” she wrote.
After the rider left, Yvonne waited a little longer before collecting the drinks from her doorstep.
Later, she said she had to give the rider a five-star rating to tip him. However, she penned a message to the rider noting that the delivery had taken about one and a half hours, while describing the turn of events as “worrying”.
“Still, I appreciate the effort you put into completing the delivery. Dear Uncle, I’m sure it has been a rough day for you. Thank you for your hard work, and please take care,” she added.
Customer given $3 voucher
Speaking to Stomp, Yvonne said that it was the second time she was assigned a GrabWalk courier, adding that she would usually tip delivery partners on days with bad weather.
She reported the incident to Grab that evening, after concerned netizens said that it could potentially become a common “tipping tactic”.
According to a screenshot sent by Yvonne, the food delivery platform offered her a $3 voucher as a token of apology.
Reflecting on the incident, Yvonne said she genuinely appreciates the effort delivery riders put in, but hopes they will “not request tips in a manner that may make customers feel pressured, stressed, uncomfortable, or even intimidated”.
However, she added that she was “prepared to tip” the rider even before he made the request, but felt uneasy giving a five-star rating based on the overall delivery experience.
“I hope Grab can review whether its current tipping and rating system may unintentionally create pressure for customers,” she said.
“If there are indeed inappropriate practices being used to encourage tips, I hope Grab can look into them and take the necessary steps to prevent similar situations from happening.”
Stomp has reached out to Grab for comment.
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