A Tip, Up for Grabs.
I have spent $300 to Grab deliveries in a month, and instead of scolding me, my mother encouraged me to order more Grab food deliveries for its convenience. During the Circuit Breaker period in Singapore, I ended up ordering food from Grab more often than turning the stove on. We often preferred to order food from restaurants we used to eat at in pre-covid times just to remember the distinct flavors produced. Now that we have moved past the circuit breaker, we have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle where we simply can’t function without Grab food deliveries.
Recently, there have been a number of accidents involving Grab food delivery drivers which have hit the headlines in Singapore news. One incident occurred on the night of April 10 on Toh Guan Road which resulted in broken bones and damaged veins. Mr. Mohammed Ali spent a week in a coma after surgery to remove a fraction of his skull in order to reduce blood clotting and the pressure trapped in the brain due to the force of the crash. Another incident involves a 24-year-old father-to-be who passed away after a crash on Gambas Avenue. Jason Tan was hoping to earn a little more money for his pregnant wife in order to provide for the young family. Many are now raising funds to donate to the young widow and child in support of the family in this difficult time.
Why do people start raising funds for food delivery employees in accidents? The fundraising for Jason Tan has collected over 201k as of 14th May 2022. It is solely because Grab does not provide extensive medical insurance for their employees. Although Grab provides free medical insurance for all drivers, they do not provide paid medical leave for drivers. Many of these drivers’ pay do not contribute to their Central Provident Fund (CPF), which is a security savings scheme for Singaporeans). Many drivers do not have standard job protection and thus struggle to keep up with delivery quotas. When drivers are tired, they can take a day off but this is not nearly enough rest for them and they do not receive paid leave benefits. This creates an aversion to breaks and days off as it greatly decreases their productivity and their earnings.
The Tipping Dilemma
More should be done to improve the welfare of these food delivery riders. There are no statistics on how much or how often people tip drivers but there are forums which show people do tip their drivers to make their day or if it was raining during the delivery. Singaporeans do think that tipping is an effective way to show appreciation to the delivery riders and drivers however, this would not be something that they would do in the long run as it is not part of the culture and they are turned off by the high delivery fees.
A survey was conducted on Singaporeans varying from students to those in the workforce, and 85% of the respondents agreed that tips are a viable way of showing appreciation for all the hard-working riders. About 65% of the respondents claim they rarely tip their drivers due to the fact that Grab fares are already very high and not everyone has the disposable income to spend that much on others.
A respondent, who works as an insurance broker said, “Tipping doesn’t cross my mind — given delivery fees and seemingly higher priced/smaller-portioned food items.” Another respondent working as a freelancer said, “It really depends on how well the rider is doing! Tipping is a form of appreciation, if it is compulsory, where’s the element of surprise and appreciation?”
Two young and active Grab Riders in their early twenties shared their experiences and thoughts on being a Grab Food Delivery Rider in an interview with them. The individuals believe that the current benefits are very fair however they would like to receive more benefits such as discounts on services around Singapore or a form of health insurance for their safety and peace of mind.
Individual “I” actually got into an accident while attempting to deliver food to a customer, but he did not report it to Grab for fear of losing his commission and his high Rider Rating. When asked, he explained that the incident was minor and there was no major damage to the food/food packaging hence he did not seek any medical claim and decided to self-medicate.
Both Riders have received tips in the past and they both had a very positive reaction to it. Individual “T” actually said that he felt, “great and that it doesn’t matter how much you are given. It is a very rare occurrence in a country like Singapore and the biggest tip I ever received was $10.” Both Riders felt that tipping culture should be a compulsory feature in the Grab food app. This is because “riders are paid to collect and deliver food, not to wait. Some waiting times can go up to two hours and you can be paid a measly $5 for your time.”
Picking Up Solutions
We should look into the design of the Grab app to ensure that Grab food delivery riders are compensated handsomely for their service and to reduce the chances of accidents happening. Grab should follow in the footsteps of support services such as Patreon or Ko-Fi where people are given donations from people who wish to show appreciation for content creators. On these platforms, there is a “buy a coffee” option rather than just a money option. It allows users to choose another option with a warmer sentiment for their rider. Another option to increase the chances of tipping is adding a “round-up” option on the Grab app for the users. For example, if the price of an order is $9.60, the app could round it up to a solid $10.00 so that the rider gains $0.40 in tips.
Users can also be given more opportunities/reminders to tip their riders by having it included in the review screen that appears after each delivery so that they do not have to search for the tipping page for convenience. Users could also be given the opportunity to tip their rider post-delivery in a certain section of the app in the event they forget and wish to express gratitude towards the riders.
In conclusion, my overreliance on Grab Food Delivery Services has made me realize how hard-working the riders are as they risk their lives every day to deliver food rain or shine. As someone who did not grow up in Singapore, I am accustomed to tipping and I believe that tipping is the best way of showing appreciation for Grab Food Riders. Currently, I am hoping that Grab can make changes to their app in order to take better care of their employees in the post-pandemic period and a time when employee well-being and safety are becoming more and more of a priority.
