UPDATE (18 Dec, 1.30pm): A Gojek spokesperson said in a statement that the company does not condone such behaviour from their driver-partners.
The ride-hailing company has looked into the incident and is currently in touch with both parties to resolve the matter.
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After a long flight back to Singapore, many of us would choose to take a cab or engage ride-hailing services like Grab or Gojek to get home.
But for one Singaporean named Mr Lam and 2 others he was travelling with, the journey home was a nightmarish one.
He took to Facebook that very same day to rant about the unfortunate incident.
In his post, Mr Lam claims that the Gojek driver he engaged asked for a tip numerous times. And when they refused, the driver allegedly dropped them off at a bus stop near the airport.
You can read the post in full here.
According to the post, Mr Lam’s flight touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 1 early on Wednesday (18 Dec).
Coincidentally, a few other flights also landed at the same time, which caused a price surge on Grab and Gojek.
Mr Lam allegedly tried to get a ride on Grab to Tampines for around 10 minutes but to no avail. He later got one through the Gojek app for $14.
Based on Mr Lam’s account, the Gojek driver showed “signs of weirdness” the moment he picked them up.
Their conversation sounded pretty normal at first, but things escalated in no time.
After greeting them with the standard “Welcome back to Singapore”, the driver allegedly asked if that courteous gesture entitled him to a tip, which in turn elicited awkward laughter from the passengers.
Source
Instead of a tip, Mr Lam offered a 5-star rating, but was turned down by the driver, saying that it is “of no use for Gojek”.
The driver then insisted on them giving a tip again, claiming that the Grab surge pricing was way higher than what the passengers were paying.
These were his exact words:
Grab surge is $21 for a trip to Tampines now, so it will be nice if you can leave me a tip. Do you mind? Normally I will suggest my clients to leave me a tip of $3 if they don’t mind. Do you mind?
The driver’s numerous approaches understandably left Mr Lam fuming, exacerbated by the fact that he did not get much sleep during the flight home.
The trio remained silent and ignored the driver.
While that tactic might work on some people, it clearly wasn’t effective on this particular Gojek driver.
Soon after, the driver, for the 3rd time, asked if they could leave him a tip.
This time, Mr Lam wasn’t having any of it and sternly replied “Yes I do mind”.
In response, the driver told Mr Lam he had no choice but to drop them off at the nearest bus stop.
Mr Lam was perplexed and tried reasoning with the driver, telling him to switch to Grab if the Gojek “benefits” were unsatisfactory.
But that clearly didn’t change things.
The next thing he knew, the Gojek driver allegedly cancelled the ride and dropped them off at a bus stop near the airport.
While Mr Lam and his companions were offloading their luggage, the Gojek driver sarcastically wish them “Good luck”, and even taunted them,
I know who really needs a ride now.
As damning as the account may sound, this remains a one-sided statement and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
We’ve reached out to Gojek for a statement. They said they will be issuing a statement on the matter soon. We’ll update this article accordingly once they have.
Have you encountered any bizarre ride-hailing experiences? Do share them with us in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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