During the past few weeks when we couldn’t dine out, food delivery became a lifeline for many Singaporeans.
It’s safe to say that platforms like GrabFood have become a household name, but how much does the man who co-founded it know about the business?
It turns out that Grab chief executive officer (CEO) Anthony Tan does try to keep in touch with what’s happening on the ground – by doing food deliveries himself.
Recently, he spent up to 2 hours delivering orders and said he had a mostly smooth experience.
Mr Tan is best known as the inspirational co-founder of Grab, who started the company just 9 years ago and turned it from a promising start-up into a behemoth.
We may recognise him when he’s being interviewed by financial publications or giving a speech.
But would you recognise the 39-year-old when he delivers food to your doorstep?
In a post on his LinkedIn page on Saturday (19 Jun), he shared that he tests that out every few months by doing GrabFood delivery.
Previously, he even did it on foot but didn’t reveal whether or not customers complained that he took too long.
On Saturday, he decided to cycle instead.
Instead of going it alone, he buddied up with another more experienced rider, Mr Lim.
To support his 14-year-old child, Mr Lim delivers GrabFood every day.
On a typical day, he completes 20-30 orders. That’s dedication indeed.
Unfortunately, Mr Tan didn’t start off too well as he failed to prepare his equipment properly.
From the photos he shared, we can see that he forgot to detach the baby seat from his bike, so the GrabFood bag ended up bumping against it.
Also, he didn’t install the metal sticks in his bag so that it couldn’t close tightly. Thus, the food risked falling out.
Mr Tan’s experience picking up his food was much better.
He said that he found the F&B merchants quickly, and all his orders were correctly packed.
Despite it being lunchtime, he said he had to wait only about 3 minutes on average per order.
The rainy weather we’ve been experiencing over the weekend put a damper on Mr Tan’s day, though.
That made it “slightly difficult” to get around, he said.
Also, he didn’t know where he could park his bike.
Lastly, when it came to the actual delivery, Mr Tan said it went smoothly.
At least, that’s what he thought as he actually met only 1 customer.
The rest chose contactless delivery, possibly out of concerns over getting Covid-19.
It’s too bad, they missed the chance to meet the Grab CEO and give him feedback about his service.
Though Mr Tan spent between just 1.5-2 hours in total delivering food, he managed to fulfil 4 batched orders, he said.
However, Mr Lim said that experienced riders finish up to 5 orders in the same time.
Thus, the CEO said,
I have lots to learn!
He’s also grateful that Mr Lim spent his time guiding him.
Mr Tan may not deliver food that often, but ultimately it’s a good way to put himself in his delivery partners’ shoes.
From this, hopefully, he can better understand what they go through and perhaps help improve their lives.
He already says he admires Mr Lim’s work ethic and energy and wished him a Happy Fathers’ Day, so that’s a start.
We’ll be sure to watch out for him the next time we order from GrabFood.
If Mr Tan delivered your food order, do share your experience with us. After all, not everybody can have the privilege of getting your food personally delivered by the CEO.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured images adapted from LinkedIn and YouTube.
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