Over the past few days, the Internet has been abuzz with debate over a TikToker’s allegedly unpleasant experience with a Grab driver. The driver had apparently mentioned an extra charge when the woman on crutches asked if he could pick her up at a different location.
When she questioned the additional fee, she claimed that the driver “schooled” and “scolded” her instead.
While Grab subsequently suspended the driver for a short period, some netizens felt that the customer was partly in the wrong too.
Most notably, they thought that there was no need to publicise the matter and that making special requests should entail compensation.
In a post on Friday (6 Jan), a Facebook user expressed her displeasure with the Grab customer’s viral TikTok video.
Source: Facebook
Sharing that she has had bad experiences with countless drivers herself, the OP said that the customer should have escalated the matter to Grab and left it at that. She questioned the need to air it on a public platform like TikTok.
The OP then made some assumptions pertaining to the customer’s drop-off location, though it’s unclear how she obtained the information.
Shining the spotlight on the customer further, the OP pointed out that she could be more polite too.
Though she did explain that she was on crutches, the OP felt that the customer could have apologised to the driver for inconveniencing him.
She could have also ended her message with a “thank you” in advance, in appreciation of the accommodation.
But the customer did neither, as the lengthy post highlighted.
Source: @nopenotsyaf on TikTok
Moreover, the OP noted that the driver was likely texting while driving, which would have made it difficult to craft messages carefully.
Since the customer was on crutches, the OP suggested that she consider utilising Grab’s special services such as GrabAssist. For such a service, driver-partners are trained to assist passengers with mobility issues and rides cost the same, but they receive more commission.
The OP additionally presumed that the driver could rightfully claim extra charges under Grab’s terms. However, Grab clarified in their statement that it’s “against the driver code of conduct”.
Nonetheless, the OP’s perspective is that extra service should naturally come with extra charges. So instead of questioning the driver, the customer should have considered his plight.
In a subsequent TikTok video, the customer, Syaf, explained that she was not upset that the driver didn’t want to accommodate her request. Rather, she was unhappy with the way he responded.
She also said that she would have tipped the driver anyway, had the experience gone smoothly.
In a separate video, Syaf clarified that she never intended to jeopardise the driver’s job. This was after she learnt of his temporary suspension.
After the experience, the TikToker decided that she would try GrabAssist instead and “see if they provide better service or not”.
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Featured image adapted from @nopenotsyaf on TikTok and TikTok.
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