Grab suspends driver after he's found eating at coffee shop while passengers await pick-up
Grab has suspended one of its drivers after a complaint was lodged against him for failing to arrive at a pick-up point.
The complainant alleged that he found the driver eating at a coffee shop while he and his mother waited for several minutes.
In a Facebook post on June 3, user DJ KC said he had booked a Grab Premium ride for his mother after he was too tired to send her home one day.
When the driver failed to arrive after six to seven minutes, DJ KC noticed on the Grab app that the designated car hadn’t moved for a while.
So, he got into his own car to seek out the driver.
He found the driver at a coffee shop "beside the road where he parked his vehicle".
He said: "The driver was just wasting time enjoying his dinner and waiting for me to cancel his booking so that I would (incur the cancellation fee) and he could profit from it.
"Lucky for me I decided to record this whole 'Grab hunt' from the moment I left my car park to the moment I caught him red-handed leaving the coffee shop and entering his vehicle."
DJ KC said he confronted the driver over the booking, which was still active at the time.
He said the driver was taken by surprise and simply said: "Sir, I don’t know", before he cancelled the booking and drove off.
"I’m sure there have been many times passengers have had to cancel a booking because of the (long) waiting time… The Grab booking system is flawed when it comes to us customers.”
In response to queries from Mothership, a Grab spokesman said they have looked into the matter and suspended the driver.
"We are sorry to learn about this incident. Following a review of this incident and past records, we have reasons to believe that the driver-partner deliberately did not head to the pick-up point, and hence we have suspended the driver."
The spokesman also said that Grab drivers have the option of going offline when they need to take a break, but added that there are measures in place to safeguard riders' interests and prevent such errant behaviour among drivers.
"First, our cancellation policy ensures that passengers will not be charged when our app detects that the driver-partner is not headed towards the pick-up point, or does not arrive within three minutes of the estimated time of arrival.
“Second, we review any suspected stalling behaviour among driver-partners and take the necessary action against them."
The spokesman added that drivers may sometimes have legitimate reasons for late pick-ups.
"We encourage driver-partners and passengers to be understanding and check in with each other via a call or GrabChat before cancelling."
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