Customer Slams Grab For Its Advanced Booking Feature Claims Unethical Driver Practices

---

 
THE age of social media means an irate customer’s complaint can suddenly snowball into a public relations fiasco, if not handled properly.
This seems to be the case when KNB (@nizambakeri) tried advanced booking an e-hailing ride. Recalling his unpleasant experience on X, the poster stated that the driver arrived early and waited the grand total of two minutes.

Complaining that the AI Chat on the GrabMY site was unhelpful, he was forced to bring it to wider attention on social media. He goes on to claim that the driver refused to accommodate and that a no-show fee of RM24 was charged even BEFORE the driver arrived. Nonplussed, he is demanding a full refund from GrabMY for what he obviously perceives to be highly unethical practices.

The poster then shared various responses from the super app provider, which included a call, requesting for more details. The disgruntled commuter was at pains to highlight it was NOT about the money but a matter of principle, claiming that there should be greater accountability from a “monopolistic super app company”.


The post has since been viewed 848K times meaning that this claim of shoddy service was gaining traction. One commenter simply proclaimed the advanced booking feature was “sh*t” and that drivers always show up early and get mad when the customer is not ready and waiting.

Echoing this sentiment, another irritated commuter chastised these drivers for accepting the advanced booking because they wanted the fee but were unwilling to wait. He even labelled the driver in question “a scumbag”.

It didn’t take long for the thread to be flooded with similar complaints of drivers turning up early and driving off, with more than one irate customer citing driver rudeness to go along with the wrong pick-up times.


This even extended to the food delivery service where the grub arrived hours earlier, meaning the customer had to contend with a cold lunch. What is the point of having the ‘order for later’ function?

Such unpleasant experiences led one commenter to declare that advance booking features should just be banned. Such shoddy service is pushing commuters to turn to illegal cabs, which at the very least, show up. “Pathetic, annoying and rotten to the core” was this commenter’s damning verdict on GrabMY.

The damage done from such negative publicity can be very harmful to a business. Once powerful and all-conquering business entities have been forced to take drastic action when such online complaints become overwhelming, as certain fast food franchises found out to their detriment.
Needless to say, GrabMY would do well to react in a fast and efficient manner. Non-replying chatbots and lengthy investigations will do them no favours in reclaiming public confidence. ‒  Focus Malaysia

---