Why I miss Uber (and why the title of this column should really be “Grab PH sucks”)

A little over a year ago I posted on Facebook that while my family and I used Uber nine out of 10 times (mostly because it was consistently cheaper than Grab and I was satisfied with its service), Uber was having more problems with government bureaucracy (not just in the Philippines but in many other parts of the world) because of its arrogant posture as a disruptive new business model.

The undoubtedly genius app developers seemed to act like they were above the law. Government regulators and taxi operators alike raised a collective howl, but as long as consumers were raving about the then-novel ride-sharing app, they were the golden boys of the tech world. 

But now Uber is gone, having sold off their operations to mostly rival corporations in various markets. Sure, they ended up owning hefty shares in these giant corporations, but the mode of operations seem to be carried out mostly by whichever company bought out Uber (which in the case of the Philippines and several countries in Southeast Asia, is Grab). 

Most people, this writer included, were concerned about the resultant monopoly, with a number of government agencies (ours included) calling for anti-monopoly/anti-competition investigations.

And now we really have good reason to worry.

Take, for instance, my daughter who used to take Uber everyday to school. Uber would charge her an average of P150 to P180 (depending on demand) for the nine-kilometer ride to her university. Since the Uber app went offline, Grab has been charging her no less than P220 for the same trip. Last week, Grab charged her P286. That’s more than a 50-percent increase over the highest fare Uber ever charged her.

But hefty pricing is just one factor.

Customer service is another. And here is one important aspect that Grab absolutely fails. A quick read of an article entitled “10 Grab Horror Stories That Make Us Miss Uber” uploaded by spot.ph early Monday morning is enough to get your blood boiling. It shows screenshots posted by Grab users on social media, mostly complaining about the very rude behavior and attitudes of Grab drivers.

Here are some of the Grab drivers’ messages to their “customers.”

Screenshot 1:

Grab: pa rebook kyo ng pickup nyo. talo po sa gas

Customer: ikaw magcancel. report ko kayo

Grab: e di magreport po kyo. Cno po tinakot nyo

Screenshot 2:

Customer: Are u nearby?

Grab: im to far pls buk another

Customer: Pano naging far? Nasa next street ka lang

Screenshot 3

Grab: rebook n lng po

Customer: ikaw magcancel, kaw hindi makapunta

Grab: ako eat muna. nagmamadali ka. ikaw cancel

Screenshot 4

Grab: 250 po, wala po pasahero dyan pabalik

Customer: Ay hindi po. 200 po tlaga binabayad ko. Cancel mo na lang if di kaya

Grab: mgtricycle po kau kung payag 200 o kya mag taxi kau pra mas mataga kau. buseetttt

My goodness, I have never encountered such rude and arrogant behavior from any service provider! And these are just four of the 10 screenshots of different Grab customers shared by spot.ph.

What the hell kind of training do you give your drivers, Grab??!! I used to take taxicabs before the advent of TNVS apps and I have never encountered such near-criminal levels of rudeness.

Would you book your elderly mother or father on such a ride if you know drivers like these are the ones who will drive for them? This behavior is totally unacceptable! And there is absolutely no reason why Grab management can allow this, even with high demand.

Or is it just a business for them, regardless of how terrible and expensive their service is? And don’t tell us that you’re losing money. Because even if a vast number of big and small businesses are losing money, their employees are trained not to be rude and arrogant to their customers.

Grab Philippines, you are now a world leader in terrible customer service. Your quality of service is on the level of the MRT. Pathetic! (At least the MRT is cheap.) People are willing to pay good money for good service. The people are actually already paying more for this technology than they used to (when Uber was still available). You only managed to raise prices further while making your service even worse.

And I haven’t even mentioned your P2.00 per minute surcharge, which was never part of the deal when you filed your application with the LTFRB.

This is one issue where I would love to see President Duterte show his vaunted temper on. Believe me, no one will be sympathetic.  

How much worse can you get, Grab? Get your act together.

Or be the recipient of the Presidential ire.