I love the service that Grab and Uber provides. Ever since they started operations I never had to take public transpo again going home from the mall or whenever the family needs to do something that necessitates travel. Previous to their service we had to wait in line for 1 to 2 hours before being able to board an FX going home. Now, within 5 minutes I can hail a car and get home.
I was contemplating purchasing a car a few years ago but that changed when Grab and Uber came along. That’s because it’s more convenient for me to just pull out my phone than drive and find parking on my own. Also, with Manila traffic I’d rather just sit back, relax, and spend time with my daughter in the car. With me not driving I can pay attention to her instead. I also don’t have to pull out cash to pay for my fare.
And an additional plus to being driven around is the fact that I get to ride in all manners of cars! So far it’s been mostly Toyota’s and Mitsubishi’s but there is the occasional Chevy, Ford, Suzuki, and other cars. I would have never experienced riding in these cars if it weren’t for Grab and Uber. Too bad I missed that time when James Deakin was driving around with a Lambo.
But with all the good also comes the bad. Below is a list of the things I have noticed with their services.
1. No seatbelts. I feel so uncomfortable when I get into a car without seatbelts. I usually ride in the back and around 70% of the cars I ride in do not have seatbelts! I mean they do have them but are hidden beneath the car seat covers. Not cool.
2. Rush hour traffic. With Uber it’s ok because you can get a car pretty much anytime even during rush hour. But be prepared to pay. But that’s how it works and I’m cool with that. But with Grab, that’s a whole different story. With Grab I have NEVER been able to book a car during rush hour. Last time I tried I got 3 cancellations in a row before I switched to Uber and got a car right away. One cancelled, the other asked me to cancel, and the third made up a story that he forgot his license at home. It’s virtually impossible to get a car with Grab during rush hour even if you’re willing to pay the extra pesos.
3. Grab and Uber are being infiltrated with the same rude behavior of taxi drivers. I suppose it’s because taxi drivers are now driving for Grab and Uber. The same attitude is what they bring along. From asking for additional money, to the obvious taking you for a longer ride.
4. Grab customer service is ridiculously slow. I mean really slow. It takes them like 3-4 days to reply to any issues. Last time it took them over 1 week to provide credit for P200 when a driver accepted my fare then tagged it as completed without picking me up. Compare it to Uber who reply within an hour or two.
5. Uber is not driver/worker friendly (anymore). I have talked to countless drivers and they all say that it’s no longer viable to work for Uber. They have pretty much cut off all good incentives and/or have set ridiculously hard to achieve parameters for incentives. When incentives were good, drivers earned a living wage. And me as a customer, I was always able to get a ride at anytime of the day near my home. But now cars have disappeared and it takes more than 10-15 minutes (sometimes even up to 40 minutes) to hail a ride now from my house.
6. Drivers are generally in a somber or dismal mood. Must be because of the lower incentives and longer driving/working hours to make up for the lower amount earned. You can really feel that negative energy unlike when Uber/Grab was starting.
So those are some of my current observations. I’m pretty sure I had some more but I can’t think of them right now. But even with these issues I would chose Grab and Uber over public transpo anytime of the day. It’s convenient, safe, fast, and affordable. The only way I would stop using their services is if Manila would get a modern commuter train system like in Singapore and Hong Kong. And we all know that’ll take years to accomplish. So Grab and Uber, you have my business for a few more years to come just please address above issues.
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