A food delivery service app announced that it will soon penalize users who cancel their orders in the middle of transactions.
GrabFood announced on its Facebook page that accounts having “excessive no-show” incidents in using the app will soon be penalized, “including possible account suspension.”
“Just like you, we are concerned by the issues surrounding unclaimed GrabFood orders circulating online. We would like to clarify that we do not allow cancellations once orders are placed. These incidents are no-shows,” it said.
The food delivery service also clarified some concerns that users have been having about unclaimed orders through a series of posts.
GrabFood said that users can no longer cancel their orders once they are placed.
It added that in cases of “no-show” or when a user suddenly cancels his transaction, the food delivery service will reimburse the driver responsible for purchasing the order in the first place.
It also reminded users to be responsible in using the app by making sure that they input the right drop-off address and items to be ordered.
“Keep in contact with the GrabFood rider by messaging or calling them,” the food delivery service added.
Recently, an online petition addressed to Grab Philippines president Brian Cu has been making the rounds on social media.
It appealed for the company to permanently remove the “Cancel” option in the app so that riders may no longer suffer the consequences of having unclaimed orders.
The creator of the petition, a certain “Tin J,” noted that there have been too many instances of users inconsiderately canceling their orders despite efforts of the riders to queue in lines and initially pay for the food.
Filipinos shared the link of the petition in different social media platforms to raise a significant amount of digital signatures.
Grab Philippines: Remove Cancel option in Grabfood Philippines – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/LTgQOqa2e2 via @ChangePilipinas
— Arcanine (@radizard_) June 19, 2019
Series of cancellations
Amid the calls for digital signatures, comedienne Pokwang previously urged her followers to double check their GrabFood orders and refrain from canceling their transactions.
“Please make sure na tama order niyo and do not cancel kapag nakita niyong naka-order na sila ng pagkain niyo,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“At kung may extra money pa tayo, bigyan natin sila ng tip, lalo na kung malayo ang pinang-orderan nila, or pumila sila ng 40 minutes para sa milk tea cravings natin,” Pokwang added.
The comedienne also shared a heartbreaking conversation she had with a rider who claimed that he only brings P500 with him each day to buy orders.
“Naaawa ako sa mga Grab drivers na nag-a-abono dahil nagka-cancel ang mga customers kung kailan nakabili na sila,” part of her post reads.
GrabFood in a comments thread of a Facebook post said that it has raised the matter to its “dedicated team to take action.”
“(For customers) who canceled the orders without a valid reason multiple times, their account will be deactivated or banned in our platform,” part of its comment reads.
Days before the Facebook post, the firm on its own Twitter account said that the “cancel order” has been removed as an option.
The reply came after a Twitter user posted that the food delivery service should remove the particular option in the app.
Hi Ash! We’d like you to know that once the driver has placed the order, cancelling is no longer an option via the app.
— Grab Philippines (@grabph) June 7, 2019
Earlier this month, another Twitter user shared a heartbreaking experience she had with a GrabFood rider whom she claimed has become an “anxious worker” following such incidents.
The rider would give her real-time updates about her order even though she did not specifically request for it out of fear that she might cancel.
“Hay, look at how they turned into anxious workers. (Please) refrain from canceling orders if (you) can,” the user wrote.
Last May, some Filipinos urged the public to refrain from canceling their food transactions in the app after they personally encountered riders who’ve had experiences of being canceled on.
A particular Twitter user, for instance, shared a story of how he personally witnessed GrabFood riders pitching in money to compensate for the amount of a canceled order.
