Delivery man threatens to cancel ‘too big’ order unless customer gives S$10 tip

SINGAPORE: A woman who ordered a huge takeout amounting to more than S$130 was shocked when the deliveryman demanded a S$10 tip, claiming that the order was ‘too big.’ More so, the deliveryman threatened to cancel the order if she did not give the tip. 

A 29-year-old woman complained to Shin Min Daily News that last month, she helped her friend order 10 KFC meals through a food delivery platform. The woman claimed that her friend’s company was having a lunch gathering, and that she was the one who placed the order through the platform. 

Since the woman uses the platform more often, she did not check the app after seeing that someone had already accepted the order. She claimed: “The delivery time shown at the time was between 11:00 and 11:30. At 11:20, I received a message from a friend saying that the delivery person had sent him a message asking for a tip. Later, I found that the delivery person had also sent me a message asking for a tip through the Grab app.” 

According to the deliveryman, the order was too much. That’s why he asked for a tip. He also stated that if the tip was not given, the order could be cancelled and the woman could find another deliveryman to handle the order. 

Given that they had limited time and that the deliveryman had already picked up the order and was on his way, they had no choice but to give out the tip. The woman later confirmed that when she checked the app, she discovered that the delivery man was already near her friend’s company and chose not to deliver the food unless they agreed to the tip. 

“He only continued to deliver the food after my friend agreed,” the woman declared. 

She shared that the food arrived after 11:40, which was later than what they expected. According to Grab, tipping is voluntary, and drivers are explicitly told not to solicit tips from customers. 

It is encouraged that when drivers ask for a tip, customers can refuse and submit feedback to the platform. 

Other related news 

In similar news related to customer complaints, there was a recent report where a woman was nearly burned when a fire broke out at their table at a Korean hot pot restaurant. 

“When I bent down to look, I found thick smoke and flames coming out of the hole under the dining table, which scared me so much that I ran away quickly,” the diner declared. 

Read more about the news story here.