Three passengers who were picked up by a Gojek driver at Changi Airport yesterday morning (Dec 17) allege that the driver forced them out of the car at a nearby bus stop because they refused to give him a S$3 tip.
One of the passengers, Joseph Lam, wrote that the private-hire driver asked for a S$3 tip on top of the S$14 fare, because his fare was still less less than a Grab ride. However, when the passengers refused, the driver ask them to get down from his car.
Joseph Lam, one of the passengers, made a Gojek booking at 1.30am with two others, to travel from Terminal 1 of Changi Airport to Tampines. According to him, he initially tried to book a ride with Grab that was only S$11, but because he could not get a car, he called for one with Gojek at S$14.
In a Facebook post, Lam shared that when the driver first asked him about a tip, he said that he would give the driver a 5-star rating. However, the driver replied saying, “5 stars rating is of no use for Gojek, useful for Grab though”.
The driver then added, “Grab surge is $21 for a trip to Tampines now, so it will be nice if you can leave me a tip. Do you mind?
Normally I will suggest my clients to leave me a tip of $3 if they don’t mind. Do you mind?”.
Trying to ignore the driver, Lam and the two other passengers sat quietly, but he wrote, “Can you believe it, he continued by asking us AGAIN, “Do you mind leaving me a tip?””
When he told the driver off and added that he would mind leaving a tip, the driver apparently replied, “Well ok if you do mind, I guess I will have to drop you at the nearest bus stop”.
“Because I asked if you mind tipping me and you said you mind. So do you mind me dropping you off here at the middle of the road?” the driver said.
In his Facebook post, Lam also added a disclaimer, “I’m not saying that I’m a saint here and trying to thrash someone or being difficult.
Of course during the argument, there were fingers being exchanged (the most classic finger) and yes, the F word”.
In response to media queries, Gojek replied saying that it does not “condone” the driver’s behaviour and is looking into the matter.
“Our policies around conduct are clearly emphasized to them in our driver-partner handbook and during the on-boarding process,” the ride-hailing company wrote in a message. “We looked into this case as soon as it was brought to our attention and are speaking with both parties to resolve the matter.”
Lam’s full post:
/TISG