Delivery charges can be pretty damn expensive, which is why GrabFood‘s free delivery plan appealed to so many customers.
All they had to do was pay S$9.99 per month, and they would get subscribers vouchers for free delivery on up to 50 GrabFood orders each month.
The vouchers were only valid with GrabFood orders of at least S$10, and were not applicable for long-distance and islandwide delivery.
Sounds like a decent deal, right? And during a time like this, when many people are taking pay cuts and even losing their jobs, deals like this could really help.
But then, just like our ability to eat at a coffee shop, the free delivery plan was taken away from us in an instant.
What’s worse is that many customers say they weren’t even aware that their subscription plans were suddenly terminated.
Grab, however, has refuted these claims.
GrabFood Claims They Didn’t ‘Quietly’ Stop Free Delivery Plans & Explains Why They Stopped It
Speaking to TODAYonline, Grab says it didn’t ‘quietly’ end its free delivery plan, explaining that it informed users about the stoppage on 25 March.
The company says it sent notices to subscribers via its mobile application and email, so that subscribers “could renew their plan for one more cycle and (know) the specific expiry date of their current plan”.
Basically, Grab is saying that subscribers knew far in advance that their plan would only be valid for one more cycle (presumably a month) and be aware of when it ends.
However, a few subscribers have pointed out that their plans have been discontinued by Grab before it expired.
Some of these subscribers felt that Grab should have offered a partial refund because they had their subscription plans ended early.
One subscriber, who spoke to TODAYonline, said she wasn’t aware of the discontinuation until she stumbled upon a friend’s Facebook post.
She later found Grab’s notification of the stoppage dated March 25 in the mailbox of her Grab app.
Who even checks their Grab mailbox?
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As she said, the mailbox is typically “full of discounts, promotions, and advertisements”.
Other customers couldn’t find any notification or email informing them of the stoppage.
When asked why they stopped the free delivery plan, Grab said that it constantly reviews its subscription plans and hopes to “come back with more exciting plans soon”.
“Discontinuation Not Fair”
As you know, an increasing number of residents are turning to food deliveries during the circuit breaker period.
And some feel that discontinuing their free delivery plan at such a time isn’t fair to subscribers.
One subscriber, who works in the financial technology field, said she was “annoyed” by Grab’s decision to stop the plan since she has been using it more often during the CB period.
“They decided to stop it when everyone needs it. This is not fair for existing subscribers who have been paying for the plan for the past few months,” she said.
“They should not cancel during this period.”
One can certainly understand their frustrations.
Track Record
Grab doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to these things, either.
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In 2018, the company cut user discounts and driver incentives just two months after it acquired its rival Uber, reported The Straits Times.
Driver incentives and customer discounts were employed heavily by both Grab and Uber before the latter’s exit.
According to Grab’s terms and conditions for its subscriptions, however, Grab says it reserves the right to make any changes to users’ plans at any time.