GrabFood Rant: Longer distance

Just another quick update!

I've realised that there are increasing orders with longer distance and crossing over to another GRC! These orders takes a much longer time to complete and hence I'm completing lesser orders and getting tired faster.

Seriously, its really a little over to expect walkers to walk over 3km (not to mention 3.4km!!) and still deliver within a reasonable time frame. I know google map would quote a 30-37 minutes walk but that is impossible as that do not include the waiting time (traffic lights etc), road conditions (uphill, downhill), terrains and walking with load (food). I can safely say that it takes at least 40-45 minutes to walk that distance IF you're in tiptop conditions, flat roads and the load is light (like just a packet of chicken rice).

Neck hands-free Fan/Sport fan Review

It has been a while since I last review on products I bought online. LOL. Now, it's time to get "back on track".

I've gotten a hands-free neck fan recently from Taobao. I thought it would be good to have one when I deliver on hot days.

It is about the same price if I were to get one on Shopee, but since there is something I wanted to buy that wasn't available on Shopee but Taobao, I decided to get both items from Taobao instead.

This fan cost me about SG$7-8, including shipping fees.

The Packaging

The box is very simple paper box that came slightly squashed due to the shipping. The specifications are printed on the side of the box.

The fan came with a 2000mA battery and promises 4-12 hours usage, depending on the speed you choose. Included in the box are: 1 Micro USB cable for charging, a paper manual and of course, the fan with in built battery.

The Product

The product is a simple U-shaped plastic band (which house the mechanics and battery) with 2 flexible thick cables extending out of each end. The extended cables are then connected to 2 mini fans blades that are enclosed safely in a "cage". There is another version whereby you can take the battery out and replace it but I didn't get that one.

 

The "fans" may look a little small but they are quite powerful, especially on speed 2 and 3. Yes, the fan came with 3 speed. They're controlled by pressing on the on button (once to turn On at speed 1, twice to Speed 2 and then once more for Speed 3). The button will blink according to the fan speed (it's not obvious btw) but you will be able to feel the difference from the strength of the wind.

 I did a simple Gif to show the strength of the wind of different speed.

Charging is via Micro USB and there are lights to indicate the status of charging and battery life. Red for still charging or low power and blue when its done or when there is still enough juice. 

Using it

 

Unfortunately, putting the fan on can make you look kinda ... comical. The neck band is a little stiff and inflexible. Comfort wise, it's quite ok as it doesn't really put much pressure on your neck. The flexible cable, on the other hand provides enough flexibility and strength to hold the fans at the needed angles.

The fans are of course cooling enough in most cases. I haven't use it when I was out delivering but I did use it when I got home after all the walking and when I was helping mum to cook, it's pretty satisfying!

However, there are a few occasions when I was making "big" movements and the fan moved out of position and I've to readjust it. So kinda not as "hands-free" as I expected.

Battery life is quite ok, as I've tried it non-stop for 1 hour 10 minutes on Speed 3 and its still going strong. However, the battery life indication, which is the at the On/off button is not at a position whereby you can see it when in use so you may not be warn in time.

Conclusion

Pros

- Strength of wind is good and powerful
- The cables are flexible and strong enough to hold the fans at the needed angles
- Battery life is Ok. (Tried non-stop for 1 hour on Speed 3 and the fan is still going strong) 
- Hands-free in most situations
- Charging status indication
- Charging time is reasonable
- Quite Comfortable and light

 
Cons

- It's slightly noisy (just very slight)

- Neck band is inflexible
- Comical to wear
- Battery life indicator is not at a place you can see
- The fan can move around due to your movements

I've only been using this for a few days, so this is my "first" impression of it thus far. I actually regret not doing enough research before buying one as I did see there is another "Upgraded version" whereby the neck band looks less bulky and more flexible. It cost more but perhaps it will look less comical, just my guess.

 

The 3 months Tummy-Flattening Challenge! - After 3 months!

The final day of the challenge is supposed to be on the 20th of October, but I only have time to post this now.

Even though I've stopped the challenge midway, I've decided to still report about the results as I'm "exercising" almost daily, walking around delivering food.

So I would like to highlight that although I didn't do the tummy exercises on a daily basis, I did at least 1 of them 1-2 times fortnightly and then I was walking at least 3-4km daily.

This is for the most protruding part of my belly (my lower) which we see only about 0.5cm decrease (from 76 to 75.5)... oops. 

For the waist, we do see slightly more results with about 3cm (73.5 to 70.5) decrease!

I've no idea about what causes the differences between the 2 areas (waist and lower belly) but I guess the lower belly fats are way more stubborn and harder to lose. So unless I get started on those tummy exercises again, it'll probably stay the way it is now... :|

Grabfood Update: Unfortunately, there'll be impatient people...

This is the first time I've encountered this since working with GrabFood. Apparently, a customer doesn't want a walker delivering his order because he wants his order within 30 minutes and finds a walker would be too slow for that job.

While I can't blame him for expecting food fast because its almost midnight, I can't fulfill his wish because it was a batch/group order whereby his order is 2nd in the queue and my first order would take me 10 or more minutes already and his order is still being prepared at that very moment he demanded it to be made within 30 minutes. In fact, his order wasn't ready 5 minutes later when I left the restaurant. Sorry, but I won't make exceptions and cut the queue for you, even if you live in terraced house. All customers are equal.

Anyway, from now on, customer who is 1st in queue will be known as "C1" while the other, "C2".

So I contacted GrabFood on the chat and show them the above sceenshot to let them know about customer's request and have them reassigned another delivery personal who doesn't work on "human-muscle powered motor" LOL. I also let them know, I'll continue to deliver C1's order.


I happily collected the order for the C1 and made my way down. To my surprise, C2's order wasn't been reassigned yet and remained in my queue list even when I reached the C1's house. I couldn't go ahead and complete C1's delivery (it's the way the Grab's system work), so I've to call the hotline to get C2's order reassigned. In the end, all went well, I delivered C1's order and he is happy while C2 get his order reassigned to someone who can satisfy his needs.

Well, that's the case for service line, you do face some less understanding and impatient customer. But don't get disheartened if you're considering to join as a walker, most of the customers are fairly understanding and have higher patient level. Don't let a few 老鼠屎 (rat feces) 坏了一锅汤 (spoil the whole pot of porridge)! :)

After working as a GrabFood Walker for a Month

I've actually been with GrabFood for more than a month now, and I've kinda mixed feelings about GrabFood.

Well, it obviously doesn't feel good when you've your pay cut (see previous post about the adjustments in bonus and incentives) but it's definitely not just about these adjustments!

Ok, why not we start with what I enjoy/like about working as a GrabFood walker.

Pros

1) Own time Own Target (OTOT)

I guess it's pretty obvious that it's very flexible working for GrabFood. I can turn on the app to accept jobs whenever I want and where-ever I want. I can choose to just "nua" (rot at home) and not work for days without having to be warned or anything!


2) Exercise

Let's face it, how motivate are you about exercising? Now, you get paid to walk around! Just imaging this, walking to the nearest McDonald's to collect the food and then down a few blocks can earn you $4-4.50, why not?


3) Decent earning

It really depends on how hardworking you're, but it's possible to be able to earn enough to feed yourself, pay your bills and still save some money.


4) Know the food around 

What other better ways to know about what is popular and what is new in your area? I mean you're delivering them to the eaters! How can you not know enough about them?


5) Little social interaction

Although GrabFood is a "service industry", it's not one that you need to do extensive social interactions. It's really good for people like me who is kinda socially awkward. The usual "enjoy your meal" and "thank you" with a smile is usually enough to satisfy the customers. Afterall, its the food they care about.

6) Hotline/Help System is good

I've faced a few problems while delivering (app hanging/lagging, customer cancelling, payment problem) and when I contacted the CS or the telegram chat, I usually get respond pretty fast. (Of course not immediate but at least you don't end up waiting for 15 minutes and still nothing!) They're pretty helpful and willing to help you solve your problems.

Updated: Their Telegram chat is very slow to respond lately. You can expect to wait up to 20-30 minutes to get a respond. For more urgent issues, you might have to call in.

7) "Hot" heat map indicator
 
Grab have updated their app to show the "hot" zone whereby you're more likely to receive orders. They're usually mark in a different shades of red rectangle (the redder = more demands = more likely to receive orders). This is really helpful for those who wants to camp and wait for orders or wish to do for short hours only.

Cons

1) Under the sun/rain

Being a delivery person means that you've to delivery the goods (food) within a reasonable time frame when you accept an order. So you must be prepared to walk under the sun or if it rain suddenly. I was caught in the rain thrice but I still have to deliver the food.


2) Heavy food

There is no way you can know the content of an order until you accepted the job. I've gotten a few orders that consist of 6 upsized combo meals (6 large drinks!!), 20 items of Dim Sum or zi char for a family of 5! The most memorial order I ever sent was this order from Popeye that is as heavy as a small sack of rice! Lucky for me, the order was to be delivered to a nearby shop-house (within 0.4km), which I can still tahan.

I usually try not to cancel order after I accepted them, but I guess there will be one day that I just have to because there is just so much weight I can carry!


3) Out of the way (Far orders!)

I've no idea how GrabFood define "walking distance" because I've received orders that are far away. It's either the pickup location is far away from me(current location) or that the customer's house is far away from the pickup location (store/restaurant) itself! And the worst, sometimes, you get both the situations mentioned! The furthest I've walked, 2.6km. It's a grouped/batch order which means, 1 pickup location (store) to 2 customers. For batch orders, GrabFood would determine the dropoff sequence and sometimes it's not the best sequence and you end up taking a longer route.

Update: I've gotten a single order that is 3.02km!!


4) Busy/Slow Stores

Some stores are just super busy and crowded on certain days or timing, and if you've orders from there, you must be prepared to wait at least 10-20 minutes! And then you might meet some stores that OFF their grab receiver (or whatever you call that) and they'll only switch it on when you arrive to pickup orders. And I can me tell you, at some places, the app/receiver takes a long time to boot!

Updated: I waited almost an hour at a restaurant!


5) Data Consuming

To receive orders, you need to be connected to either 3G/4G or wifi, there is no other way around it. With that said, you need to have a data plan and it should be as stable as possible. I've faced problem/delay with delivery (due to stupid Starhub being unstable). I got disconnected and logged out of the app. I couldn't log back in since I've crappy network and I couldn't see the customer's address.

A rough estimation of data usage: I'm on 3G and I've used about 6.8GB of data in 20 days! My usage are for about an average of 5-6 hours on the GrabFood app per day, with about 1-3 hours of YouTube and social gaming (while waiting for orders and during my breaks) daily.

You can expect at least 0.2-0.3GB of data usage daily if you do want some entertainment while delivering/waiting for orders.

6) Long waiting hours in between jobs/unpredictable

The demand in number of orders really depends and changes daily. On slow days, I can wait for 3-4 hours and only gotten 1 or 2 orders and then there will be days I can have back to back orders.


7) Walkers are less desirable

Unfortunately, I've faced customers that prefers non-walkers because walkers are considered "slow" to them and they can say somewhat nasty things like, "don't accept job when you're on foot!" Perhaps they failed to understand what "walkers" mean.

Grouped/Batch Order

Grab has released its newsletter and had mentioned that there will be improved grouped/batch orders. You can receive a 2nd or even 3rd or 4th order while on your way to the restaurant or before you pickup your last order, as long as they're from the same restaurant.

So let's say I got an order (order 1) from McDonald's and on my way there, there is another order from the same McDonald's to somewhere quite near to order 1, I'll be auto-assigned that order (order 2). Of course I can cancel it if I think its not convenient or so, but yes, penalty will incurr.


Why I included this in a new "section" of its own is because I've a love-hate feeling about grouped orders. I've gotten a few of them. Some are really good (like just opposite blocks or a few blocks down) but some are miles apart, like at least 4-5 bus stops away or at different parts of the zone. Also, the delivery fee calculation of grouped orders are always puzzling.

And pray hard you don't get huge order (like 6 upsized combo meals!) for grouped orders, or you'll need 8 tentacles to carry them! LOL.


Overall, it's still pretty good to work for GrabFood as a walker. I mean at least now its still pretty worth it, even after the adjustments. I can't say for the future though, as I heard that the the bonus and incentives have been removed completely for the GrabCar drivers, leaving them with much lower earnings.

Well, we can only pray and hope.

Rant: Do you think CPF really gives retirees security and comfortable life?

I don't know much about the CPF retirement scheme, to be honest, I'm not someone who really trust the CPF because of various personal reasons.

But recently, many of my friend's and even my own parents have retired. They start to tap on their CPF retirement sum and some opted for the monthly payout. The amount of the monthly payout differs, depending on how much you've in your account.

And then horror stories came.

I've heard from one of my friend who mentioned that his father is not seeing a doctor after coughing for 3 weeks because it's "waste of money". He just brush it off saying the cough will go away.


The other day, I was drinking at a hawker center and a middle aged handicap man in wheelchair came to sell tissue, when he passed by a retiree, he was greeted by nasty comments and "shooed" away.

The retiree was complaining about how he has shrimped all his life but now still only get a few hundreds a month from CPF! He went on to say that he only can afford a cup of tea and nothing else, where got money to spare! He then took out some tissue from his pocket and ask if the handicap man wants to buy.


Well, that was not very compassionate of him and of course these were just a few "bad examples" or some would say, "rotten apples". However, doesn't that also reflect something about CPF retirement scheme?

I don't know, I start to wonder if the CPF is even adequate to provide security and a reasonable comfortable life. From my experience with a few retired people I've met, there seems to be at least some level of insecurity, scrimping and even envy.

I don't know but I've often heard, "...because they're earning few thousands a month mah! I retired leh!" on many ocassions when money is involved. They're afraid to buy better clothes, eat better or may even hate festive seasons or celebrations. Other times, they wait for "senior discount days" to enjoy a few percent off their shopping. Some count their expenses daily... To be honest, I don't find that comfortable living at all. In fact, I think they're unhappy and insecure.

If someone was to take my money, lock it up for decades, promising a simple/reasonable retired life, I'd expect more ... or at least a more worry-free retirement life than this. But of course, this just my opinion.

GrabFood Update: Adjustments in bonus and incentives!

Alright, I'm back once again to update about GrabFood!

Bad news! GrabFood have recently changed their bonus and incentives. I'm not sure if the change affects other modes of delivery (PMD, Motorbike and cars) but it definitely did for Walkers.

Reduction in Zone Boost

 

 

1) Starting from 7th October 2019, GrabFood will no longer give gems to any zone outside of Downtown to its Walkers.

2) The number of gems earned per trip has dropped from 20 to 10, hence you've to do twice the number of trips (from 2 to 4) to qualify for the Zone Boost bonus.

This would means that I'll no longer qualify for the Zone Boost as I'll only be delivering in the Central area. :/ Basically, I can expect a $15-20 drop per week in my earning as that is the amount I usually earn from the Zone Boost.

Changes in Quest Incentive

 

 This is the incentive chart from before 7th October.

As you can see from the charts above (top one being the "old" chart for before 7th October), GrabFood have lowered the incentives bonus by $5 for both the Weekend and Weekday quests.

Weekday Quest:

From $35 for 25 trips to $30.
From $20 for 15 trips to $15.

Weekend Quest:

From $25 for 15 trips to $20.
From $10 for 8 trips to $10.(This one has no change!) 

How does it affect me? 

The most obvious impact would be that as a walker, I'd earn much lesser per month. (5 x 4 + 4 x 15 = $80 lesser) for the same amount of effort put in.

But of course this has also given me more flexibility as I'm no longer going to plan my schedule around the peak hours. Also, competitions might be lower during the timing. However, it's all too early to tell, who knows the overall competition is going to increase as everyone works towards taking more orders to cover for the "loss" from Zone Boost.

Anyway, I shall update again about this.