Single mum of 3 shares why you should be more understanding when your Grab driver can't cancel

A Grab driver who could not find the location of a passenger at Nanyang Polytechnic at about 10.20pm on Sep 3 was scolded for not wanting to cancel the trip. 

In a Facebook post detailing the incident, the Grab driver, a single mother of three, was driving along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 when she received a pick-up request at Nanyang Polytechnic.

Upon arriving at the main gate, she did not find the passenger there.

She then called the passenger who told her that she was at the wrong gate, and further instructed her to find him at another gate.

As the grab driver was unfamiliar with Nanyang Polytechnic, she had difficulty finding the exact location of the passenger.

The passenger then told the grab driver that she either find him at where he was or cancel the trip.

At this point, the Grab driver had been driving around for seven minutes trying to find the location of the passenger.

According to Grab's website, Grab drivers will not be penalised for cancelling a trip if they have waited for the passenger at the pick-up location for more than five minutes.

Upon hearing this, the Grab driver then requested that the passenger cancel the trip on his app, so that it does not affect her ratings as a Grab driver.

He refused, to which she replied by saying that she will cancel the trip shortly.

The passenger then raised his voice and scolded her for not being able to find his pick-up location as well as for not wanting to cancel the trip.

"You are very rude", he said.

"How can you do this?"

He also told her that he would call Grab to complain about her and bring down her ratings, before hanging up.

"I am a Grab driver and a single mother driving to support three school-going children," said the Grab driver in her Facebook post.

"I have to drive until late at night to make ends meet, and the ratings/incentives are important to me.

"He was entirely unsympathetic and said that he will definitely complain to Grab and bring down my ratings.

"He repeated this even after I asked him not to do that due to me being a single mother having to support a family.

"Ratings are important to us as Grab drivers.

"This affects our incentives and also availability of jobs.

"I am posting this so that the public can understand the difficulties and stress, as well as at times verbal abuse, which we have to go through as Grab drivers.

"While life can be hard, having to drive 12-15 hours a day, having to pay rental and cover the platform fee of 20 percent, I have no other choices to earn a livelihood.

"I just wish there can be more tolerance and patience in our society - which unfortunately many Singaporeans still have to learn."