Grab hire cars operate in Singapore. When you phone to make a booking they tell you the fee and you pay cash and get given a receipt.
No Tipping
In Singapore no need to tip. In fact it's frowned on. Singaporeans don't like it when foreigners tip - it's seen as a form of bribery and queue jumping.
Lee Kwan Yew ended the bribery which is still rife in many parts of Asia. I remember arriving at a hotel to book a room. The hotel receptionist said the hotel was full (although I had phone and been told it had rooms).
When money was produced as a tip, suddenly the receptionist re-read the list and found a room. this is what Lee Kwan Yew was trying to prevent, a culture where people are paid low salaries and make it up by not working for the employer but for the passer by who offers money. More importantly, government officials finding you housing drivers' licenses, school teachers marking exam papers, the whole system was reorganized so everybody was paid what is now enshrined in the UK as a minimum wage, and as in China, tipping was forbidden as being seen as bribery. In Shanghai a restaurant waitress was very upset at being offered a tip. If she took it she could lose her job, as being seen as favouring one customer over another (suspected of cheating the boss by offering free seconds, or cheating him by making the customer think the prices were higher) or not offering adequate service until a tip was produced which could ruin the restaurants reputation (and nowadays its Tripadvisor rating).
At one time when people hailed taxis in the streets of Singapore, frequently the opportune taxi drivers would sail past the locals to pick up foreigners who might tip, which made the local people irate.
Travellers to the airport may have judged their money exactly and spent the last of their cash on drinks or souvenirs, allowing a certain amount for the taxi home. If a service charge or tax is added, plus an ERP (electronic road pricing) or after midnight charge, or two person charge, or extra suitcase charge, suddenly they are out of money with no opportunity to change as there is no machine near the door and the taxi is impatient to be off. Very stressful.
Some people like the system of dealing with cash. No risk of hackers getting hold of your credit card or personal details.
However, in Hong Kong, my friend 'Carol' told me, she used Uber and liked the system whereby you paid by credit card. When you reached your destination, you could jump out of the cab and run. Your receipt was sent automatically.
the automatic receipt we were sent by Grab in Singapore was also useful. One member of my family booked a cab for 'Carol' who was racing to the airport to catch a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong and then on to Europe. She was on standby on Cathay Pacific.
The host family had booked her the cab, and checked she had enough money to pay (advising her no tip needed).
When the host's phone pinged to alert the phone owner the receipt had arrived, they knew Carol had reached the airport safely and paid the taxi and was in time for her flight. While she was running to check in, the host family could send a free running commentary to her family or friends on group to tell them she was on her way.
We got in a muddle talking about it - 'Grab bought Uber, no, Uber bought grab, no ... '
If you are hopping from one country to another, get the app loaded onto your phone well in advance, and check tee exchange rate for money and likely cab prices. Check the time the MRT will take if you have just a backpack and small wheel-on case.
When I told a taxi driver that, when it was raining, the system told us that all taxis were busy, he was irate and vehement that there could not be a shortage of taxis.
"Thousands of taxis," he told me, and, "dropping off and picking up all the time!"
Useful Websites
For the latest news and deals see:
www.grab.com
www.grab.com/sg (Taxis and cars - double your options and wait less long)
www.grab.com/sg/car
https://www.grab.com/sg/grabpay/
www.uber.com
Author
Angela Lansbury
No Tipping
In Singapore no need to tip. In fact it's frowned on. Singaporeans don't like it when foreigners tip - it's seen as a form of bribery and queue jumping.
Lee Kwan Yew ended the bribery which is still rife in many parts of Asia. I remember arriving at a hotel to book a room. The hotel receptionist said the hotel was full (although I had phone and been told it had rooms).
When money was produced as a tip, suddenly the receptionist re-read the list and found a room. this is what Lee Kwan Yew was trying to prevent, a culture where people are paid low salaries and make it up by not working for the employer but for the passer by who offers money. More importantly, government officials finding you housing drivers' licenses, school teachers marking exam papers, the whole system was reorganized so everybody was paid what is now enshrined in the UK as a minimum wage, and as in China, tipping was forbidden as being seen as bribery. In Shanghai a restaurant waitress was very upset at being offered a tip. If she took it she could lose her job, as being seen as favouring one customer over another (suspected of cheating the boss by offering free seconds, or cheating him by making the customer think the prices were higher) or not offering adequate service until a tip was produced which could ruin the restaurants reputation (and nowadays its Tripadvisor rating).
At one time when people hailed taxis in the streets of Singapore, frequently the opportune taxi drivers would sail past the locals to pick up foreigners who might tip, which made the local people irate.
Travellers to the airport may have judged their money exactly and spent the last of their cash on drinks or souvenirs, allowing a certain amount for the taxi home. If a service charge or tax is added, plus an ERP (electronic road pricing) or after midnight charge, or two person charge, or extra suitcase charge, suddenly they are out of money with no opportunity to change as there is no machine near the door and the taxi is impatient to be off. Very stressful.
Some people like the system of dealing with cash. No risk of hackers getting hold of your credit card or personal details.
However, in Hong Kong, my friend 'Carol' told me, she used Uber and liked the system whereby you paid by credit card. When you reached your destination, you could jump out of the cab and run. Your receipt was sent automatically.
the automatic receipt we were sent by Grab in Singapore was also useful. One member of my family booked a cab for 'Carol' who was racing to the airport to catch a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong and then on to Europe. She was on standby on Cathay Pacific.
The host family had booked her the cab, and checked she had enough money to pay (advising her no tip needed).
When the host's phone pinged to alert the phone owner the receipt had arrived, they knew Carol had reached the airport safely and paid the taxi and was in time for her flight. While she was running to check in, the host family could send a free running commentary to her family or friends on group to tell them she was on her way.
We got in a muddle talking about it - 'Grab bought Uber, no, Uber bought grab, no ... '
If you are hopping from one country to another, get the app loaded onto your phone well in advance, and check tee exchange rate for money and likely cab prices. Check the time the MRT will take if you have just a backpack and small wheel-on case.
When I told a taxi driver that, when it was raining, the system told us that all taxis were busy, he was irate and vehement that there could not be a shortage of taxis.
"Thousands of taxis," he told me, and, "dropping off and picking up all the time!"
Useful Websites
For the latest news and deals see:
www.grab.com
www.grab.com/sg (Taxis and cars - double your options and wait less long)
www.grab.com/sg/car
https://www.grab.com/sg/grabpay/
www.uber.com
Author
Angela Lansbury
No comments:
Post a Comment