Hello everyone, I have a personal story to share with you. It’s an extremely important one if you are a frequent user of apps such as Grab or Uber.
On 25 Dec, after my work had ended during my shift during X’mas eve, in the wee early morning of about 2am, I decided to take on Grabhitch (cos you know 50% off). Within minutes, my booking was accepted, and I received a call directly from the driver. But during the call, these were messages that he had conveyed to me:
1) Firstly, he does not know where Harbourfront Centre taxi stand is, and insisted that I walk to him. He was all the way at the other side of Vivocity (near to St James Powerhouse). Mind you, I have been on my feet for the past 9.5 hours.
2) Secondly, during the tele-conversation, he also mentioned that he is not driving the stated Mercedes-Benz car (plate number: SJV6527Z) in my booking screen. Instead, he was driving a silver Cheverolet.
Eventually, the driver and I decided to make a compromise, and picked me up at the bus stop in front of Vivocity, which is somewhat far from where I was. But I didn’t want to waste time further as I was so exhausted. As I walked to the car, I saw a dog, which initially I thought was a soft toy. As I got closer, I realised the driver had a REAL LIVING DOG (It was a small chihuahua as I got to know later) with him inside the car! While I was shocked, I didn’t want to kick up a fuss out of it. I really wanted to just get home.
I mean I know it’s Grabhitch but it is just plain unprofessional to do that. I know there are many animal lovers out there who wouldn’t mind this. But I thought it’s just very basic courtesy to at least inform your passenger especially with a muslim-sounding name if he might be okay with it?
So many lines crossed here; safety issues, health related issues, religious and cultural issues etc. Yes, I’m very much Muslim. However, at that point of time, I thought to myself that it’s just a dog, and the driver should probably have the dog well tamed to be comfortable with strangers. But I later realised that the driver is the one that needed taming.
Throughout the entire trip, the driver didn’t stop being obnoxious. He lectured me about the ‘hitch culture’, and remained adamant about how he thought his way of “educating” me about the hitch culture was appropriate. He claimed that as passengers taking the Grabhitch option, it isn’t right to sit at the back and treat the owners of the car as our “cheapest drivers to get to our destination”.
He further said that he was “doing a service to the community by allowing people to sit in his car at a very small fee and helping people reach their destinations”. He added on saying that many people don’t want to perform Grabhitch because of people like me. Like seriously?!!
When I asked him if his dog is generally okay with strangers, he defensively lashed back at me and said,”My dog never disturb you, why you so concern about the dog?!!
As I was trying to unbuckle the seat belt, the sound I made probably riddled the dog. The DOG THEN JUMPED AND BIT ME!
I immediately told the driver I’m leaving, opened the door and slammed it shut. He didn’t even apologised or offered to take a look at my arm. I walked away quickly as I wanted to get away from the possible danger – like getting mauled by a ferocious dog.
This all happened in the wee hours of Sunday morning after a tiring day at work. Like I said, all I wanted was to go home and get some sleep. And such luck had to strike me. Nevertheless, I have taken necessary steps to this whole issue and have approached the proper authorities.
I have gone to the doctor at NUH who was very caring and concern while I was consulted by her. She even ensured that I ascertain if the dog is approved by the authorities by allowing me to call the Grab customer service hotline in the room, and patiently waited before making a decision to give me a rabies shot or not. It was not administered as we found that the dog was certified healthy, according to the driver who admitted that there was his dog in his car but denied that it has bitten me. Come on la, the mark is on my arm already. Whatever it is, his pet has already caused harm and injury to me.
I have also gone to the police who have referred my case to Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA). Officers on both sides had handled the matter professionally and quickly. I even received a phone call from AVA the very afternoon, which was after Sunday and on Christmas.
Ultimately, this is a story of how my $6 Grabhitch ride became into $123.40 matter as I had incurred $117.40 worth of medical bill, that included a tetanus shot and antibiotics. This story is very much real, and has happened to me. It is no joke. So please be safe.
Source: Rushdan Eilyaas
