More allegations of “outside-of-store” order taking surfaced online after a video of a fast food worker taking orders in the streets of Davao City went viral over the weekend.
A TikTok user recently uploaded a video of a service crew member of Chowking from its Ecoland branch who claimed that her manager asked her to go around the area and look for customers.
The uploader talked to the service crew, who alleged that she used her own money to go back to the store to punch the orders and then bring them to the customer.
The service crew also answered in the affirmative when the uploader asked her if they were “required to walk far and find customers.”
“Yes, po. Our store is doing slow and sales are small. As a service crew, we need to find a way to grow our sales because it’s also our job,” she said, as translated into English. She added that they have a quota of P6,000.
The service crew was able to return “an hour” later.
The uploader said the worker “had to walk around the subdivision to deliver the food.” She added that they were not given an umbrella, water or allowance to do such an activity.
“Very disappointed with this situation,” the TikTok user said.
@cabralmaria__ lets do better, and treat are servers fairly! 😕 #davao #fastfood ♬ original sound – maria cabral <3
By Sunday, November 26, Chowking issued a statement addressing the viral video.
It said that it was an activity conducted by one of its stores in Davao “pertaining to outside-of-store order taking.”
“We assure our customers and the public that we are treating this matter seriously. As such, we have asked the store to place the said activity on hold while the guidelines to ensure compliance with our standards are undergoing review,” the restaurant said.
“Further, the concerned team member continues to be a valued member of the store,” it added.
“At Chowking, upholding ethical standards in conducting business is a core commitment, and the safety and well-being of our team members remain our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and continued support,” the restaurant said.
The incident also prompted some Filipinos to share their own alleged experiences of encountering the same initiative.
“Meron pa din sa Buendia na umaakyat na nagbebenta ng Chowking, along with the usual donuts and burgers,” a Pinoy commented in a Reddit post discussing the issue.
“Ibang case ‘to. ‘Yung mga umaakyat sa bus, dala na ‘yung order. Tapos hindi na rin naman sila maglalakad nang malayo kasi malapit lang sa bus stop ‘yung store,” another Redditor commented.
“Happens sa PITX din, Chowking crew naglalako ng siopao and Chowfan sa pasahero,” wrote a different Pinoy.
Lawyer Emil Marañon III likewise shared that he encountered the same operation “around Ermita in Manila” before.
“I personally met [a] service crew roaming around Ermita in Manila doing the exact same thing many months ago. Again, this is NOT new and certainly NOT isolated to that store in Davao. Hope Chowking can come clean on this,” he wrote.
“Nung nagtitinda pa ako sa palengke, madalas ‘yung mga crew ng Jollibee and Chowking lumilibot sa palengke to get orders sa mga tindero at tindera. Napakasahol ninyo and that was even more than ten years ago,” another online user wrote, commenting to Chowking’s statement.
Others who claimed to work in fast food stores also commented on the matter.
“Totoo ‘to. I did this when I was in Greenwich Dasma [Dasmariñas]. We call it ‘OOT (outside order-take).’ We would go to offices, munisipyos, establishments, para lang kumuha ng orders. May target sales din ikaw [diyan]. Part of the job pero, I don’t know. Kung ma-PR ka, panalo. Pero if not, nganga,” a user said.
“I once worked at McDonald’s (Baguio). It was once part of our business operation, they call it OS (Outside Selling). A crew will be scheduled to go around CBD (usually within Session Road, Burnham Park, Malcolm Square, even Athletic Bowl) and sell food items to customers,” a Pinoy on Reddit said.
“Nakakaawa ‘yung OS na crew kasi mahaba nilalakad [niya]. Imagine, magbebenta siya, babalik ng store para i-punch then kunin ‘yung order, tapos babalik ulit (maglalakad nanaman) sa customer. This was around 2021, when sales are so low due to COVID,” the Redditor added.
Another user from Facebook claimed that the activity had been around when he was a crew around 2010.
“Hahaha, crew me noong 2010 meron na ganyan, [‘yung] sa main, pinapapunta pa palengke ‘pag tanghalian, kami din babalik para mag-deliver. ‘On hold’ meaning, wala sila gagawin, papalamigin lang issue kasi talagang kasama ‘yang paghahanap ng customer sa labas sa normal operations nila,” he wrote.
Fast food stores are expected to serve food in their respective branches, where they wait for customers.
Another known method is the customer ordering the food outside the store through a delivery service.