An established restaurant known for serving golden fried chicken spoke up about a circulating post about a food delivery rider allegedly mistreated by a branch manager.
A Filipino Reddit user on Tuesday, October 15, raised awareness about a restaurant review from an individual identifying himself as a GrabFood rider.
“Hindi ko gets ‘yung mga resto na ‘iba’ ang tingin sa mga delivery rider when they clearly represent the customer kapag umo-order,” the Redditor said on the r/Philippines subreddit.
“Props din sa mga resto [or] fast food na may waiting area [or] space habang naghihintay ng mga order na may water station pa. Madalas sa nakikita ko around here sa amin, nakatayo lang sila habang nagwa-wait. Ang baba ng tingin nila sa mga rider. Sa totoo lang,” the user added.
The screengrab of the one-star review featured the GrabFood rider sharing his experience at a branch of Max’s Restaurant in SM City Molino at Bacoor, Cavite.
He said that he was seated inside the restaurant and waiting for the customer’s order from the kitchen when a female manager approached him and told him to stay outside.
“Sabi bawal daw [ako] sa upuan, pinatayo [niya ako]. Sabi doon daw [ako]. Nakaturo [siya] sa labas. Wala [siya] sinabi kong saan [ako] pweding umupo, nakaturo lang [siya] sa labas,” the rider claimed in the review.
“Kaya ginawa [ko], tumayo [ako] at lumapit sa cashier. Sabi ko, pakibilisan na lang po ng order [kasi] kanina pa ‘yon, mga 40 [minutes] na po [ako] nag-aantay at pinalabas na po [ako] ng manager [niyo],” he added.
The manager then approached him and told him to “file a complaint” if there were any issues.
“Sabi ko naman, dapat i-priority nila ‘yung order namin kung ayaw nila na maghintay kami sa upuan nila. Sabi ng manager, naka-pila daw. Sabi ko, ‘O, ganoon pala, [edi] uupo talaga [ako diyan kasi] naghihintay [ako] ng order,'” the rider wrote.
He added that the manager only repeated herself, telling him to “file a complaint.”
The rider then remained silent and said that the conversation would not lead anywhere.
“Max’s Restaurant, SM Molino, sama ng ugali ng manager na babae,” he said.
Hindi ko gets ‘yung mga resto na “iba” ang tingin sa mga delivery rider when they clearly represent the customer kapag umoorder
byu/ExtraHotYakisoba inPhilippines
The Redditor later updated the post by informing users that the restaurant had addressed the post through the comments section of a Facebook page. It has not yet released an official statement as of writing.
A Facebook user left a comment on a recent social media post of Max’s with the following:
“What’s your action regarding the delivery issue?” she wrote.
“We sincerely apologize for what happened in our SM Molino branch,” the restaurant’s account responded on Wednesday, October 16.
“Our team has already made immediate corrective actions regarding the issue and will make changes moving forward,” Max’s added.
In another comment to a different online user, the restaurant said it had already “spoken with those involved in the incident,” adding that its “operations team” has addressed the matter.
The delivery rider’s review also reached another rider, who told the restaurant that they are considered “partners.”
“If wala [kami] noong [COVID-19] pandemic, closed na store [niyo] dahil sa lugi. FYI [FOR YOUR INFORMATION] ULIT, napakalaki pinapasok na pera sa company mo ng pinapalayas mo, it’s means [customer din] kami ng company mo. [Kasi] sabi nga ni GrabFood PH, GrabFood Grabfood Merchants Philippines, partner [kami] nila, ‘di employee,” Julius Mancenido Martinez wrote on Monday, October 14.
His post caught the attention of the Facebook account of GrabFood Philippines, which commented:
“Salamat sa pag-share nito sa amin. Maaari niyo po bang i-share ang details ng rider involved via PM [private message]? Hihintayin namin ito. Salamat.”
Some restaurants have designated areas or seats for delivery riders in their establishment where they can wait for customers’ orders.
Others just let the riders sit on the unoccupied chairs while waiting for the order.
GrabFood is a food delivery service allowing users to conveniently order food from restaurants and other eating establishments through the app. A rider from the service will get the order from the restaurant and deliver it to the user via motorcycle or bicycle.
Such service became extremely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic amid the lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus. Riders were considered essential workers who became the lifeblood of the food and beverage industry as they delivered meals to people who could not go out.