Grab lets users add a priority fee to cut the queue and speed up food delivery

If you make an order with GrabFood, selected users may now opt to have your food delivery order prioritised with its new priority delivery feature. It is available for eligible orders and can only be selected during the check-out process. The priority delivery option is not applicable for self pick-up or cash orders, business orders, or for restaurants that use their in-house delivery fleet.

With priority delivery, additional charges will apply, depending on the distance between the restaurant and the delivery address. If the order doesn’t reach the recipient within the stipulated time frame or if no driver is found, they will receive a GrabFood voucher that you can use on your next order.

When you place an order with priority delivery, Grab will compensate you with a RM15 voucher if no driver is found. Users can get a RM10 voucher if the delivery is late by 15 minutes or more. For delay of 30 minutes and beyond, Grab will compensate with a RM15 voucher.

According to the FAQ, each user is only entitled to receive a maximum of 2 GrabFood vouchers within 24 hours. Once you’ve hit the limit, you will not be able to opt-in for the Priority Delivery option.

The FAQ also states that users could be opted out of priority delivery due to irregular activity. This could be a safety precaution to prevent potential fraud. If you think this is a mistake, you could report the issue to Grab for further assistance.

Overall, it seems that this new priority option may cause potential delays for regular GrabFood customers that decide not to choose the Priority Delivery option. This would be more apparent during peak hours if there are a significant number of users who opt-in for Priority Delivery.

There’s currently no mention if Grab’s delivery partner-rider in Malaysia will receive a cut from this Priority Delivery option. According to Grab Singapore’s FAQ page for drivers, the commission remains unchanged for Priority Delivery jobs. If the driver fails to meet the estimated delivery time due to external factors, Grab will not penalise the driver.

Besides allowing customers to tip, perhaps Grab could incentivise riders by giving them a cut from the priority fee. After all, the priority fee appears to be a new way for Grab to increase its revenue without incurring additional costs.

[SOURCE 2, IMAGE SOURCE]