S'pore Grab driver gives small token to passenger whose father passed away, even refunds S$11 ride payment

Very kind.

Belmont Lay | February 28, 2020, 04:33 PM

A Singapore Grab driver has not only refunded the S$11 payment for the ride he provided, he even gave a small token to the passenger after he learned that her father had just passed away.

The incident was recounted on Feb. 28 in a Facebook post:

Gave red packet

According to the post, which was put up on behalf of the passenger, the acts of kindness by the driver took place on Feb. 26.

The passenger had just learned that her father had passed away and she needed to go to the Singapore General Hospital with her elderly mother.

The post said the first act of kindness showed by the Grab driver was when he had to make a detour just to pick up the passenger as he had already travelled away from the pick-up destination.

Instead of cancelling, and despite the original three-minute travelling time extending to 11 minutes just to get to the passenger's destination, the driver said he would fulfil the job.

Subsequently, after picking up the passenger and her mother, and bringing them to the hospital, the driver then passed a red packet to the passenger.

The red packet is understood to be a cash token, as it is customary to give the bereaved a small sum to tide over.

The passenger was hesitant about accepting it at first, as even though it is a common practice to give, such tokens come from friends and family and there is no obligation for a stranger to do so.

But she accepted it eventually after "some haggling".

Refunded trip payment

The following day, the passenger received an S$11 refund in her GrabPay wallet.

After checking with Grab, she was informed that the driver had reversed the payment and reimbursed her as a goodwill token.

The passenger said she was "very shocked" that the driver requested Grab to make the transfer.

All of this took place at a time when Singapore is experiencing a downturn due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak worldwide, and where the service industry is not doing well.

This is the post in full:

Posting on behalf of a friend!

“On 26 Feb 2020, my father passed away in SGH. I booked a Grab ride from home going to SGH and got a driver who was along PIE & 3 mins away. I was with my aged mum.

After a while, I checked the app & suddenly saw that he was along ECP & the waiting time turned to 11 mins. I messaged him immediately to clarify & he explained that my booking came right after he went out of 1 exit. I informed him that my father just passed away and I'm bringing my mum to SGH to see my father. The driver sent his condolences to me & my mum & he'll still come and pick us up.

Seriously, at this point, I'm already very appreciative of him. After about 10mins of waiting, he reached my pickup & we were on our way to SGH. During the journey, it was a silent trip.

When we reached our destination, surprise #1: he passed me a small red packet, saying it's a small token. I rejected it & said don't need as I felt really paisay of him doing that. After some haggling, I accepted the small token as he was really insistent to pass me. I thanked him once again & left the car with my mum.

Yesterday, on 27 Feb 2020, surprise #2 came suddenly. I received a $11 refund in my GrabPay wallet. So I called up customer service to enquire. After checking, the lady informed me that the driver actually requested for my fare to be reimbursed to me as a goodwill token. I was very shocked that the driver requested for that.

Hence, I would like to show my appreciation & heartfelt thanks to you: Mr. NASRAN ZAINAL of SxxxxxxG. You are really a shiny gem who went the extra mile. ???

Anyone who knows Mr. Zainal, please pass the message to him. Thank you.”