Grab driver：a hit job
By Yang Jiao
Going out forces us suffer a lot if we don’t have a car , a motorbike or even a bicycle. And Grab here in Malaysia, is aiming to reduce this situation. Grab provides convenience for people to travel.
It offers another option besides taxis, which is cheaper and more convenient. The driver can pick you up instead of you go to the driver.
Kow Jin Wei，43 years old, is a full time grab driver. He has been a Grab driver for 2 years. He can earn RM 5,000 a month on average, and sometimes he can earn tens of thousands.
“No stress, and more freedom.” He says with a smile.
Then he explains that compared with the incentive competition in other industries, the competition in this industry is very small. It does not require the driver’s diploma or work experience, and all of them are basically not under pressure. And he can choose whenever he wants to go to work. There is nobody but himself to force him to do the job. And he does not need to ask for others’ permission if he wants a day off.
Kow was initially introduced by a friend to the industry. The friend of him is also a driver. At first, his family didn’t support his job. Sometimes he might get an early morning order that forces him to get up very early to work, for example, to pick up someone at the airport in the early hours of the day. Actually, as a driver, his spare time is limited. But he says that this is his job, he is a full time driver and if he wants to earn more money, it is his duty to overcome the difficulties and do it well. Gradually, his family began to understand and support his work.
Lee Hong Jin, a 24 years old young man now is doing the job like Wei. But the difference between them is that he is an employee of an education company. He is a part-time Grab driver. “I do this job is not for making a live. I just don’t want to be alone on the way to company and the way back home. Doing this job, I can get accompanying by someone and at the same time I can get some gas subsidies.” Lee says.
It is not easy to do any job, being a Grab driver is not an exception. The most annoying thing is not working at early mornings, but the misunderstanding with the customers. Sometimes, the customers give the wrong location to the driver because they are unfamiliar with that place. What’s worse, some customers usually cancel orders that being receipted by drivers while they are already on the way the location or even though they are arrived.
When I asked them what they thought about this company, both Kow and Lee showed me an optimistic attitude towards the future of Grab company. “It not only provides people with convenience but also allows drivers to make money,” Kow says “and I think this industry that serves people will never decline.”
