Chill, Your On-Demand Chauffeured Service Driver Was Probably Just Frustrated At Himself.

I'm a driver. Well, not in this Jaguar of course, I'd probably be too scared to even accelerate it. What I meant is that I drive everywhere and this will be the very first time I grab a car to an event as near as Summit USJ. 

I was blessed with the opportunity to enjoy a luxurious ride all thanks to GrabCar! It was in conjunction with the month of Merdeka, GrabCar was offering a month-long 31% promotion for all GrabCar rides, this made it the most affordable ride in town last August. Additionally, GrabCar was also rewarding its riders with a chance to ride in luxury and comfort with one of their luxury cars for absolutely FREE! 

Though, I wouldn't exactly say that I had the best GrabCar experience. There were some hiccups.

I live in Klang. Some people say that it's so far away from everything else that you'll need a passport to get in and out of Klang. Thus, the whole reason why I prefer to drive most of the time cause there are no available cars lingering around this part of the world for me to order to begin with. 

So I guess I was weary about my safety mostly cause for the first time ever, it's like I have no control over anything but just to "happily" sit at the back seat and literally enjoy the ride. Anywho, safety was mainly just in my mind due to all the not so pleasant stuff with regular taxi I've heard over the years. 

"...because no Waze. Dear Lord"

The whole experience started with my driver having a hard time finding for my house. Why? Because no Waze. Dear Lord. 

Alright, nevermind, I can do this the old fashion way even though I suck at giving directions. Naturally, my driver is not familiar with Klang so for him to even be able to get to my housing area, I'll give him a thumbs up for this far. Then, he got a bit kan chiong (anxious) over the phone cause he was having a hard time finding for my house. I was in the midst of my makeup but I had to stop just to guide him on the phone till he finally managed to get to my house lorong (lane). Throughout the journey, my driver's voice sounded a little frustrated but I know it was because he is frustrated at himself because it's natural for people who drive to get frustrated at themselves when they missed a turn or can't find the place of their final destination. Bear in mind that he wasn't angry or irritated, he was just annoyed of himself. So throughout the journey of guiding him to my house on the phone, I had to be the calm one and to reassure him that it's okay and don't worry, just chill. 

Once my driver reached my house, I greeted him with a smile while I requested him to wait nearby for a moment while I went back to my room to complete my makeup. This probably helped him to chill for a while and to regather his serenity. 

"He wasn't thinking about his convenience, he was thinking about my safety..."

That's all. The rest was pretty much normal and my driver was really nice and efficient throughout the night. He was even nice enough to ensure that he drop me off at a safe location and watch me go in safely before he left. He wasn't thinking about his convenience, he was thinking about my safety, ensuring even the pick up location is somewhere that's not doggy or dark. He was already waiting for me when I texted that he come to the pick up location. I think this itself deserves a double thumbs up. 

Additionally, if you want to know how it feels like to sit in a #GrabLuxuryCar, it's pretty awesome. I'm not sure if it's because I'm small in size or the car is super spacious. There's just so much room. I was quite hand-sy, I'm one of those who will press every button in the car just to see what happens. Well, of course, I asked permission first. xD I found that there's a button to open the car roof but it's mainly just to gaze at the stars (if you are planning some romantic thing, this will probably be suitable). It's not one of those where you could climb out and act like a lunatic, well, it's a Jaguar after all, have some class people. Though, you could totally do that with a Hummer if you want. If the sun is too bright or maybe you want privacy, you could always opt to bring up the blinds with just a touch of a button. The ride was smooth and omgosh, it was amazingly silent. No loud engine noise, everything was perfectly peaceful. 

I guess if there one, or maybe two things to comment about being in this service line is to firstly train your drivers to stay compose no matter what. Most customers (or most humans) do not have the patience to deal with these kind of situations, even more when they are paying for it, they are expecting that the drivers know how to get there on their own.

Secondly, help your drivers to improve their service by providing/loaning them a GPS gadget and take one session to teach them how to use and how to deal with certain crisis with contingency plan such as what to do if the address given can't be found on GPS and etc because these kind of shit happens, I myself drove to places where I had to use my own sense of direction and mouth to ask how to get to a certain place just because the event venue is some fancy place that is not even available on map (I don't even know why the PR is so smart to choose that kind of location for an event in the first place), all done with an undisturbed mind.

Driving is serious business, for those who don't drive won't understand the pain that drivers go through sometimes. It's tiring and can be stressful. Most of the time, it's not even within their control. In Malaysia, anything goes. There can be traffic on any highway in the middle of a non-peak hour for god knows what reason. Though, I believe if the company would pay a little more attention on guiding and helping their drivers before sending them out into the battlefield, it could really help improve their service, things that are at least within their control.

GrabCar is a new service offered by MyTeksi. For more information, visit GrabCar Facebook Page or MyTeksi Facebook Page.

xo, 

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