Can we order GrabFood for someone else?

Is it possible to order food using Grab Taxi?

No. Grab is primarily a ride-hailing and food delivery service, but they operate separately. You can’t directly order food through the taxi booking function. It’s a bit like trying to buy groceries at a gas station; they might have some snacks, but it’s not their main business. Think of it this way: two distinct services under one brand umbrella. Makes sense, right?

Grab’s functionalities are divided. You use one interface to hail a taxi and a different one to order food, even though both services are within the Grab app. It’s slightly inconvenient, but not horribly so. A minor design flaw, perhaps. I personally find it less intuitive than other super apps I’ve used.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Taxi Booking: Dedicated section. Simple process. Usually pretty fast. I’ve used it in Bangkok recently; very reliable, I must add.
• Food Delivery: Separate section with extensive restaurant listings. More complex ordering options and payment choices. Slightly buggy sometimes, in my experience. Frustrating when dealing with peak hour delivery times. Seriously, the app needs some refining.

This dual system is inefficient; a fully integrated system would improve the user experience drastically. The current approach feels somewhat antiquated. Yet, it’s still the dominant player in South East Asia. Go figure.

Can I use Grab to pick up food?

Ugh, GrabFood. Let me tell you about that time.

It was like, August of 2023, scorching hot, around 6 PM. I was dead broke, fresh out of my retail job, and my friend, Sarah, convinced me to try GrabFood. She said I could make easy money. Easy? Ha!

So, signed up as a rider. Figured, what’s the worst that could happen? I used my old beat-up scooter, “The Rusty Rocket,” as I fondly nicknamed it.

First order: some fancy burger joint near Orchard Road. Easy peasy, right? Nope.

• Got the order.
• Waited, like, FOREVER.
• The burger place kept messing up.

Finally, got the damn burger. Now, for delivery. Customer was in some obscure condo in Sentosa. Sentosa?! During rush hour? You gotta be kidding me!

Fighting through the insane traffic, my hands numb and back aching, finally reached the condo. Then, this rich lady comes down, looks at the burger box like I personally made it.

She gave me the cash, a crisp fifty dollar note, though the order was only $35.

Grab? Deducted $35 from my e-wallet. But where was my cut?

It all happened so fast.

Then I received a notification in my wallet that said the extra amount of $15 was for the fare. What a rip off. This wasn’t what Sarah told me at all!

• I barely broke even after petrol.
• Rusty Rocket almost died on the expressway.
• My butt hurt for days.

Never. Again. I’ll stick to walking before I do that again! Grab? More like, Grab your sanity and throw it in the bin! That’s my experience, take it or leave it.