Hey! My husband and I are currently undergoing home surveillance and observation order. We were tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. So these past few days we’ve been ordering kinds of stuff through the delivery app (p-hailing service). Within just less than 5 days, we’ve spent about RM200 to order medications (panadol, etc), food, pet stuffs, and others.
Delivery Fee is Not an Issue
Honestly, I don’t have any issue with the delivery fees. Fuels are not cheap. I even have no problem providing small tips to the delivery guys for their effort of sending my items right to my doorstep. Kudos to them. I only have a problem with the selling price. FYI, delivery apps take commissions from the merchants, probably about 25-35% of the item price, hence becoming the ultimate reason why the prices are far more expensive on the delivery apps.
Let’s say, you can buy one mineral water from Market A at RM2. But on the delivery apps, Market A sells the exact mineral water for RM2.70. Meaning, you have to pay 70 cents extra for one unit. Imagine that you need to buy more units or something more expensive? Well, some would say it’s not the merchants’ fault for the expensive price. But I seriously think that the merchants are equally arseholes. LOL.
Even before the merchants added the commission fees on top of the selling prices, I already consider some of the items are super expensive! A nasi lemak with an effing small chicken, and a small (sliced) boiled egg with the size of 20 cents, FIVE roasted nuts without any anchovies is RM7. But when I bought it using the delivery app, the total amount I had to pay was RM14+ for the same serving. RM7 plus 35% is not even near RM14. And even sadder, the extorsion does not only applicable on nasi lemak. Others on the delivery apps are selling RM3 for DRINKING WATER, guys. Which means its original price is RM1.97. RM1.97 for drinking water, not mineral water. If I was able to go out, I could buy the same effing drinking water for only RM0.90.
Win-Lose Situation
Whatever it is, the customers are the ones on the losing end. Customers pay for something that is not value for money, and customers also have to pay for the commission fee. It’s actually chargeable at the merchants, but the merchants make the customers pay for it. So win for the delivery app and merchants, but loss for the customers. Do we have a choice? Nope. There have been several complaints made to KDNHEP (Read more here), but obviously, no one bats an eye. If there were actions taken, I don’t have to babble about it here. HAHA. So, what can we do? Simply nothing or just follow the typical Malaysian mindset: buy at the shop ourselves, or just starve to death if we’re unable to go out. LOL
Still, I hope someone can make a change on this matter. Perhaps, they can change the way these delivery apps make profits. RM0.50-RM1 commission per item, for instance, should be enough. Rather than they make us pay 35% more for each item. And the government, please do something, especially in this Covid-19 pandemic.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to get paid leaves during isolations, not all have the extra money to pay the expensive items on the delivery apps, and not all have anyone to help them to buy things without extra charges. As if tested positive for Covid-19 is a choice for them. Don’t let it because of this, people will hide their health status and insist to come to work, go everywhere to buy the needed items, spreading the disease. Use some common sense will you?
Thanks for reading!