Cheryl Lin
The Straits
Times
8 January 2016
If your mobile phone charging cable is broken while you
are out and about, ask your taxi driver for a spare. If he happens
to be Mr Ong Swee Ker, 62, you could even keep the cable.
Once, a passenger realised her cable was broken on the
way to the airport and he gave her one for free.
He had the idea to keep spare cables in his cab after a
passenger borrowed his for a quick recharge.
Besides keeping eight mobile cables in his taxi - four
each for iPhone and Android - he also has a massive arsenal of
supplies: biscuits, lozenges, toothpicks, earbuds, plasters,
bottled water, preserved plums, medicated oil, picnic supplies,
face masks, red packets and umbrellas.
He tells The Sunday Times in Mandarin: "When I was a
driver at the Singapore Youth Olympic Games, I learnt about good
service and how to value-add. Then I continued to do so.
"I always want to upgrade my services," he says,
referring to the Wi-Fi hotspot and charging ports he added to his
vehicle two years ago.
Since he started to provide these extra goodies in
2010, he has given out more than 30 umbrellas and more than 20
bottles of medicated oil. On average, he spends about $5 a day
replenishing his stocks.
His devotion to good service has paid off. The father
of two children, aged 33 and 21, who has been driving with
ComfortDelgro since 2008, has bagged seven awards, including three
Excellent Service Awards from Spring Singapore.
He is among taxi drivers who go the extra mile for
passengers. There are those who fly under the radar, but most
super-cabbies are recognised with tourism or service awards.
Another such taxi driver, SMRT's Yap Eng Meng, 47, has
received more than 20 written compliments and nine awards,
including the National Kindness Award.
He provides recommendations and weather information for
tourists or route information for locals.
"I'm a hybrid taxi driver - a problem solver, an
itinerary planner, an entertainer and an educator," says Mr Yap,
who is married and has no children.
Some private transport drivers are also pulling out all
the stops for a smooth, enjoyable ride, although none have been
known to include a friendly puppy for companionship, like an
American driver did in a video circulated on social media.
Sometimes there is an incentive for them to do so.
Ride-hailing companies Uber and Grab encourage riders to rate
drivers using a five-star system and the top drivers are entitled
to special perks and rebates.
There are more than 50,000 registered Grab drivers.
"There is a Platinum Programme where top GrabCar
drivers enjoy benefits such as a fuel discount of 25 per cent and
an additional $250 bonus a month," says Mr Lim Kell Jay, head of
Grab Singapore.
GrabCar is a private transport option that allows
passengers to book a chauffeured ride for a pre-arranged fee.
Uber, which has "tens of thousands" of registered
drivers, has a #6Star Award, where drivers with ratings above 4.65
stand a chance to win $800. One of them is Mr Patrick Koh, 43, who
has a rating of 4.86 stars since joining Uber in March last year.
He perfumes his car with lemongrass "to calm down nasty passengers"
while providing complimentary bottles of water, candy, wet tissues,
medicated oil and a phone charger.
"If it puts a smile on my passengers' faces, it makes
my day. It's also just my attitude to work - I must always give my
best," says Mr Koh. He is married with two children and runs an
English-learning portal for Chinese speakers.
One night, he was driving four passengers when one of
them looked pale and said he felt giddy.
"I suspected he had a low blood sugar level so I
offered him a sweet. A few minutes later, he thanked me and said he
suddenly felt so much better," he says.
He does not mind spending about $50 a month on the
extras because "if I'm calculative, I will never enjoy what I
do".
Meanwhile, part-time GrabHitch driver and full-time IT
manager Darryl Xu, 38, has a Wi-Fi hotspot in his car and his phone
is loaded with music-streaming app Spotify. He also provides
bottles of water.
His passengers are welcome to choose their music or
take the water, but most decline.
"Most are appreciative, but some are cautious. I don't
blame them," says Mr Xu, a five-star-rated driver.
Mr Koh chalks this down to the fact that Singaporeans
may feel "paiseh" (Hokkien for shy or embarrassed), especially when
some trips cost as little as $3.
But there are those who take these gestures for
granted.
He says: "I used to provide free chocolates, but people
would leave the wrappers in the car and that's just unpleasant for
the next passenger."
He offers cushions and a listening
ear
Long before he became a part-time Uber driver, Mr Syed
Muhammad Abu Bakar, 40, was already giving rides to strangers.
Working as a youth coach and co-founder at The Green
Apple project - a youth mentorship company which he founded with
his wife in 2012 - required him to drive to and from schools.
"When I saw certain people at the bus stops near the
schools, I would sometimes stop and offer them a lift," says the
father of three boys aged 15, 12 and nine.
"It could be old people who have difficulty walking,
heavily pregnant women or students with their mothers when it's
raining - most would accept my offer," he says.
For additional income, he signed up as an Uber driver
in September last year.
He provides extra amenities for his passengers in the
form of two smiley cushions, charging ports and, sometimes, a
listening ear.
Once, a Caucasian man in his 30s opened up about some
personal problems during a car ride.
"In the end, he shook my hand a lot of times and
thanked me, saying he felt so much better. I felt really good too,"
Mr Syed says. "I'm a service guy and I also believe that if you
give more, you get more.
stomp