Foodpanda Philippines Guide for Customers

 Hello customers!

I am a panda rider serving Cebu for 8 months I've gone through trials and errors that it made me learn and put into practice how I make my deliveries smooth including food/drink handling inside my thermal bag. I made this blog post on how to understand this system pretty well that you can get along with your riders and having a smooth delivery. Here are some details I can help you with.

Common problems with Foodpanda when ordering

• GPS inaccuracy
• Setting instructions meant for the vendor (restaurant) but not for the rider (also the opposite)
• Incomplete order of your favorite item
• Chatting with the rider but haven't picked up the food yet
• Instructions for the rider that is old but saved
• Address for work but uses home instead
• Cart final review before putting "Place my order"
• Placing online orders but on the rider app he thought it's COD
• Special Instruction vs Notes to Driver
• Online order concerns

Let's get into it on how I can guide you well how I do it.

GPS Inaccuracy

Sometimes the system picks up a different location but not too far from your location. it can be a landmark of what you mentioned. Whatever you input into the address will pick up the nearest location and you can select the pin location to the landmark that you prefer to meet your rider. I understand the GPS on your phone is on but it doesn't take you to your house but someone else's house or neighbors.

On our phones. I think the High Accuracy is set to default on your smartphone but if it's not on yet. You should. You can find it on the android's settings called Location

Some riders may get annoyed with the wrong pin location. As a rider, we follow mostly the pin location due to limited time to make sure that we riders delivered your food hot fresh from the box because delaying it longer without bad weather conditions will get your food cold. Please use "Delivering to: Current Location" so the GPS can pinpoint where you live and easier for the rider to find you

If we noticed some differences in the pin location after we pick up your order. We contact you for verification and that's the time we ask for a landmark that we can search on Google maps/Waze (My rider friends and I use Google Maps preferably because Waze has weird routes. It'll take me far away from the dropoff point) You have to keep your phone lines open so your rider can reach you easily Note: Your driver cannot cancel orders. the dispatchers can cancel orders (our help center for riders) to avoid abuse. This will keep your delivery quicker and on-time for the food to be hot so the rider won't have to go through the trouble to call you while you're busy asking for help and directions.

How can I set my pin location correctly?

I have a video of it. 

If the app still does not pick your GPS location where you at like deliver to -> Current location
then you can use the website since it's more friendly for me. You can move the pin location on the map which is closer to your home. if you are not familiar with your map location on the foodpanda app then you can use Google Maps to get your pin location where you are standing like outside (Note: GPS works better when outdoors compared to indoors) afterwards, you'll familiarize it on the foodpanda app and move the pin location to a better location and it'll be 100% accurate. that's the manual way of doing it

But the automatic way is setting your GPS as High Accuracy. Some riders don't have it set to High Accuracy so the system on your rider app will have difficulty tracking our location and would affect our scorecard for the week and make sure your app says "Delivering to: Current Location" and tap on the current location that the pin location is where you at. It saves you time as well.

Setting instructions meant for the vendor (restaurant) but not for the rider (also the opposite)

To give your notes to the vendor it will be the Special Instructions on the Shopping Cart and the rider is the note to driver part for directions/landmarks/house and gate description

Incomplete order of your favorite item

We have different scenarios about it. This is very common to us riders that the vendor may forget to put the item on their tablet as "unavailable" and this stuff happens. Sometimes the vendor may contact you or if not. The rider will contact dispatch for the disputes so you won't have to pay 200 pesos but instead 150 but we will pay the rest and will be refunded back to us but it is often inconvenient in case we don't bring extra money. What's going to happen is that the dispatch will call the vendor and you next. They speak English since it is their main language and unfortunately it's not the Filipino agents from Manila but from overseas so don't speak Tagalog. Based on my experience. some item is not available but the same price, I won't bother dispatch. I'll rather call you first and inform you before I head to your location.

Chatting with the rider but haven't picked up the food yet

We can only interact with customers after the pickup. Your messages can be sent to us but we can't see it yet even "where are you na kuya?" but it'll pop up to me once the food is in my hands. that's the time I can see your chat. the system will direct me to your chat messages. (Note: Don't reply much for the rider because we riders can't click on your dropoff details. it'll tell us "Reply to the customer before leaving" message so I often reply with emojis or say "I'm here" instead.)

Instructions for the rider that is old but saved

You can modify your "My Addresses" on the app so you can change instructions or leave it blank. But if you wish not to modify your address. You can tell your rider on chat after he picks up the food so he/she can read it before departing. If you forgot to modify it. We can contact dispatch to change the address and have our time extended to your real location. 

Address for work but uses home instead

Addresses matter when you order. Don't get the wrong address because let's say you're in Baguio for a vacation but your address is using your home in Manila. the food choices will get you the Manila choices rather than the Baguio choices but if it's within the same city. Make sure it is correct before you "place your order" it'll confuse the location and we might deliver it that's even far from you and it'll burn our gasoline away into the air. Chances are, the food will get cold in the long run.

Cart final review before putting "Place my order"

Some others tap on an item in the shopping cart and it is registered there but you'll never know that it's part of the order if you access it again later. Your shopping cart is saved if you added it to the cart so please be careful using the shopping cart. Double-check your items before hitting that button because it'll be an awful regretful moment. The restaurant will only prepare the food that you order. You cannot order additional from the items that are not part of the shopping cart. it has to be delivered to you. Make sure no children are present on the shopping cart page. Some kiddos will press the "Place your order" if that happens. Please contact the "Help Center" directly before the restaurant makes it.

Placing online orders but on the rider app he thought it's COD

Normally, I don't like to address online orders but it is hard to deal with but for this guide. If your rider seems confused because I was once confused about online payments and I taught my customers about this as well.

On the rider app. If it's online orders. It just says the order code and number #14 for example. But if it COD. it will say below that "Collect cash from the Customer" text not far from the "dropped off" button.

CoD Example Fig 1 (Censored both of the order code)

Online Order Example Fig 2 (with contactless delivery toggled "on")

Special Instruction vs Notes to Driver

This is important! Using Special instruction will inform the vendor instead of the rider even for written OR so the vendor manager can get to it before the rider's arrival. Thus, saving your time during your busy moments. Note to driver is best for landmark use "Near Sto Nino Chapel. Pink house, Green roof, gate is red with number 103 on it" or putting another number to contact but we still have to chat with you even if you buy food for your friend, partner etc.

Special instructions are also best for 

• "Please add more ketchup po"
• "Chicken thigh no wings pls"
• "Separate food and rice/Separate drinks away from the food"
• "Wrap more tapes on the drinks that easily spill"
• "Make sure milk tea is sealed on the top properly"

Online order concerns

Some of you are worried about online purchases. Lemme tell you this here. Foodpanda will refund them for you but you have to take action at the Help Center if your rider does not deliver them to you. Don't report after waiting too long just report immediately after 10 minutes. That way, the Help Center can reach out to the rider if he delivers it or not. I don't have an answer on how to get your refunds back since I always deliver online orders to every customer and no one reported me so I'm very clean. 

As a former call center agent. Fraudulent orders are not my thing but if you did not get your refund. I'm sorry to hear that but guess what? It's not the end of your world. Your rider will be suspended or terminated if he been doing this. Please don't be afraid to report them because they could affect other customers and first-time customers not to come back, therefore, ruining our reputation as an honest rider that some irate customers going to generalize us for making a living. As a rider like me, I value your business entrusting me and the honest riders. We want to keep doing business with you and this job helps me well so why should I not value your business? The pay is very decent and a bit higher than a minimum payment so I never took advantage of foodpanda management. Ever. I don't take advantage of my customers. Ever.

If you guys still trust this delivery app as your best food delivery app then we are happy to serve you but if you dislike foodpanda due to your experiences. I'm in your shoes because I have been scammed before, cheated as well. Been there. Done that. But it does not mean to say I'll take this to other people.

We thank you, customers, for believing in us as your front liners and the management for giving us better pay, partnership with other benefits we can use, and the batch 4 and 5 to get a schedule during special hours, suspending cheaters that are unfair to us and did not get stressed compared to my previous job.

We value your business with us as well. Until we meet on the road!

Ka Panda Brandon. Foodpanda Rider Cebu 🐼