SINGAPORE - A poster put up by GrabFood more than a year ago at a River Valley condominium has been swept up in an online controversy recently after it was posted on social media.
It tells the company's food delivery riders to use the stairs, not the lift, to deliver food to residents of RV Point, a seven-storey residential block.
The message left a sour taste in the mouth of many netizens.
But when contacted on Thursday (May 28), both GrabFood and the condo's managing agent said the online uproar was a case of a message that went down the wrong way.
GrabFood said its poster was actually meant to remind its delivery riders to take the stairs a floor down to the basement to collect the food that had been ordered from what it called its "food fulfilment hub".
Mr Andy Lim, managing director of Ocean IFM which manages the condo, told The Straits Times: "The food delivery riders have been permitted from Day One to use the lift to deliver food to the residents, and the arrangement is ongoing."
GrabFood explained that it had put up the poster in March last year because some riders would "hog" the lift and cause inconvenience to residents.
To save time, they would sometimes "hold" the lift open while collecting their orders, so that they won't have to wait for the lift to arrive again.
The 36-unit condo has only one lift.
After discussions with Grab, Mr Lim said Grab put up the poster, titled "Residents' Lift".
It read: "MCST 4370 and the residents of RV Point have kindly requested that GrabFood Delivery Partners refrain from using the lifts (sic) as it is only for residents of the building.
"Please use the stairs."
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Following the online criticism, Ocean IFM said it will speak to Grab, which, it added, had "put up the poster without consultation and approval from the building management".
Grab said the poster was put up in March 2019 at the request of the condominium's management committee.
"Delivery-partners were requested to use the staircase when they travel between Basement 1 and Level 1. This was to prevent any hogging of the lifts between the two levels which might inconvenience the condominium's residents," it said in its statement on Thursday.
"GrabFood delivery partners are aware of this signage and know that it is made in reference to the GrabFood Hub," it added.
It also said it will make such messages clearer "to prevent further confusion".
Mr Lim added that any new poster or signage will have to be cleared by Ocean IFM and the condo's management committee before it can be put up.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.