PUBLISHED ONMay 05, 2026 10:18 AMBYEsther LamA woman who placed a large KFC order said she felt “threatened” after a delivery rider allegedly demanded a tip before completing the delivery.
Li, who works as a clerk, told Shin Min Daily News that she had ordered 10 KFC meals totaling over $130 for a friend on Grab's food delivery platform on April 21.
"My friend's company had a lunch gathering so I placed the order for him and asked the delivery driver to contact him when leaving the food," said Li.
The 29-year-old, who frequently uses Grab, did not check the app after seeing that the order had been accepted.
Li told the Chinese daily that the delivery time was estimated between 11am and 11.30am. However at 11.20, her friend messaged her saying the delivery driver asked for a tip. She later discovered that the driver also messaged her on the app with the same request.
A screenshot of the chat shows the delivery driver saying the order was too large, asking if Li's friend had a cash or tip, and added that if they did not, they could cancel the order and choose another driver.
Li's friend asked how much tip the driver wanted, to which the latter asked for $10.
As the delivery driver had already picked up the food and was on the way, Li's friend agreed to the tip to avoid wasting time.
Li later checked the app and said she found that the delivery driver was near her friend's company but was not moving.
He allegedly only continued his journey after her friend agreed to the tip, which Li said it felt as though he was "threatening" them and that he would not deliver the food if they did not agree to the request.
"The delivery driver waited until my friend gave him the $10 before leaving," said Li, adding that the food arrived at 11.40am, which was later than the estimated time.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, a Grab spokesperson said that tipping on the platform is "entirely voluntary" and customers should never feel pressured to tip.
"(Tipping) is not a condition for a delivery to be completed and our partners are expected to fulfill orders professionally regardless of whether a tip is provided."
The spokesperson added that they understand handling large and bulky orders can be challenging for many delivery-partners.
"We have introduced features such as 'Split Order', which allow partners to request additional support for larger orders, at no extra cost to the customer or impact on their earnings.
"We are continuing to expand these capabilities and improve our backend systems to better detect large or complex orders early, so that additional partners can be activated ahead of pickup where needed."
The spokesperson said they are also following up with the delivery-partner to understand the situation and ensure they are supported in handling large orders appropriately.
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