When the government declared bubble tea a non-essential item on their grandiose Circuit Breaker list, the country practically went mad.
Singaporeans have always loved bubble tea, and that notion just took an upward, almost morbid turn when they knew that they were not going to be able to get it for a while.
Even as desperate protest ‘campaigns’ emerged on social media sites, long queues began forming outside every local bubble tea shop in existence. People wanted their precious beverage, risk of transmission or not.
And then, slowly but surely, came the altercations.
As a surge in delivery orders arose at the same time, bubble tea chain PlayMade reportedly registered a whopping 600 cups in the last hour of operations…
Which led to this unofficial shouting match between a GrabFood rider and a PlayMade Staff member.
Tensions were high, and it showed.
Suffice it to say; the 38-year-old Grab deliveryman was later arrested for public nuisance, while PlayMade reportedly apologised for the incident, stating that its employee had told the deliveryman that it would be a “f***king long wait” for his order.
The deliveryman, whose name is Alvin Lee, then posted his own side of the story on social media site Facebook, where he identified himself and listed out the inconveniences that came with being a food rider in this time of crisis.
He has since apologised for his actions.
And now, it turns out that he’s still jobless.
GrabFood Rider Involved in Playmade Argument Is Family Breadwinner & He Hasn’t Found a Job Yet
In a recent interview with Shin Min Daily News, Alvin also revealed that he has been struggling since the incident.
As his delivery-partner account has been “suspended” by Grab in light of ongoing investigations, he had no source of income.
And to make it worse, he’s allegedly the sole breadwinner for his family: his wife had reportedly lost her job due to the recent virus outbreak, and he also has to support his 10-month-old son and his mother-in-law.
“To support my family, I worked more than 10 hours a day and could earn around $2,000 a month, though it barely makes ends meet,” he said.
He has since applied for Deliveroo, but the delivery giant has yet to get back to him. And while he’s registered with Foodpanda, he claims that he’s unable to procure any orders.
It’s unknown why that is so.
As of now, Alvin hopes that his Grab account will be reinstated soon, in a bid to re-commence work once again. Should other kinds of work be available, he says that he’s also willing to try them out too.
“I have a family to support and no savings, so I really need a job,” he added.
As a Wise Old Man once said:
“Earth hath no determination like a man who hath to feed his family of fourth.”
…
Or at least that’s how I think the phrase goes.
What Exactly Occurred At PlayMade That Day?
Lest you’ve been wondering about it with an almost incinerating passion, I’m afraid you’ll just have to let that ember die out.
Declining to reveal further details about what happened that day, Alvin only shared that he had spent more than 10 hours in the police station.
And though he had waited 30 to 40 minutes before the dispute occurred, he claimed that it was not the waiting time that had upset him.
“We are facing pressure too. After all, we have to deliver the orders within a certain amount of time so that customers can enjoy their food and drinks. We also have to maintain a high standard so that we do not get complaints against us,” said Alvin.
As a frequent patron of delivery services, I can only understand where he’s coming from all too well. And so, the question begets;
Was Alvin truly at fault as some proclaimed him to be, or is he simply a maligned delivery rider attempting to do his job well?
We can only speculate, I guess.
Nonetheless, I hope that Alvin will get his account reinstated as soon as possible, if not for his sake…
Then for his family’s sake.
And please, we can all do our part by not panic-buying bubble tea. Or anything in general, lest another big chain has to shut down like KF-
*touching wood*
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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