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Revenue boost gets hawkers hot on delivery app's new mix and match feature

GrabFood’s mix and match feature has bolstered Chomp Chomp Food Centre hawkers' earnings up to 30 per cent, while bringing in a new wave of customers

Mr Raymond Ang, 32, set up Wang BBQ & Grill, a stall selling lok lok, at Serangoon Gardens’ Chomp Chomp Food Centre in 2014. PHOTO: GRAB

Madam Jennifer Tan is thrilled whenever she can put a face to the name of an online customer.

"We know all our best customers," said the cheerful veteran drink stall owner and sugarcane specialist at No 25, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, speaking in Mandarin.

Yet early last year, when she and her husband, Mr Patrick See, first thought of using a digital platform, they worried that no one would pay more for delivery than the drink itself. The pair, both in their 50s, saw their sugarcane juice as more of a must-have for dine-in customers seeking to wash down "sinful" dishes, not as a standalone delivery purchase.

But as Covid-19's safe-distancing measures drastically reduced dine-in traffic at the iconic foodie haunt, Madam Tan and Mr See finally decided to try GrabFood, which soon after, rolled out its mix and match function - letting customers buy a mix of items from one location for one delivery charge.

The duo soon found customers ordering their sugarcane with main dishes, just as they would if they dined in. While they report up to 30 percent of increase in revenue, they are especially happy about an unexpected outcome - a new set of fans who discovered their sugarcane drink through the app, and then showed up in person at the stall.

Mr See said: "We got to know a lot more new customers through it. They'd come by to our stall and tell us, 'I'm actually your Grab customer!'"

"We'd say 'Oh! You're Lee Eng!'" chimed in Madam Tan.

"Or 'Oh you're Annie!'," continued Mr See. "We can meet more customers, and the app has opened up a new way for us to engage with them."

Mr See pointed out that it was a win-win situation for both parties: customers saved on expenses, while their business improved.

Mr Patrick See and Madam Jennifer Tan, who operate drinks stall No. 25 at Chomp Chomp Food Centre, registered with GrabFood in June and started taking orders through the app soon after. PHOTO: GRAB

Lok lok comes a-knocking

Eager to bring a taste of Johor Bahru's popular skewered supper food, lok lok, to Singapore, Mr Raymond Ang, 32, decided to set up a stall at Serangoon Gardens' iconic Chomp Chomp Food Centre in 2014.

The location made sense: it draws throngs of diners and supper-loving foodies.

Mr Ang said, "I started this hawker business seven years ago. Back then, Singapore didn't have many lok lok stalls, so I took it as an opportunity for me to grow."

Wang BBQ & Grill - aka Wang Lok Lok - did well. At the start of 2020, the new-generation hawker opened a second Chomp Chomp stall called Wang Da Shen, which sells barbecued chicken wings and satay.

But as the Covid-19 virus started capturing headlines worldwide, Mr Ang feared that a possible nationwide lockdown would silence the food centre. So he rushed to register as a Grab merchant-partner, and was on-boarded just two days before the lockdown.

When Mr Ang (with cap) started the business seven years ago, there were very few lok lok stalls in Singapore and he felt that there was potential to grow this business here. PHOTO: GRAB

The platform, he said, was "very, very simple to use" - and a lifeline.

His foresight buoyed both stalls. He was pleased to see digital orders alone add 10 to 20 per cent to his daily takings, helping to sustain the five staff working alongside him and his wife, Ms April Jee, 32.

Mr Ang said the mix and match feature is a great idea for customers "as they can have everything in one basket - not just lok lok, but maybe some drinks and chicken wings as well. And when the Grab delivery riders come, they can just collect and go".

Mr Ang's highest single transaction through GrabFood came up to $150 worth of lok lok, chicken wings and satay. Perennial lok lok favourites include enoki with bacon, broccoli, as well as oyster mushroom skewers. These range from $1.20 to $2 per skewer.

Mr Ang credits the platform for expanding his customer base. Some of his new patrons enjoyed his food so much, they visited him in person post-lockdown. "They said, 'Hey, I've been using Grab and the food is great, that's why I came down to see your stall'," he shared.

Mr Ang (left) of Wang BBQ & Grill registered as a Grab merchant-partner just before the circuit breaker last year. PHOTO: GRAB

Among his super fans are Mr Charlie Chin, 30, a financial planner. Prior to the lockdown, the Serangoon North resident "fell in love" with the stall's mouth-watering seasonings and condiments, and would troop over three times a week for his fix of deep-fried skewers.

These days, Mr Chin orders supper if he's had a taxing day at work, enjoying the convenience of being able to tuck into his favourite lok lok at home.

He has also seen how Grabfood's mix and match feature has helped the vendors. "I see more hawkers here going digital. I've talked to some of the vendors and most of them told me that going digital has helped them during the Covid-19 pandemic."

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Veteran sugarcane specialists go online

Mom-and-pop sugarcane specialists Madam Jennifer Tan and Mr Patrick See are no strangers to moving with the times.

The duo used to sell cheng tng at their No 25 stall at Chomp Chomp Food Centre in the 90s. When they noticed a slide in demand with customers whose tastes in desserts were changing, they shifted their focus to selling refreshing mugs of sugarcane juice.

Their thirst-quenching nectar became a must-have with meals. Madam Tan said, "Out of every 100 cups we sell, 90 are sugarcane. I'm confident that our sugarcane is very good. It's very pure."

At first, they said, using the app took some getting used to. Madam Tan thought it would be "very difficult", while Mr See felt they might make mistakes.

But they were amazed at the smooth transition. "All we had to do was go online and register to join the Grab platform," shared Madam Tan.

"We sent in pictures of our menu items. They replied very quickly, and in a few days, sent a representative to teach us how to use the app and accept orders. It was so easy - so convenient."

They quickly saw results. GrabFood orders added 20 to 30 per cent to their earnings. "It was a big incentive to keep using it even though us older folks don't like to use new technology," quipped Madam Tan. "We just had to prepare the order and the rider collects it. We didn't need to worry about anything else."

With GrabFood's mix and match option, Mr See (left) of drinks stall No.25, has seen business revenue increase. PHOTO: GRAB

Mr See said some adjustment was necessary. "It was a bit difficult. Orders would come in while we served dine-in customers. This would get us flustered. So we made minor mistakes, like accidentally leaving out lemon, or adding it when we didn't need to."

But they made it a point to correct any errors. Madam Tan said: "We told them we'd give them a free sugarcane drink on their next order to make up for it. Our customers were very understanding and they accepted it."

The couple, who have two grown children, inherited the stall from Madam Tan's late mother, who established it in 1978.

Along with the regular clientele they've built over the decades, Mr See said they got to know many more new customers through the app. "They'd come by our stall and tell us, 'I'm actually your Grab customer!' It has opened up a new way for us to engage with our customers."

Madam Tan added that they are busiest at night, and usually experience a surge in orders at 11.30pm just before closing shop. "The app goes 'ding-ding-ding-ding-ding', as if everyone's trying to catch the last bus home," she laughed.

The personable pair have also brought their own brand of customer service to their GrabFood customers. Mr See said, "We have regular online customers using the app, and we do our best to remember their preferences. For instance, if they don't want too much ice, or ask us to add a couple more longans to their longan drink order."

Madam Tan added: "When their orders come in, we recognise their names. Using the app is good; it has really helped us a lot and we have seen how it adds to our income."

The pair are even telling the older generation of hawkers at Chomp Chomp - their peers - to get on board.

"We tell them that the benefit is that customers get their orders, we just prepare it, and we don't have to worry," said Madam Tan. "And the money goes directly to our accounts, we don't need to manage that. I tell them that you can have customers even in a rainstorm - in fact, business might even be better!"

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