Food delivery firm foodpanda said it is open to reboarding some 37 riders from Davao City who earlier protested its rider fee structure.
In a statement, foodpanda also clarified that the 10-year suspension message sent out July 13 to the drivers was caused by a system glitch.
“foodpanda's intention was to inform the rider that they have been off-boarded. In fact, this offboarding is mentioned in the accompanying text to the suspension message which states (in part): ‘Ang actions mo ay in violation of the said Agreement. Dahil dito, nais naming ipaalam sa iyo na offboarded ka na mula sa foodpanda,’” the delivery firm said.
“Unfortunately, our rider software did not recognize the offboarding option and instead, sent out the message for the 10-year suspension. Our technical team has taken all the necessary steps to address this error and we have explained the same to riders who have attended our invitations for open dialogue,” foodpanda added.
The violations, foodpanda said, included “making fake bookings and instigating other riders to jointly breach their agreements with the company.”
As of July 26, all the riders who were offboarded have been invited to small group dialogs, foodpanda said, “to openly discuss the situation on each case, and the possibility of reboarding them.”
“Rider fees are dynamic, and are calculated based on multiple factors that include the route and distance of the delivery, making the payment structure more organized and fairer. Riders’ earnings on each order are transparent at the point of their accepting each order before proceeding. If an order falls under a Free Delivery campaign, foodpanda shoulders the full delivery fee so riders still get their full fee for those orders,” it said.
“There are times when we fail to communicate better and we’re always open to feedback for improvements, but please rest assured that all communication channels are open especially to our hardworking riders to express their concerns and feedback. We will continue to initiate and continue with regular dialogs to help riders better understand their earnings structure, and other benefits available to them.”