{"id":5403,"date":"2017-04-04T18:00:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T10:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/?p=5403"},"modified":"2017-04-05T20:19:35","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T12:19:35","slug":"simple-chat-feature-changed-way-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/blog\/simple-chat-feature-changed-way-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"How a simple chat feature changed the way we ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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The idea was beautifully simple.<\/p>\n

Southeast Asians love to text. So why not give them a chat feature within their Grab app — s<\/span>omething they could use to communicate with drivers without fuss. No need to reveal numbers. No toggling between messaging apps. No dealing with patchy cell phone connectivity. <\/span><\/p>\n

We even created template messages. Just four commonly-used phrases that could be sent with a couple of taps \u2013 \u201cAre you nearby?\u201d, \u201cCan you wait for me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Since launching GrabChat in October 2016, our humble messaging function has exploded with <\/span>78 million messages<\/b> traded across the region, with Indonesians, Filipinos and Malaysians accounting for the lion\u2019s share of messages \u2013 making them the \u2018chattiest\u2019 nations in Southeast Asia!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why did this little innovation catch on? <\/span><\/p>\n

Because Southeast Asians Get To The Point. Fast. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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Why call the driver if you can send him a quick text? The average length for each GrabChat message is four words with succinct phrases like \u201cStuck in traffic\u201d or \u201cOTW\u201d being the most popular. Busy commuters favor sharp and direct communications \u2013\u00a0making text perfect. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some quirky facts: Indonesians may be the heaviest users of GrabChat, but Filipinos are the most \u2018effusive\u2019 with an average of 6 words per message<\/strong>. Compare this with just 2 words per message for Thailand, the most to-the-point nation!<\/span><\/p>\n

Over in Singapore, \u201cI\u2019m coming down\u201d was an unusually popular phrase \u2013 perhaps reflecting how high-rise buildings are a key part of the city-state\u2019s landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Because Small Savings Are Always Big<\/b><\/p>\n

Early on, we noticed that telco companies in certain countries charged for calls or SMS made to phones on a different network. Travellers in Southeast Asia were also incurring expensive international roaming charges when calling their Grab drivers. GrabChat eliminates such fees as users don\u2019t have to leave the app to communicate. To date, we estimate t<\/span>otal savings approaching US$1 million in local SMS charges alone across the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Because It\u2019s So Much Easier To Connect<\/b><\/p>\n

Our pre-set messages can be sent in a second and are especially hot among drivers, accounting for over 50% of their messages. Tapping on a template like \u201cI\u2019ll be there in a few mins\u201d is a small innovation, but it takes a huge mental load off busy drivers who don\u2019t have time to text while navigating traffic \u2013 and lessens their distractions on the road. <\/span><\/p>\n

For passengers too, triggering a template like \u2018Can you wait for 5 mins?\u2019 may be all you need to get your driver to stay put while you send off that last e-mail at work. <\/span><\/p>\n

What happens at the end of your ride? All GrabChat messages are wiped from your phone and the drivers\u2019. He speeds off with no record of the conversation.<\/p>\n

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Until the next ride then.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"      The idea was beautifully simple. Southeast Asians love to text. So why not give them a chat feature within their Grab app — something they could use to communicate with drivers without fuss. No need to reveal numbers. No toggling between messaging apps. No dealing with patchy cell phone connectivity. We even […]","protected":false},"author":592,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/592"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5403"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5410,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403\/revisions\/5410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}