Everyone in Indonesia, even maybe foreigners, know about GO-JEK. An
application for transportation that
just established for 5 years. And the coolest thing is, this innovation came
from an Indonesian’s youth in our generation! It’s cool, isn’t it?
As of right now, who
doesn’t know about GO-JEK? Despite all the controversy with conventional ojek
driver, GO-JEK is still an alternative transportation, that I
think, fit for traffic in Jakarta;
hectic, jammed and exhausting. Very solutive, GO-JEK became an answer for the people who wants to reach
their destination faster and it
could go through the traffic jam.
I am a GO-JEK user myself. Not for a long time already, but I guess long
enough to feel that GO-JEK is one of the best transportation in Jakarta. I’ve
been using GO-JEK frequently for at least a year, to commute from home to work. So far, GO-JEK has been helping me to go to my
destination quickly. In
Jakarta, traffic jam is
unavoidable, but GO-JEK can go through in between of other vehicles, so we are not stuck in one place for a long time. The price is also lower than the conventional
ojek price. And then, the comfort I get is
priceless. They provide us with a mask and hairmask (eventhough I never use it) and also a raincoat when it’s rain. Even
some drivers provide powerbank or
even candies. Their
services were excellent.
Besides that, one of GO-JEK selling points is
technology. They use technology to upgrade the
conventional services. GO-JEK is an application
based on transportation so we need to be
aware with the latest technology. As a result,
the drivers also need to learn about how to
use a smartphone. They also need to open their mind, to embrace every changes. Several times, I got GO-JEK driver who had
already aged. But they were still able to find passengers and this means they
also learned and able to use smartphone to
run the GO-JEK application. I’m proud and often sad. Proud because at their age,whichwere no longer young, they still
want to learn and embrace the change called technology. Sad because they should
have retired now and maybe enjoy their life with their grand kids. And somehow I was
reminded of my late grandfather.
GO-JEK also gave a feeling of safety for its users. I never hesitate
to use GO-JEK late at night because I know that this app is being
observed. With the GPS system, we would know the driver’s name and phone
number, and it become some sort of security guarantee.
And then, I felt that the GO-JEK drivers also obey the rules. It didn’t make
they drive slowly like sloth or something like that, but somehow they were more
careful when they driving their bike, not reckless or even speeding.
But all the goodness didn’t make
everything went smoothly. There were few “negative” cases that related
to the existance of GO-JEK in the middle of society. From a social jealousy
between conventional ojek drivers and GO-JEK drivers to the issues of bad GO-JEK
drivers. I might not have
experienced the first issue, but I have experienced the later.
I have talked with my GO-JEK
driver who afraid to pass through certain locations because it was a violent-prone area. There was
also driver who talked about his concern about this issue. It’s not surprising
that conventional ojek drivers were angry or frustrated with the existance of
GO-JEK. They must felt threatened by GO-JEK whose service was better, cheaper
and safer.
The main issue of this matter was
the reluctance of conventional ojek drivers to changed for the better. They
were lazy to learn to use the technology that they find inconvenient. They also
didn’t like to be regulated by all the
rules binding between GO-JEK as a company and driver as a partner. Bottom line,
they want to have as much money with their own way and do not want to have competitors, which is
impossible to happen. Because in this era, where everything happened in a blink
of an eye, for people who are not
willing to change, they will stuck and couldn’t go anywhere. Period.
For the bad GO-JEK driver, I have
experienced it some times. They took my order but then they clicked complete without even picked me up. I was angry and upset,
but I couldn’t contact the driver. Nor texted him. It also cut my GO-PAY credit. The first time it
happened, I let it go. But when it happened for the second time, I gave him 1
star for rating and wrote about my complaint toward this driver in the comment
column. But the resentment was a little relieved by the fast response from the
GO-JEK customer service.
Indeed, ordering something
with application, where the visibility of service
or the object is not apparent in the beginning, is a bit risky.
But, at the end
of the day, the people still choose to use it afterall. Maybe all of
the good things, the benefit that GO-JEK provides to society covered up all the
bad things that happened. Without people knowing, GO-JEK become a necessity in
their lives, in my lives. And now GO-JEK expands their service and area. GO-JEK is now available in 10 cities in Indonesia. The service they offer is not only just
GO-RIDE, they now have GO-SEND, GO-FOOD, GO-MART, GO-GLAM, GO-MASSAGE, GO-TIX,
GO-BOX, GO-BUSWAY, GO-CAR, and they gave the credit deposit system a name just recently, which is GO-PAY. All of this
services are really making our live easier. If you hungry
but you’re too lazy to go out, just order via GO-FOOD. You urgently want to send things faster, you
can use GO-SEND. Wants to shop but have no time, you can use GO-MART. Feel
tired and want to relax, call GO-MASSAGE to your place. GO-JEK provides them all now. My friend once
said, “So, it’s either we are lazy and too dependent or we are using the technology very well.” I laughed then, but now, I thought it’s true.
So, GO-JEK for me is an innovation tha t help me to make
my life easier. It provides almost everything. An alternative transportation that could go
through Jakarta’s traffic faster and easily, but also gave you comfort and safety. And most importantly, this is the
work of Indonesian’s youth. And I’m proud with it. Do you?
