Magical Extra 20% Discount For Polar Puffs And Cakes By Using Food Panda Hack.

While ordering dinner on Food Panda last weekend evening, I noticed that if you choose the "Pick-up" yourself option, there are a number of food and beverages shops in shopping malls offering a 20% discount. Generally, the 20% discount is just a marketing gimmick as the food and drinks pricing will still be higher or at most similar to the direct retail pricing at the shops. This is due to the cost of using Food Panda's technological platform and thus the F&B outlets have to contribute part of their earnings from sales of food and drinks as service fees.

Now, for the really super duper weird part: An abnormality (at least from my personal perspective) occurred for Polar Puffs and Cakes such that when one utilized the "Pickup" yourself option, the 20% discount is truly off the current outlet retail price of each snacks and cakes. For example, sugar roll of S$1.30 became S$1.04 after the 20% discount.  Why would anyone then buy direct at any outlet of Polar Puffs and Cakes? Everyone would simply just start punching into their mobile phone to order using the Pickup option in the Food Panda App which is way cheaper. 

I decided to do an experiment the very next day which led to another mind-boggling situation. This was what I did: I went down directly to the Polar Puffs and Cakes Outlet at the shopping mall nearest to my home to see for myself. 

At the counter, I asked the shop assistant serving the counter at Polar Puffs: "Auntie, I want buy 5 sugar rolls without sugar coating. Got promotion a not and how much in total ar?"

The Auntie shop assistant replied: "We here no promotion lah. Don't have discount. Total is S$6.50 for 5 sugar rolls.....each is S$1.30"

I then politely told the Auntie that I decided not to buy the sugar roll and bid my farewell. Next, I took out my mobile phone and dived into the Food Panda App and started to place order for 5 sugar rolls for picking up at the Polar Puffs and Cakes outlet that I just visited. The electronic checkout total pricing shows S$5.20 to be deducted with a huge 20% discount. 

After paying via my e-wallet, the Food Panda App told me to go pick up from the outlet in 10mins time. As I could not contain my excitement, I hurriedly walked to the end of the shopping mall and then U-turn back to the Polar Puffs and Cakes outlet within just 1 minute and saw the Auntie busy taking my new electronic order sent via Food Panda and packing 5 sugar rolls into a box. The Auntie was very surprised to see me so soon again and asked me: "You back liao ar? What do you want to order?"

I replied: "Auntie, I don't want to order. I came to collect my order placed via Food Panda wor. Got 20% discount leh....only S$5.20." The Auntie was shell-shocked and asked me to show her my mobile screen on the details of the order being placed and asked me why like that. 😀

So it seems that the Food Panda App special pricing off retail outlet price is not a glitch. It appears to be a strange loophole for one to buy directly at the outlet at a 20% discount albeit the shop is not running any promotion for its famous sugar rolls. Why would anyone then want to pay S$1.30 to buy a sugar roll when one can just use the Food Panda App? This is a strange product pricing paradox. 

Maybe someone in the marketing industry can help enlighten me on the apparent Food Panda hack for Polar Puffs and Cakes. Anyway, I am a loyal supporter of Polar Puffs and Cakes for many years....more than happy to buy my favourite sugar rolls at a discount....hopefully, they maintain this working partnership with Food Panda forever. Yeah!