Grab, Southeast Asia's largest super app, is receiving more user complaints about slow response times, limited in-app support, and generic, unhelpful articles. This has led to increasing frustration with Grab services and declining user satisfaction. To address this, my team and I began improving the support experience across all eight countries where Grab operates.
My role: Lead designer
Duration: 3 quarters
Responsibilities: End-to-end process
Reduction in page views
Increase in user satisfaction
Before
After
Vision
Increase user satisfaction
Enhance self-service experience
Reduce support team load
Continuously improve based on user feedback
CSAT score
Self-service success rate
Reduction in support tickets
Help centre targets everyday users across Southeast Asia who rely on all-in-one access to transport, food delivery, digital payments, and essential services
Localized
Accessible
Personalized
Roadmap
In a project of this scale, prioritization was crucial. During the workshop I led, we aligned on a clear vision for the future. The next step was mapping out how we would get there, with the flexibility to adapt as needed. Based on our prioritization, we made a strategic decision to:
Focus first on solving a few of the most frequent user problems and solve them exceptionally well
Scale the improved experience to other countries
Revisit and address the remaining issues afterward
research
The foundational work focused on evaluating the information architecture, as discoverability and findability are crucial for any help centre experience. To support this, I conducted a closed card sorting study with over 30 participants, synthesized the insights, and shared the findings with the team to inform our design decisions.
research
In the first round of evaluative research, I focused on the most frequently reported issue: lost items during trips. Here are key findings:
Participants expressed a strong preference for seeing the trip fare or total cost on the activity card when reporting a lost item. This context helps them confirm the correct trip and adds a sense of transparency and trust in the process
Users emphasized the importance of resolving lost item cases quickly, especially when the item is valuable or personal, such as wallets, mobile phones, or official documents. Delays increase stress and reduce confidence in the service
Reduction in page views
Increase in user satisfaction
Self-service success rate
Due to time constraints, I prioritised spending more time with customer service representatives rather than directly engaging with end users. This approach helped me gather valuable insights into common complaints but it also limited the depth and diversity of user perspectives in the research phase.
What I would do differently
Speaking with users and customer service teams from different countries revealed how varied the user experience can be, even in neighboring regions. For instance, in Indonesia, where motorbike usage is high, most users prefer voice support over typing because it’s easier for them.
Lessons
Tradeoffs
One of the most significant trade-offs we made early on was prioritizing breadth over depth. Instead of perfecting the experience for one country and then scaling it to others, we chose to address the most frequent complaints across all eight countries simultaneously. This approach was a strategic decision, as 80% of the complaints centered around just five common issues. By tackling these immediately, we aimed to deliver impactful, widespread improvements rather than comprehensive solutions.