Smell test for Indonesia's motorcycle taxi candidates
Jan 11, 2016 | 01:06
Indonesia motorcycle taxi drivers tested for body odor
JAKARTA (Reuters) - So stiff is competition between Indonesia's motorcycle taxis app companies that new entrants are going to extreme lengths to stand out.
Aris Wahyudi, the founder of the newest motorcycle-sharing company, reckons he has found a unique way to win business: not-so-smelly drivers.
"We took the decision to do an odor test for our customers' satisfaction," Wahyudi said, speaking in a sweltering basement car park, where prospective drivers are lining up to have their armpits sniffed as part of a selection test.
There are now nearly 40 such firms operating in Indonesia, including Malaysia's GrabBike, and local firms Ojeks Syari, which advertises the Islamic credentials of its jilbab-wearing, women-only drivers, and Limobike, which offer a deluxe service with Vespa-style scooters.
Endang Ahmad, 37, takes his job as a professional armpit-sniffer very seriously.
"I have already found many types of body odor smell," he says, clutching a clipboard which he uses to score candidates as they stand, arms outstretched, in front of a fan meant to simulate the headwind of a motorcycle ride.
"The ones who have sweat smell and armpit smell mixed we don't give a pass."
Muhammad Ali, 44, wants to supplement the salary he earns working in a bank by driving a motorcycle taxi in the evenings. He has come prepared for the odor test.
"I have brought Rexona (deodorant) because, according to my wife, I have smelly body odor," he said. "But I am really optimistic I can pass all the tests today."