They complement role of private tutors, provide 24/7 assistance to students

A few new tuition or homework help apps are trying to enlarge the billion-dollar local tuition industry through services face-to-face tutors or bricks-and-mortar centres do not provide.

These include services such as 24/7 homework assistance, automated learning tools or administrative support for private tutors.

The Straits Times spoke to the people behind five such apps which entered the Singapore market in the past year. They said they wanted to meet existing gaps in the industry, complementing the role of tutors and tuition centres.

At least three involve students taking pictures of the questions they need help on with their apps, which then source answers from tutors or other users, with different revenue models. And they seem to have gained traction.

Originally from Hong Kong,Snapask, which entered the Singapore market in November last year, counts 20 per cent of its 7,800 tutor users and 150,000 student users from here, including those on free trials.

It sells monthly packages to student users, based on the number of questions they can ask. Tutors earn a fee per question answered.

Mr Lee Wei Meng, 31, Snapask’s Singapore head of customer success, said the app solves the problem of parents’ limited time to help with their children’s school work and students’ busy days.

It positions itself as a platform where students can get their questions answered any time. Said Mr Lee: “We try as much as possible to match when our tutors are online to when demand for questions to be answered is highest.”

Local app Queri, with close to 10,000 downloads since its beta version was launched at the end of last year, helps students get answers to their questions using credits in a bidding system.

A user poses a question and sets a number of credits to be earned, while other users bid for the right to reply – and earn the credits.

Queri’s co-developer Dexter Tan, 31, said: “I know there are platforms out there where you can ask questions for free, but the harder questions tend to go unanswered. People will want to be rewarded for their time.”

Using a different tack is Miao, a free maths app which has been downloaded more than 4,500 times since its beta version was launched in October. After users snap a photo of their question, the app uses natural language processing algorithms to analyse the question and turns up information related to it and other similar practice questions. Said its co-founder and chief executive Betty Zhou, 25: “It’s not a solution solver. It’s more like a learning tool.”

In October, tuition agency ManyTutors launched its Ask.ManyTutors app where users snap images of maths or science questions to get them answered by the agency’s base of 45,000 tutors or other users for free.

Co-founder Lai Weichang, 35, said the platform showcased the agency’s pool of tutors, publicising its current business where it gets a referral fee for matching tutors to students.

At least one tutor and student matching free app, Learnly, launched early this year, is working on tutor-specific features, such as payment collection or scheduling of classes – for a fee.

Its co-founder and chief executive Joel Khoo, 27, likened the functions to a tutor productivity software: “It’s very easy for a tutor with one to three students to do all that, but not if they have 10 to 20 students. Potentially, we are enabling tutors to become super-tutors.”

The apps have given more options to students seeking homework assistance, as well as tutors looking for students.

Ms Cherynn Tan, 22, a paid tutor since she was 18, previously relied on a mix of tuition agency matches and word of mouth referrals. About five months ago, the final-year National University of Singapore chemistry undergraduate listed her tutor profile on Learnly, through which she took on six students. She said: “It directly lets me contact the students. In terms of price, there is no agency charge involved.”

Lee Yue Han, 17, a Year 5 Hwa Chong Institution student, usually turns to search engine Google if he needs instant help with a question. But he said he would consider using different apps if they proved fast and reliable.

While these apps are still growing their user base here, some already have their sights set on overseas expansion, using their Singapore link as leverage. Miao’s Ms Zhou said: “Branding helps. If it’s about education, Singapore’s reputation definitely helps.”

A look at the apps

Ask.ManyTutors

How it works: Users take pictures of their maths or science questions, and upload them into the app to be answered by the tuition agency’s pool of 45,000 tutors or other users.

Cost: Free

Queri

How it works: Users list questions under 22 categories for other users to answer.

Cost: Users buy credits (five credits for $10; 20 credits for $25) and assign them to questions as incentives for other users to answer and earn. First-time users get two free credits when they create an account.

Snapask

How it works: Students take pictures of their queries to be answered by tutors. The number of questions they can ask depends on the package they buy.

Cost: Packages are priced at $25 monthly for five questions, $55 monthly for 15 questions and $118 for an unlimited number of questions. Tutors earn $1 to $5 per question answered.

Miao

How it works: Students snap images of their maths questions (the app currently covers the A-level curriculum). The natural language processing algorithms on the app’s backend will turn up related information or similar practice questions as learning aids for students.

Cost: Free

Learnly

How it works: Students create requests for tutors or browse tutors’ profiles. Tutors list their expertise in different academic subjects or enrichment lessons. Students can look at tutors’ schedules and message them in-app.

Cost: Free

This article was first published on Dec 5, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

By early February, a popular nasi lemak stall at Changi Village will pair its coconut rice with a new type of fish, in a move that could help save a fish species from extinction.

Mizzy’s Corner will introduce the Indian mackerel as an alternative to the more endangered ikan kuning. Its owner Mizrea Abu Nazir, 44, said: “It tastes the same as the ikan kuning so I’m not worried that customers won’t like it.”

Her new fish dish will appear in a video campaign aimed at getting consumers to switch to sustainable seafood.

It will be launched on Thursday by the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF-Singapore), which in October warned that three out of four popular seafood species eaten here faced extinction, unless consumers turn to sustainable sources .

In the videos, chefs from local eateries such as nasi padang restaurant Hjh Maimunah and Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant CandleNut will teach viewers how to cook popular dishes using responsibly caught seafood.

Hjh Maimunah will present a dish of sambal prawns made with vannamei prawns, instead of the less sustainable tiger prawns.

Its business development and marketing manager Ismail Didih, 31, noted however that using sustainable alternatives would not do for some traditional dishes.

He cited the eatery’s assam padas, a sour and spicy stew dish which uses stingrays – a species WWF-Singapore has flagged as mostly over-exploited in the wild or unsustainably farmed. “It would be weird to replace it with the cod or salmon,” he said.

In October, WWF-Singapore also launched a guide that assesses the environmental sustainability of 41 popular seafood species here.

The ikan kuning was identified as a fish that consumers should avoid. The Indian mackerel, while not free from the threat of extinction, is less at risk.

Silver pomfret and the Indian threadfin – also known as ngoh hur and used in fish porridge – were also listed as fish to avoid.

The guide caused an uproar online, with several food-loving Singaporeans asking WWF-Singapore to “mind their own business”.

“People were incredulous,” said its conservation resource manager Karen Sim, who added that the debate at least showed the movement was gaining interest.

She added: “We understand consumers can be very attached to their favourite seafood. We ask that they consider diversifying the types of seafood they eat to the more sustainable ones.”

WWF-Singapore is also developing an app where consumers can take a photo of a whole fish at say, a wet market, and get information on whether its species is environmentally sustainable.

For now, consumers can look out for products that bear the Marine Stewardship Council or Aquaculture Stewardship Council labels, which indicate that the seafood was responsibly caught or farmed.

More retailers and hotels have got on board the sustainability drive.

Supermarket chain FairPrice has over the past two years doubled its range of sustainable seafood to more than 50 products, including prawns, scallops and pink salmon.

Sheng Siong carries certified-sustainable fresh rainbow trout and fresh salmon, both from Norway. It intends to grow the range.

Several hotels – Grand Hyatt Singapore, Hilton Singapore and Marina Bay Sands – have also put in place sustainable practices, from reducing the number of seafood products to tracing sources of seafood used in the kitchens.

FISH AT RISK

These are some fish to avoid, according to WWF-Singapore’s seafood guide:

– Yellow-tailed scad (selar)

– Milkfish

– Yellow-banded scad (kuning)

– Asian seabass (siakap putih)

– Indian threadfin (ngoh hur or ikan kurau)

– Golden, silver and black pomfret

– Barramundi cod (ikan kerapu)

– All rays

– All sharks

– All bluefin tuna

This article was first published on Dec 5, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE – Ordering in for dinner? You could be paying more than you bargained for.

Some restaurants are charging higher prices for menu items on delivery service platforms such as Deliveroo and Foodpanda, with increases varying from 20 cents to several dollars.

A Straits Times check of 50 restaurants found nine that had higher menu prices on these platforms compared to in-house menus.

Among them are major chains Crystal Jade Kitchen, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Nando’s and NamNam Noodle Bar.

Rochor Thai, NamNam Noodle Bar and Verve Pizza said the mark-ups were necessary to cover packaging and commissions paid to the delivery services, which are as high as 37 per cent per order.

Rochor Thai, which is partnered with Deliveroo, Foodpanda and UberEats, charges an extra 20 cents for deliveries.

NamNam’s four outlets on Deliveroo include mark-ups ranging from an average of $1.50 to $10.90 for one of its pho items.

Verve Pizza, which has three outlets – in Clarke Quay, Bukit Merah and Marina Bay – switched from doing its own delivery to partnering with Deliveroo a month ago, said Ms Karen Coldman, director and owner of parent company Verve Holdings.

While some of its thin-crust pizzas are costlier by up to $2 to cover extra costs, “entry-level pizzas” are kept low to attract new customers.

“We are competitively priced, and one of the cheaper ones out there,” said Ms Coldman, 39.

Crystal Jade and Nando’s declined to comment when queried on the price discrepancies.

PS Cafe, which was one of the earliest to sign on with Deliveroo when it launched here last year, does not mark up prices for deliveries.

Said the group’s director of operations, Mr Michael Di Palma: “Overheads are a lot less for deliveries compared with dine-in guests, and we’ve always done takeaway so that cost has been built in for a long time.”

Its eight cafes and Chop Suey outlets fulfil about 1,000 orders a week through Deliveroo.

Delivery service providers said that menu prices are not under their purview, and that the commissions they charge restaurants are necessary to cover costs.

UberEats said restaurants retain the bulk of what they charge customers for their menu items.

Said a spokesman for Deliveroo, which has over 2,000 restaurant partners in Singapore: “The overwhelming majority of our restaurant partners offer the same prices on Deliveroo as they do in their restaurants, and we strongly encourage them to do so.

“In a few exceptional cases, some restaurants decide to marginally increase prices to make up for the customary service charge that is added to the bill for on-site consumption.”

To avoid confusion for customers, Foodpanda said it is updating all prices on its platform to include GST and will absorb the GST for its deliveries.

This will bring it in line with competitors Deliveroo and UberEats, which include GST charges in menu items and exclude the $3 delivery fee from GST.

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Singapore Polytechnic marketing and retail lecturer Amos Tan said that with the increasing popularity and accessibility of food delivery services, restaurants must be careful not to damage their brands with inconsistent pricing.

“From a consumer’s point of view, whatever deal a restaurant has with a service provider is not relevant to me. If they are going to charge more, they’d better give me back in value, such as with vouchers.”

While the issue does not appear to be widespread, “if it escalates, not only will brands suffer, but service providers may lose the trust of customers”, said Mr Tan.

Art therapist Caitlyn Sarkar, who orders from Deliveroo and Foodpanda at least once a week, said she was surprised to learn of the price difference.

“I don’t mind paying the delivery fee, but if restaurants want to pass on costs to customers, they should be upfront because consumers assume they’re paying the same price as in the restaurant,” said Ms Sarkar, 33.

She said: “If it’s hidden, it’s kind of tricking customers.”

This article was first published on Dec 5, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

If you were among those affected by Singtel’s broadband outage on Saturday (Dec 3), you definitely weren’t alone in trying to get answers and solutions.

But how do you get the telco’s attention on social media when comments start flooding in? Do it in rap lyrics, of course.

That’s exactly what netizen Marc Rai did on Saturday (Dec 3) when he posted tweaked lyrics of rapper Eminem’s hit song Stan on Singtel’s Facebook page, adapting it to convey what he was going through at the time.

Mr Rai wrote: “Dear Singtel, I wrote you but still ain’t callin’. I left my cell, my email, and my home phone at the bottom’. I sent two emails this afternoon, you must not-a got ’em. There probably was a problem at your mail server or somethin’.”

“I even got the underground promo s*** that you did with Seon-kang Joon. I got a room full of your promo posters and your pictures man,” he added.

He even signed off as “Dan” – which obviously rhymes with “Stan” – in a tip of the hat to Eminem’s classic track from 2000.

But to the surprise of many, it didn’t just end there.

In a humourous twist, a Singtel employee jumped on the rap bandwagon and responded to the post with her own tweaked lyrics from the same song.

Who would have thought?

The staff who only signed off as Nurul, wrote: “Dear Dan, we meant to write you sooner but we’ve just been busy. Look, we’re really flattered that you’re our biggest fan. We were workin’ round the clock to fix this – best believe that. We’re sorry ’bout your WiFi, and mobile data too.”

“We really think it’s cool you got our posters round your room. And that you joined us for a lucky chance to meet with Seon-kang Joon. We hope you get to read this letter, we hope it reaches you in time. Hope you’ll relax a little – we get your frustrations here, man,” she added.

Nurul also included a slightly more serious note after the song to assure Mr Rai that the telco was fixing the problem.

Mr Rai who seemed satisfied with her response, replied with “nice try” and a smiley emoticon.

Good job, Singtel.

stephluo@sph.com.sg